Women’s Basketball Opens Southland Conference Play With Victory Over SFA

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team earned a big Southland Conference (SLC) opening win, 78-72, over the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Ladyjacks Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Freshman guard Kayla Lorenz and graduate student Kade Hackerott both scored 17 points to pace UTRGV’s (4-5, 1-0 SLC) second highest scoring game of the season. Lorenz had a career game with her 17 points, five three-pointers, and eight rebounds. Hackerott added three steals. Freshman guard Gianna Angiolet scored 15 points with five assists and three steals. Junior forward Charlotte O’Keefe had a double-double with 11 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Ashlyn Traylor-Walker led SFA (7-2, 0-1 SLC) with 18 points and five assists. Trinity Moore scored 14 points while Avery Vansickle and Harmanie Dominguez contributed 13 each. Moore had six rebounds and Dominguez had six steals.

The Vaqueros played an incredible first quarter to hold a 26-20 lead. They used an early 7-0 run to jump on top as Hackerott was strong driving to the basket and Lorenz opened the floodgates with the first three-pointer. Angiolet, Hackerott and sophomore guard Madison Huhn quickly followed suit with threes to double up the Ladyjacks.

The pace was fast but the Vaqueros handled it well, taking care of the ball and executing crisp passes to keep the offense hot and build a 24-14 lead. UTRGV was sharp defensively and dominated the boards to set the tone for the game.

UTRGV’s lead grew to 32-20 as the sharpshooting freshmen duo of Lorenz and Angiolet hit back-to-back three-pointers. O’Keefe racked up 10 rebounds in the first half, including five offensive, as she sparked second-chance points for the Vaqueros. Lorenz banged home threes on two consecutive possessions in response to an 8-0 Ladyjacks run, keeping UTRGV on top, 38-28. But SFA closed the first half on a 12-0 run and kept the Vaqueros off the board for the final 4:28 of the second quarter to hold a slim 40-38 lead at halftime.

SFA’s run extended to 14-0 as it scored the first points of the third quarter, then Angiolet hit her third three-pointer to get UTRGV’s offense going. The teams went shot-for-shot and kept things close until the Ladyjacks opened up their largest lead of the game at 59-51 with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter. Lorenz and sophomore guard Ja’Shelle Johnson knocked down tough shots to close the gap but UTRGV trailed, 61-56, heading to the fourth quarter.

The teams continued to swap scores and stops in the fast, physical and extremely competitive contest. Huhn and Lorenz hit clutch three-pointers to trim UTRGV’s deficit to 66-64, but SFA responded again to grow the lead to six points.

Angiolet hit a midrange jumper out of an inbound play to tie the contest at 70-70 with 3:44 to play. From there, the Vaqueros locked in and played electric basketball to secure the statement win.

O’Keefe made a midrange jumper and hit a massive three-pointer from the top of the arch to put the Vaqueros up 75-70, sending her team and the crowd into a frenzy as SFA called timeout. Defensively, UTRGV forced some missed shots and a five-second violation on an inbound. The Vaqueros took great care of the basketball as SFA had to play tight defense and foul often to stop the clock, and Johnson and Hackerott hit clutch free throws in the final minute to make the cushion eight points.

UTRGV shot 49% from the field and 48% from behind the arc while outrebounding the Ladyjacks 39-25.

Up next for the Vaqueros is a SLC game against Lamar on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Tickets can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com. A clear bag policy is in place for all fans at UTRGV facilities.