ABILENE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team fell to the Abilene Christian Wildcats 69-65 on Saturday at Moody Coliseum.
Sophomore Iyana Dorsey led the Vaqueros (7-11, 1-6 WAC) with a career-high 34 points and two steals. Junior Mele Kailahi scored 10 points with four rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Deborah Ogayemi finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Addison Martin led the Wildcats (9-10, 3-4 WAC) with 21 points and five rebounds. Male Langstaff scored 18 points with nine rebounds.
Dorsey used 3-pointers to bookend a game-opening 10-0 run over the first 2:07. The Wildcats scored the next seven points. The Vaqueros pushed back twice, as a Dorsey 3 and a layup by junior Jena’ Williams extend the lead to six, but the Wildcats closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run to go up 16-15.
The Wildcats extended their last to seven twice early in the second quarter before a Dorsey 3 sparked a 12-5 run to tie the game at 29. Then, after the Wildcats regained the lead, Williams came up with a steal that led to a Kailahi 3 to put the Vaqueros up 32-31 at halftime.
The Vaqueros led by as much as four in the third quarter, going up 41-37 on a pair of Dorsey free throws at the 5:27 mark. The Vaqueros still led by three at 45-42 on a layup by junior Tiffany McGarity, but the Wildcats scored the final five points of the quarter to go up 47-45.
The Vaqueros pulled within 49-48 on a 3-pointer by sophomore KaCee Kyle early in the fourth quarter. The Vaqueros were again within one at 56-55 on an Ogayemi layup with 3:42 remaining.
Then, down 59-55, the Vaqueros tied the game with 1:30 to play on back-to-back Dorsey layups.
The Wildcats went up 63-59 before a Dorsey jumper brought the Vaqueros within two with 25.2 seconds remaining.
Then, down five, a McGarity 3 brought the Vaqueros within 67-65 with 8.6 seconds left, but that’s as close as they got.
UTRGV visits Sam Houston on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.