SAN ANTONIO – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team defeated the UIW Cardinals, 80-70, in an overtime thriller Saturday in a key Southland Conference (SLC) game at the McDermott Center.
Senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe drilled a clutch three-pointer with 15 seconds left to play to tie the game at 63-63, erasing a 12-point fourth quarter deficit. The Vaqueros (13-9, 10-3 SLC) outscored the Cardinals (10-10, 8-5 SLC) 17-7 in the overtime period to secure their fourth win in a row and a program-record sixth conference road victory. UTRGV is 6-1 on the road in SLC action.
Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram led the Vaqueros with 24 points and had 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double while dishing out four assists. Freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor scored a career-high 19 points with four rebounds. O'Keefe tabbed her eighth double-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Jorja Elliott led the Cardinals with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Gwen McGrew added 17 points with seven rebounds and
Brynn Lusby scored 14.
The game started with both teams playing good defense to minimize scoring early. Offensive possessions were pushed deep into the shot clock and the teams exchanged baskets in the opening minutes. UTRGV struggled against the aggressive Cardinals defense, which regularly deflected passes. The Vaqueros opened a 13-8 lead as Ingram raced her way to the hoop, then a string of turnovers kept them off the board for nearly three minutes as the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run.
UTRGV closed the first quarter strong as sophomore guard
Kayla Lorenz came off the bench and knocked down a pair of three-pointers, putting her team up 14-13. The momentum carried into the second quarter and the Vaqueros ripped off a 10-0 run to take a 26-18 lead. O'Keefe and Dettor were dominant in the paint and the Vaqueros were efficient offensively to build out the largest lead of the half, but UIW quickly responded with an 8-0 run to tie things up.
Ingram was the engine that sent UTRGV to the locker room with a 34-28 lead. She delivered a no-look pass to Dettor for a layup, then showed off her handles as she drove to the hoop to close the half on a 6-0 run. UTRGV shot 52% from the field in the first half, but the Cardinals won the turnover battle, 11-1, and scored 12 points off turnovers to keep the game close.
Where defenses dictated the start of the first half, it was the offenses that controlled the start of the second half. The third quarter started with a fast tempo and frequent baskets. But the Vaqueros went cold and didn't score for the last 4:06 of the quarter following a jumper from sophomore guard
Gianna Angiolet, and UIW won the quarter, 23-10, to take a 51-44 lead to the fourth.
Junior forward
Ivy Brown scored four quick points to open the fourth and Angiolet made a fastbreak layup to get within 56-50. Then, shooting woes and turnovers returned and UTRGV found itself trailing, 62-50, with 4:06 to play.
The terrific trio of Ingram, O'Keefe and Dettor anchored a 10-0 run to get the Vaqueros within two. The Cardinals went 1-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute of regulation, setting up O'Keefe's designed three-point shot for the tie.
UTRGV had all the momentum at the end of the fourth and used that to dominate the overtime period, jumping out to a 69-63 lead as Ingram and Dettor scored at will. Dettor used a strong drive to the hoop and a left-hand finish through contact to complete a three-point play, sparking a crucial 9-0 run that put the game out of reach.
The Vaqueros will head to Louisiana next week for their next two games, starting with a 6:30 p.m. SLC contest at Nicholls on Thursday.
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