Women’s Basketball Defeats Islanders in First Round of South Texas Showdown

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team defeated the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (AMCC) Islanders, 61-53, Saturday in their first Southland Conference (SLC) edition of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.

With the win, the Vaqueros (9-8, 4-2 SLC) earned their first victory at the American Bank Center since Dec. 8, 2020. They also picked up three points for UTRGV in the South Texas Showdown, bringing the score to 13-7 in favor of the Islanders.

Graduate student guard/forward Kade Hackerott scored a game-high 15 points. Junior forward Charlotte O’Keefe had a game-high 14 rebounds and scored eight points with two blocks and two steals. Freshman guard Gianna Angiolet scored 13 with a trio of three-pointers and fellow freshman guard Kayla Lorenz went 3-for-5 from three-point range to score 11 points with four rebounds. Senior guard Tierra Trotter contributed nine points, five assists and a season-high four rebounds.

Tymberlin Criswell scored 12 points with two assists to lead A&M-Corpus Christi (9-7, 1-4 SLC). Paige Allen, Mireia Aguado, Annukka Willstedt and Monae’ Duffy each scored eight points for the Islanders. Willstedt had a team-high six rebounds.

The teams swapped baskets early in the first quarter until Corpus started pushing the pace and forcing the Vaqueros into some missed shots. The Islanders closed the frame on a 7-0 run and kept UTRGV scoreless for the final four minutes to hold a 17-8 lead heading to the second.

UTRGV responded beautifully behind its veteran leadership. O’Keefe and Hackerott knocked down jumpers to get within five. The Vaqueros defense didn’t allow a Corpus bucket for the first three minutes of the quarter, and after Trotter cashed in a Hackerott steal with a fastbreak layup, UTRGV was in control. Lorenz hit a three-pointer to put UTRGV on top, 19-18, and after a response by the Islanders, Hackerott nailed a wide-open three following a great extra pass from Lorenz to make it 24-22 in favor of the visiting team at halftime.

The Vaqueros held the Islanders to five points and 9% shooting from the field in the second quarter, outscoring the home team 16-5. They scored 12 points off turnovers and tallied 12 rebounds, including nine defensive as they put the Islanders offense in a chokehold and used that to turn the game in their favor.

UTRGV stayed hot to open the second half, expanding the lead to 29-22 after Angiolet made her first three of the game. The Vaqueros utilized sharp ball movement and controlled the tempo to go up 37-25. Both offenses slowed down through the back end of the third quarter, but the Vaqueros held a 40-32 lead heading to the final 10 minutes.

The Vaqueros were efficient from deep to start the fourth. Trotter, Angiolet and Lorenz all knocked down clutch threes to make it 51-39 with 6:33 to play. Trying to create a comeback, AMCC tightened up its defense and kept UTRGV scoreless for four minutes late in the fourth. But UTRGV’s defense came up clutch and only allowed the Islanders to score five points in that stretch. Lorenz ended the drought with a three, then the Vaqueros shot well from the free throw line to put the game on ice.

The Vaqueros will remain on the road for their next two games, starting with a SLC contest Thursday at Incarnate Word.