LAKE CHARLES, La. – The #4 UTRGV Vaqueros women's basketball team defeated the #5 Northwestern State Lady Demons, 76-67, in the Southland Conference (SLC) Basketball Championships quarterfinals Tuesday at the Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles, Louisiana to secure the first 20-win season in program history and reach the semifinals of the tournament.
This is the first conference tournament victory for UTRGV since 2021-22 season when the eighth-seeded Vaqueros reached the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament. UTRGV (20-12) advances to the SLC semifinals where it will face #1 McNeese at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday for a spot in the championship game.
Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram scored 22 points, going 12-for-12 from the free throw line, with eight rebounds and six assists. UTRGV was 20-for-20 from the free throw line, making the second-most free throws in a game in tournament history. Senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe recorded her 15
th double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three assists. Sophomore guard
Gianna Angiolet and freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor added 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Angiolet was 3-for-3 from behind the arc and had five rebounds. Redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire scored nine points with five assists.
Nya Valentine led Northwestern State (18-14) with 30 points and five assists.
Vernell Atamah scored 17 with five rebounds.
The first half was defined early by two of the top 5 defenses in the league. Northwestern State got on the board first, opening up a 5-0 lead. Angiolet started the scoring for UTRGV with a three-pointer, then O'Keefe made back-to-back layups to knot things up at 7-7. Ingram and O'Keefe, UTRGV's All-Conference First Team duo, linked up on the tying score as Ingram delivered a no-look assist to a wide-open O'Keefe who charged through the lane.
Sophomore guard
Kayla Lorenz gave the Vaqueros their first lead at 9-7 on a layup created by swift ball movement. UTRGV forced four turnovers and kept the Lady Demons off the board for four minutes to build out the small advantage with a 6-0 run. But the lead was brief as a three by Northwestern State had it leading, 10-9, after the first quarter.
The Lady Demons opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run to lead by as many as six points. UTRGV got hot from behind the arc to make it a one-possession game. Angiolet quickly recognized the defensive setup on a UTRGV inbound play and called for the ball, draining a quick-release three from the corner to end a two-minute scoring drought. O'Keefe followed with a three from the wing to get within 19-17.
Junior forward
Ivy Brown made the most of a defensive rebound from Ingram, racing up the court to receive the assist from the SLC Newcomer of the Year and make the layup to get within one point of the lead. Brown added her second score on a well-executed play by the Vaqueros to take a 27-26 lead inside of one minute to play in the half. Northwestern State made a pair of free throws late to hold a 28-27 lead at halftime.
UTRGV came out of the locker room fired up and played a tremendous third quarter, outscoring Northwestern State 30-14. The Vaqueros did a good job of playing inside-out, diversifying the offense as they used their size down low to score with Dettor powering through defenders and hitting outside shots. O'Keefe knocked down her second three-pointer, then Dettor anchored a 6-0 run to put UTRGV on top, 40-36, midway through the frame.
Northwestern State trimmed the lead to one before Brown made her own space and drained a three head-on. The Vaqueros extended the advantage to 47-39 after a 7-0 run while keeping the Lady Demons off the board for over two minutes. O'Keefe recorded a block in the stretch and Maguire played tight defense to interrupt Northwestern State. Maguire hit a three-pointer to create the game's first double-figure gap with UTRGV leading 50-40. Later, freshman forward
Rylie Whitehair came off the bench and hit a three, sending the Vaqueros into a frenzy. UTRGV closed the quarter on a 5-0 run and led 57-42 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Lady Demons opened the fourth with a 10-2 run to get within 59-52. They played physical defense and got some reviewed plays to go their way early in the frame. The intensity of the game got the teams swapping trips to the free throw line and UTRGV's defense quieted the Northwestern State offense to widen the gap back to 68-57 after a three by Angiolet.
Valentine and Atamah combined to make a trio of three-pointers in the final two minutes to trim UTRGV's lead to 70-66. The Vaqueros turned to their closer in Ingram, who made six free throws and drove to the hoop for a layup to put the game away.
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