NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team rolled into the William R. Johnson Coliseum and snapped a 15-game Southland Conference (SLC) winning streak by defeating the reigning SLC Tournament Champion Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Ladyjacks, 87-85, Monday.
Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram scored a career-high tying 25 points and had a career-high nine rebounds to help UTRGV (4-5, 1-1 SLC) snap its four-game losing skid. Freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor recorded her first career double-double, scoring 16 points with a career-high 12 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire made her return to the court and scored a season-high 14 points with four assists and two steals. Freshman forward
Elise Horne added 10 points with six rebounds and three steals.
Key Roseby led SFA (6-3, 0-1 SLC) with 26 points and nine rebounds and was 4-for-6 from the three-point line.
Myka Perry scored 16 points and
Kaylinn Kemp added 10 points with six assists, three steals and two blocks.
Maguire was the engine for the Vaqueros in a fast-paced, evenly matched first half. She scored four quick points to help UTRGV hold an 8-6 lead midway through the opening quarter. The Ladyjacks scored six unanswered to take control, but the Vaqueros fought right back. Ingram and Maguire dropped back-to-back layups to even things up, and UTRGV continued to drive well and find success in the paint to take a 20-17 lead with less than a minute on the clock. SFA hit two late three-pointers, including a half-court heave at the buzzer, to hold a 23-20 lead heading to the second quarter.
UTRGV continued to pound the paint in the second quarter, attacking the basket behind the incredible guard play. The 'Jacks found some rhythm, forcing head coach
Lane Lord to call a timeout. The Vaqueros responded well to the message in the huddle and went on a 7-0 run sparked by their first three of the game from junior guard
Madison Huhn to take a 35-31 lead.
Dettor and Horne were solid in the quarter, helping UTRGV set up the inside-out game that led to a three from sophomore guard
Kayla Lorenz for the 40-36 advantage. SFA closed the quarter strong and had a slim 44-42 lead at halftime.
The third quarter followed the same script as the first half, with both teams playing fast, physical basketball and swapping small scoring runs. UTRGV scored six unanswered with back-to-back drives by Maguire and Ingram, then junior forward
Ivy Brown drilled a three for the 59-55 lead.
SFA tied things up briefly, then Maguire heaved a great cross-court assist to Huhn for three. The Ladyjacks used a 6-0 run to head to the fourth with a 65-64 lead in the back-and-forth affair.
UTRGV flipped the script in the fourth, opening the quarter with a 5-0 run after another deep shot from Lorenz. SFA trimmed the deficit to one, but Dettor's solid play down low kept UTRGV on top. Lorenz hit her third three and Horne turned a defensive rebound into a bucket to open up an 80-73 lead. The 'Jacks didn't go down quietly and got within three points with eight seconds on the clock, but the Vaqueros did enough defensively and at the free throw line to secure the win.
UTRGV heads west for a pair of non-conference games in the Malibu Classic, hosted by Pepperdine. Up first, the Vaqueros will face North Dakota State at 4 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday.
