RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team kicks off the 2026-27 season against the Arlington Baptist Patriots at 5 p.m. Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Monday's opener is the third straight season UTRGV has played Arlington Baptist. UTRGV is 2-0 in the series, winning 110-36 in 2025 and 110-37 in 2024.

Arlington Baptist (1-1) will have the slight edge in experience on court with two games played this season. The Patriots picked up a 60-53 win over Texas College on Tuesday Oct. 27. Ayana Alvarez-Holmes had 24 points in that game and leads the team at 21.5 points per game. KeiLeigh Edwards is tied for the team lead in rebounding at 7.0 rebounds per game with Sophia Cortez.

UTRGV returns seven players who logged significant minutes last season, including senior guard Erin Maguire, who started all 33 games. Senior guard Madison Huhn and junior guard Gianna Angiolet. The Vaqueros added three newcomers with Division I experience, including Southland Conference (SLC) transfers Jesslynn Jalomo, a junior guard from Nicholls, and Kamryn McLaurin, a sophomore guard from Houston Christian. Alongside the SLC transfers, fifth-year guard Janette Aarino and associate head coach Danny Hughes left South Florida this offseason and joined UTRGV.

Fans can purchase tickets for the game at UTRGVTickets.com. All tickets for UTRGV Athletics home events will use NFC scanning, therefore screenshots will not grant entry. Fans can save and access tickets for entry via Apple or Google Wallet or by logging into your account at UTRGVTickets.com.

Fans are encouraged to visit RallyTheValley.com for everything they need to know about attending home basketball games. If you're unable to attend, the match will be streamed on ESPN+ domestically and Southland International for international fans.

Support UTRGV Vaqueros™ | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube