CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team added to its historic season Thursday with a 71-59 victory over the Austin Peay Governors in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) at F&M Bank Arena.
Even with several Vaqueros battling illness and not playing at 100%, UTRGV (21-13) led wire-to-wire and earned its first postseason road victory and first win in the WNIT. The Vaqueros will play at Illinois State at 2 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the WNIT.
Junior guard
Jalayah Ingram led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds while dishing out five assists, snatching three steals and getting two blocks while not committing a turnover. Freshman forward
Chazlyn Dettor scored 16 with four rebounds and a career-high five assists. Junior forward
Ivy Brown scored 10 points and redshirt junior guard
Erin Maguire added nine. Senior forward
Charlotte O'Keefe finished with seven rebounds and four assists.
Jim'Miyah Branton led Austin Peay (19-14) with 20 points and had six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
JaNiah Newell added 11 points with three steals.
The Vaqueros came out of the gate hot, taking an early 4-0 lead and quickly extending the gap to eight points behind sound defense. Ingram grabbed a steal that turned into a layup for Dettor, and the rotating posts locked things up inside. Austin Peay's outside shooters warmed up late in the quarter and trimmed the deficit to 18-14 after a three from
Anovia Sheals.
UTRGV went on an 11-0 run to start the second quarter. The Vaqueros controlled the pace and were locked in defensively, pushing the Governors deep into the shot clock to force bad takes or forced passes that resulted in turnovers. UTRGV was patient offensively and waited for lanes to open up. Dettor and Brown combined to make three layups before a three-pointer from sophomore guard
Kayla Lorenz put UTRGV on top, 29-14.
Lorenz added a second three late in the first half to have UTRGV leading by 13. Austin Peay responded with an 8-0 run. But the Vaqueros didn't get rattled – they stuck to the scout, settled back into their defensive alignments and forced a miss when it seemed all the momentum was on the home team's side. Lorenz grabbed the rebound and earned the last possession of the half for the Vaqueros, which was cashed in by Ingram with a nice mid-range jumper to have UTRGV leading 38-29 at the break.
The Vaqueros opened the second half strong, continuing to attack the hoop with their guards and finding success. Ingram and Dettor got to the hoop and finished layups, then after a scoreless stretch for both teams, O'Keefe added a jumper to have UTRGV leading 46-33. Austin Peay made a push late in the quarter as the defense started giving the Vaqueros fits, putting the Governors within nine points with just over one minute in the frame. Ingram and Dettor closed the quarter with a 4-0 run for UTRGV, giving the visiting team a 54-41 advantage heading to the fourth.
Maguire knocked down a three to start the fourth, but the teams swapped scores through the early minutes of the frame. Austin Peay cut the deficit to 11 with 3:28 left, then Maguire came up big with a pair of steals and buckets, making one layup and then knocking down a jumper. The Governors, fighting for their season, hit a three to make it 69-59, but UTRGV's defense locked up nicely and kept Austin Peay off the board for the final 2:28 of action to secure the win.
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