RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe recorded the third 20/20 game of her outstanding career with The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team to lead the squad to a 78-65 rout of the reigning Southland Conference (SLC) champion Southeastern (SLU) Lions Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
With 6:30 still to play in the second quarter, O'Keefe secured her team and SLC-leading fifth double-double in the 100th game of her career. She continued to dominate and finished with 22 rebounds and 22 points, both season highs. O'Keefe's 22 rebounds are the third-most tallied in a Div. I game this season and tie the third-most in a game in program history. She has tabbed 20+ rebounds in a game five times in her career. O'Keefe now has 953 career rebounds as she strives to become the first player in program history to reach the 1,000 rebound milestone. O'Keefe also had four blocks, three assists and three steals while shooting 11-for-15 (.733) from the field as she stuffed the stat sheet in her massive game.
Reigning SLC Player of the Week junior guard
Jalayah Ingram scored 19 points with seven assists to aid the UTRGV (9-8, 6-2 SLC) win. This is the first 6-2 start to conference play for the Vaqueros since 2014-15. Redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire added nine points. The Vaqueros shot 49.3% from the field, their best mark this season.
Mia Ramos led Southeastern (2-13, 1-7 SLC) with 17 points.
Natalie Huff scored 15 points with five steals and four assists.
The teams set a fast tempo in a back-and-forth first quarter. The Lions went 5-for-6 from behind the arc and led by as many as five points after a 6-0 run. The Vaqueros were rebounding well, doubling up their opponent on the boards to earn second chances and keep the game within reach despite SLU's sharp three-point shooting.
The Lions held a 25-23 after the opening quarter. The second quarter, however, was all UTRGV. The Vaqueros outscored the Lions 22-7 as the defense locked in and kept SLU scoreless for five minutes, going on a 10-0 run to take a 37-28 lead. O'Keefe and freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor combined to score 10 as the Vaqueros had success getting the ball inside. Ingram hit layups on back-to-back possessions to send UTRGV to the locker room leading 45-32 after outscoring the Lions 22-7 in the second.
O'Keefe and the Vaqueros were all over the boards in the third, snatching a game-high 17 rebounds in the frame to build out the lead. Maguire scored seven in the quarter, including four as UTRGV closed the third on a 12-0 run to have a demanding 65-44 lead.
The Vaqueros stayed hot early in the fourth, opening up a game-high 27-point lead after a 6-0 run. The Lions ended the game with a 14-0 run backed by three consecutive three-pointers as UTRGV turned to its bench in the final minutes, but the hole was too deep to crawl out of for the visitors.
The Vaqueros are back at the UTRGV Fieldhouse Saturday to face McNeese at 2 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's teams, which will play at 4:30 p.m. There will be free food for the first 300 students. Fans can purchase tickets at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID but will need to claim a ticket at
GoUTRGV.com/StudentTickets. Fans can learn more about game day, including parking information, maps, and the clear bag policy by visiting
RallyTheValley.com.
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