RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team fell to the Abilene Christian (ACU) Wildcats, 76-59, Wednesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse, despite 18 points each from sophomore guard
Kamryn McLaurin and graduate student guard
Janette Aarnio.
McLaurin made 12-of-13 free throws to help UTRGV (1-3), and Aarnio shot 8-of-15 with four assists and two blocks. Freshman forward
Lina Fimbo set a career high with 12 rebounds, leading all players. Freshman guard
Jessica Borders added seven points, and senior guard
Madison Huhn scored six on a pair of three-pointers. After a 24-6 first quarter, the Vaqueros outscored the Wildcats 53-52 over the final three quarters.
Payton Hull led ACU (3-0) with 20 points, four assists and four steals.
Erin Woodson added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists,
Meredith Mayes had 13 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting, and
Raimi McCrary scored 12 off the bench with a pair of threes.
Hull scored first for the Wildcats, McLaurin tied it with two free throws, and Aarnio's layup gave UTRGV a 4-2 lead. Woodson tied it at 4, and ACU then went on a 15-0 run, keeping the Vaqueros scoreless for 7:34 despite steals from graduate student guard
Erin Maguire and sophomore forward
Rylie Whitehair. Sophomore forward
Elise Horne ended the drought with two free throws with 1:19 left, and ACU took a 24-6 lead after the first.
Aarnio and McLaurin each hit a jumper to open the second quarter. McLaurin made two free throws, and after Hull's three-pointer made it 32-16, Aarnio answered with a step-back jumper from the right elbow to make it 32-18. Maguire and junior guard
Jesslynn Jalomo then converted free throws to cut it to 36-21, but ACU closed the half on a 5-0 run to lead 41-21.
The Vaqueros matched the Wildcats point for point in the third quarter, with each team scoring 21. McLaurin scored on a layup and was fouled for a three-point play, and Aarnio added a jumper. Borders and Whitehair each hit a three-pointer, and Huhn followed a steal with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 51-35 with 4:43 left. Aarnio finished the quarter with two blocks, and ACU led 62-42 heading into the fourth.
UTRGV outscored ACU 17-14 in the fourth. McLaurin made a point of attacking the basket and drawing contact, going 6-of-6 at the free throw line in the quarter, including four straight inside the final 3:10, and added a block early in the period. Borders hit a jumper and two free throws, Huhn hit a three-pointer, Fimbo came up with a steal, and Aarnio scored twice more on jumpers.
ACU shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) to UTRGV's 34.0 percent (17-of-50), and the Vaqueros made 21-of-25 free throws. UTRGV scored 16 points off 13 ACU turnovers, and its bench scored 20 points to ACU's 22.
UTRGV hosts North Dakota State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
UTRGV hosts Abilene Christian at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Fans can purchase tickets 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 game will be streamed on
ESPN+ domestically and
Southland International for international fans.
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