Women’s Basketball Defeated at Oral Roberts

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team was defeated 65-58 Monday by the Oral Roberts (ORU) Golden Eagles in a non-conference game at the Mabee Center in Tulsa.

UTRGV (1-2, 0-0 Southland Conference) held the Golden Eagles, a team averaging 83.5 points per game heading into the match, to their lowest scoring output of the season. Graduate student Kade Hackerott paced the offense with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season while dishing out four assists. Freshman guard Gianna Angiolet scored a career-high 12 points with five rebounds. Freshman guard Kayla Lorenz had career highs with nine points on three three-pointers.

Jalei Oglesby led ORU (2-1, 0-0 Summit League) with 18 points. Ruthie Udoumoh recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Makyra Tramble added 10 points for the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles started the game shooting it sharp from the field and playing aggressive defense that forced a handful of turnovers for the Vaqueros. UTRGV fell behind 7-0 and trailed 24-10 at the end of the frame as ORU shot 55% from the field.

Oral Roberts grew its lead to 16 points early in the second quarter, then the Vaqueros tightened up on both ends of the court. They competed well on the boards and reduced ORU’s second-chance shots while playing tough defense to force a plethora of turnovers by the Golden Eagles. UTRGV scored 10 points off turnovers in the second quarter and dropped ORU’s shooting percentage to 38%. Hackerott and Angiolet paced the offense and trimmed the deficit to seven before the Vaqueros went to the locker room down 32-24.

UTRGV’s second-half adjustments were fruitful, increasing the defensive pressure and limiting turnovers to improve offensive production. The Vaqueros outscored the Golden Eagles in the third quarter and matched their points in the fourth. Freshman guard Elizabeth Romer entered the game in the third and scored the first points of her collegiate career on a quick-release three-pointer to have the Vaqueros within 49-42 heading to the fourth.

Following a three-pointer from senior guard Tierra Trotter, the Vaqueros found themselves within four points of the lead at 53-49 with six minutes to play. But ORU responded with an 8-0 run to get back in control. Angiolet and Romer drilled threes late in the game, but UTRGV couldn’t overcome shooting 32% from the field.

Up next for UTRGV is a Sunday game at 1 p.m. at South Florida.