UTRGV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS SHORT AT LAMAR

BEAUMONT – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team fell 53-39 to the Lamar Cardinals on Thursday at the Montagne Center to close out a four-game road trip.

The Vaqueros (8-14, 4-6 WAC) were led by graduatestudent Taylor Muff, who scored 12 points. Sophomore Tiffany McGarity added nine points with four rebounds and two assists while freshman KaCee Kyle chipped in with eight points and three rebounds.

Akasha Davis led the Cardinals (11-8, 6-4) with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds. Sabria Dean added 16 points with eight rebounds and four steals.

Kyle got the scoring started for the Vaqueros with a jumper in the paint and then added a three-pointer making it 7-4 in favor of UTRGV. The Cardinals then answered with a 6-2 run that was capped by a layup by Davis giving them the 10-9 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter.

The Vaqueros then went on a 6-0 run to close out the quarter taking the 15-10 lead, but the Cardinals opened the second with the first five points as a three-pointer from NJ Weems tied it at 15-15.

The Vaqueros got a pair of free throws from McGarityand a jumper from Muff to take the 19-15 lead with 5:58 left in the half but the Cardinals put together an 8-0 run to close out the half taking the 23-19 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, the Vaqueros and Cardinals traded baskets as a layup from Muff made it 30-25 in favor of Lamar. The Cardinals then pushed their lead to 35-25 after a three-pointer by Angel Hastings and a pair of free throws from Dean. The Vaqueros cut it back to 40-35 after a three-pointer from Kyle and a layup by sophomore Jena’ Williams with 53 seconds left in the quarter.

The Cardinals opened the fourth with back-to-back layups from Davis and Dean to push their lead back to 40-30. Later in the quarter, Muff converted on a layup to get the Vaqueros within 47-39 with just under two minutes to play but that would be as close they would get the rest of the way.

The Vaqueros will be back in action on Saturday when they host Abilene Christian University at 2 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com. Fans who can’t attend can watch on ESPN+ in the United States or internationally at WACDigitalNetwork.com.