RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team used a big second half to defeat the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) Islanders, 58-47, Saturday in a Southland Conference (SLC) game as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram had a phenomenal game in her return, earning her fourth 20+ point game as she led UTRGV (6-8, 3-2 SLC) with 21 points and a career-high tying nine rebounds with five assists and a career-high five steals. Senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe returned to the court after missing the last six games and scored nine points with six rebounds and two blocks. Freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor also contributed nine points with eight rebounds.
Samora Watson paced Corpus Christi (2-10, 1-4 SLC) with 15 points.
Asha Walker scored eight points.
Rayna Williams and
Marissa Shelton both tabbed six rebounds.
The Islanders came out hot and took a 6-2 lead before UTRGV's defense settled in and started giving them fits. Ingram recorded a block then cashed it in for a layup after a great extra pass from redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire to aid a 6-0 run which gave UTRGV its first lead at 8-6. The Islanders answered with five in a row, but UTRGV closed the quarter with a three from sophomore guard
Kayla Lorenz to send the game to the second tied at 11-11. The Vaqueros forced four turnovers in the opening frame to slow Corpus down after the sharp start.
UTRGV's defensive pressure carried into the second quarter as the Vaqueros prevented the Islanders from scoring for nearly seven minutes dating back to the first. Ingram knocked down back-to-back jumpers to ignite the Vaqueros offense, and a three from sophomore guard
Gianna Angiolet made it a 9-0 run to start the frame to put the Vaqueros on top, 20-11.
Corpus controlled the final minutes of the first half defensively, keeping UTRGV off the board for nearly six minutes while going on a 9-0 run of its own to tie the game again at 20-20. A step-back three-pointer from
Chelsea Wooten with two seconds on the clock sent the Islanders to the locker room with a slim 23-22 lead.
It was UTRGV's turn to have a strong start to a half in the third quarter. The Vaqueros got a pair of three-pointers from Angiolet and Ingram to fire up the squad, then Ingram and Dettor drilled back-to-back jumpers to stretch UTRGV's advantage to 35-27. Corpus responded well with a small 5-0 run, but Maguire's facilitating and court vision lead to some tough baskets for the Vaqueros, who led, 41-35, heading to the fourth.
Maguire continued to contribute early in the fourth, recording an assist and a steal as the Vaqueros extended the lead to 47-35. Ingram made two contested jumpers to balance out a late push from Corpus, then O'Keefe banked home a three to make it 52-39, the largest lead for either team, which was enough to withstand the Islanders' comeback attempt in the final two minutes of action.
The Vaqueros picked up three points toward the South Texas Showdown standings with the win, putting UTRGV in the lead with a score of 10-7 with six events scored.
UTRGV will be back in action Thursday in another SLC contest at Northwestern State.
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