RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team was defeated, 70-54, by the first-place McNeese Cowgirls, a team receiving votes in the Collegeinsider Mid Major Poll, in a Southland Conference (SLC) game Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in front of 1,018 fans.
Sophomore guard
Kayla Lorenz and redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire scored nine points each for UTRGV (9-9, 6-3 SLC). Lorenz made three three-pointers. Freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor and senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe added eight points each with 10 rebounds from O'Keefe and six from Dettor. Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram tabbed a career-high 11 rebounds with seven points, three assists and two steals.
Arianna Patton led McNeese (14-4, 8-1 SLC) with 15 points.
Kaili Chamberlin and Patton both made three three-pointers as Chamberlin finished with 11 points.
Dakota Howard had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.
UTRGV was big on the boards to open a 4-2 lead early in the game as Dettor scored four in a row. But the speedy McNeese defense disrupted UTRGV's passing as the Vaqueros tried to take advantage of the size mismatches down low, forcing seven turnovers in the first quarter. UTRGV was kept off the board for nearly seven minutes as the Cowgirls went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-4 lead. Execution in the half-court set and crisp passing set up a wide-open corner three for Lorenz, trimming the deficit to 13-9. McNeese held a 15-9 lead after the opening quarter.
O'Keefe and Co. were sharp to open the second quarter. They spread the defense with fast ball movement, creating opportunities inside. O'Keefe showed off with spin moves and side-steps to score back-to-back layups, getting the Vaqueros within 19-16. But another scoreless drought and a trio of threes helped the Cowgirls double up the Vaqueros with a 32-16 advantage. Maguire made two free throws to end a nearly six-minute scoring drought and the Cowgirls were up, 34-20, at halftime. UTRGV scored 11 of its first-half points at the free throw line.
The Vaqueros opened the second half with tight defense. Maguire scored five in a row, using her speed to turn a defensive rebound and nice feed from Ingram into a layup before drilling a three-pointer, cutting the gap to 36-25. Ingram showed her toughness to make a layup through contact and finished the three-point play at the free throw line. Freshman forward
Elise Horne played good minutes in the third, bringing in three rebounds, and Lorenz hit her second corner three in the final minute. McNeese held a 57-35 lead heading to the fourth.
McNeese opened the fourth with a 7-0 run, forcing the Vaqueros to call timeout trailing 64-35. O'Keefe and Dettor hit three-pointers to keep the Vaqueros fighting, with O'Keefe setting up Dettor's deep ball with a block. Lorenz made her third three late in the final quarter and the Vaqueros closed the game on a 9-0 run, keeping McNeese scoreless for the last 4:24 of play.
UTRGV will be back on the road for its next two games, starting with a 7 p.m. SLC game Thursday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
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