MANHATTAN, Kan. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team fell to the Kansas State Wildcats, 68-39, Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum.
UTRGV outrebounded Kansas State 36-32, including a 14-5 advantage on the offensive glass, and turned those into 11 second-chance points to the Wildcats' two. Sophomore guard
Kamryn McLaurin led UTRGV (1-2) with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals. Freshman forward
Lina Fimbo added five points, eight rebounds and two steals, and sophomore forward
Elise Horne grabbed six rebounds, four of them on the offensive end. Sophomore forward
Rylie Whitehair had six points and six rebounds, and graduate student guard
Janette Aarnio scored nine points.
Tzoana Tampakou led Kansas State (3-0) with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 15 minutes.
Nastja Claessens added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, and
Shaila Nde had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Taryn Sides dished out eight assists.
Kansas State scored the first four points of the game, and Fimbo answered with the Vaqueros' first points, a three-pointer from a few feet beyond the arc, to make it 4-3. The Wildcats then went on a 9-0 run, including two layups from Nde and a three-pointer from Claessens, as the Vaqueros went scoreless for 3:47. Aarnio ended the drought with a jumper with 4:35 left, and Fimbo followed with a steal. Freshman guard
Jessica Borders scored on a layup and McLaurin added a free throw, and Aarnio banked in a pull-up jumper just before the buzzer to make it 18-10 after the first.
Kansas State outscored UTRGV 16-7 in the second quarter. McLaurin accounted for six of the Vaqueros' points on two layups and two free throws, while Claessens scored eight of her points for the Wildcats. Kansas State closed the half on an 8-0 run, with three-pointers from Nde and
Mikayla Parks and a Claessens jumper, to take a 34-17 lead into the break.
UTRGV opened the third quarter with a block from junior guard
Gianna Angiolet, and Fimbo's tip-in cut the deficit to 36-19. Tampakou and Nde kept scoring inside for the Wildcats, who pushed the lead to 49-26 heading into the fourth. Aarnio and Whitehair each hit a jumper in the final 70 seconds of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Whitehair made two free throws, Fimbo came up with a steal, and Borders added a jumper. McLaurin then hit a three-pointer and followed with a layup, Horne scored on a tip-in, and Aarnio hit a jumper with 2:42 left. Tampakou scored 10 of her 16 points in the quarter, including four layups, to help Kansas State close it out.
Kansas State shot 46.6% (27-of-58) to UTRGV's 25.9% (15-of-58). The Wildcats had 21 assists, 40 points in the paint and 14 fast-break points. UTRGV made 7-of-10 free throws, and its bench scored 10 points to Kansas State's 18.
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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