EDINBURG — The UTRGV women’s basketball team had a 12-day break from game action due to finals for the fall semester.
The Vaqueros returned to the court against St. Mary’s, shook off some rust and rolled to a 55-39 win over the Rattlers on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
UTRGV improved to 5-4 overall, while St. Mary’s dropped to 5-5.
It wasn’t the Vaqueros’ best night offensively, but their defense is what carried them against St. Mary’s.
“Not playing for 12 days, we were pretty ice cold out there for a while, but it was good to get back on the floor. Defensively, we’re just so far ahead of our offense right now that it’s just keeping us in games and helping us win games,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said.
St. Mary’s got off to a 6-0 start before UTRGV began to lock in. The Vaqueros limited the Rattlers to 28.8% shooting from the field and finished with 10 steals, five blocks and won the rebounding battle 42-39.
| University of Texas Rio Grande Valley forward Charlotte O’Keefe (1) looks to pass the ball against St. Maryâs University in a non-conference game at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
UTRGV shot 45.5% and 50.0% during the first and second quarters to leap in front of St. Mary’s for good with a 35-24 lead at the break.
Iyana Dorsey led the Vaqueros with 13 points. Ashton McCorry added nine off the bench with three key 3-pointers. Mele Kailahi and Deborah Ogayemi scored seven apiece. Charlotte O’Keefe and Halie Jones both finished with six.
“(We tried) pretty much taking away the middle, the lane, that’s where their offense starts at the rim. Luckily our defense was there on the perimeter and I think our press helped out a lot,” Jones said.
Natalia Ryng led St. Mary’s with 10 points.
| University of Texas Rio Grande Valley forword Iyana Dorsey (2) attempts a basket against St. Maryâs University in a non-conference game at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Next for UTRGV is the third annual South Padre Island Classic as the Vaqueros take over SPI on Monday and Tuesday with a round-robin style tournament featuring Boise State (4-7), Bowling Green (7-1) and Texas A&M-Commerce (2-7). All games will be played at the South Padre Island Convention Center.
The Vaqueros will face Boise State at 6 p.m. Monday, while Texas A&M-Commerce and Bowling Green start the SPI Classic at 3 p.m. Monday.
Tuesday will see Texas A&M-Commerce against Boise State at 3 p.m. and UTRGV versus Bowling Green at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at UTRGVtickets.com. The games can also be streamed online on ESPN+, ESPN’s streaming platform.