LAKE CHARLES, La. – The #4 UTRGV Vaqueros women's basketball team fell, 67-52, to the #1 McNeese Cowgirls Wednesday in the Southland Conference (SLC) Basketball Championships semifinals at Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor led UTRGV (20-13) with 16 points and tabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double. Senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe recorded her 16
th double-double with 13 rebounds, 12 points and three assists. Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram scored seven points with five assists.
Tyreona Sibley scored 24 points with six rebounds to lead McNeese (27-4), a team ranked in the top 20 in two mid-major polls.
Lexi Alexander scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and
Carley Hamilton added 13 points.
UTRGV was determined driving to the hoop and opened up an early 9-6 lead with good defensive pressure. Ingram and O'Keefe scored in the paint and sophomore guard
Gianna Angiolet and drained her first three-point attempt to give the Vaqueros the edge. The first quarter was fast-paced as both teams showcased their athleticism attacking the lanes. Brown recorded a steal and redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire had a block in the final two minutes of the quarter, but McNeese took a slim 16-13 lead to the second.
McNeese went on a 6-1 run through the first two minutes of the second quarter to extend the lead to 22-14. The Cowgirls played tight defense and continued to push the tempo as they raced up the court. The Vaqueros made their first field goal after almost four minutes of the frame had passed and put together a 10-0 run to flip the game from trailing by eight to leading 24-22. A standout series in the run was a three-pointer by Dettor set up by a tough offensive rebound by Ingram. Angiolet and Ingram drove hard to the hoop to keep the offense churning as the first half reached a close, but the Cowgirls scored the last four points and took a 31-30 advantage into the locker room.
UTRGV played great defense to keep the game tight in the first half. The Vaqueros committed just two fouls and forced six turnovers. McNeese leads the league in turnovers forced and caused 10 from the Vaqueros in the first half, but UTRGV was able to adjust to the speed of the Cowgirls offense and didn't allow them to capitalize as frequently on the miscues.
McNeese opened up a five-point lead as the Vaqueros didn't score for the first two minutes of the second half. Dettor needed just 30 seconds to knot the game at 35-35, knocking down a three-pointer before powering her way through contact to make a layup. Her big play sparked the Vaqueros, who went down the court and got a block from Ingram. Dettor scored her third consecutive bucket and O'Keefe popped a three-pointer to make it 40-35 in favor of UTRGV as the defense kept McNeese scoreless for three minutes.
The Cowgirls responded with a 19-3 run to close the quarter and led, 54-43, heading to the fourth. McNeese's defense forced a series of missed shots in the fourth quarter, resulting in UTRGV's deficit increasing to 17 points. The Vaqueros played well defensively throughout the game and kept the Cowgirls scoreless for over three minutes late in the game, but they couldn't capitalize offensively.
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