UTRGV women’s basketball wins fifth straight

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team extended its winning streak to five games, the longest since 2018-19, with a 59-50 victory over the Nicholls Colonels Saturday at Stopher Gym.

UTRGV improved to 16-13 overall and 11-7 in Southland Conference (SLC) action, surpassing 10 conference wins in a single season for the first time ever. This also marks the first time UTRGV won back-to-back road games since 2018-19.

The victory is No. 85 for head coach Lane Lord at UTRGV, tying him for winningest coach in program history with Larry Tidwell (85 wins, 2013-18).

Graduate student G/F Kade Hackerott led the Vaqueros with a game-high 17 points and had eight rebounds. Senior guard Tierra Trotter scored 12 points with five assists and two steals. Junior forward Charlotte O’Keefe recorded her fourth consecutive double-double and 14^th of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Elizabeth Romer had her best conference outing, scoring nine points and going 3-for-3 from the three-point line.

Malaya Jones led Nicholls (16-11, 9-9 SLC) with 14 points and three assists. Deonna Brister scored 12 points with nine rebounds and two steals.

Shots didn’t want to fall for either team in a low scoring first quarter. UTRGV set the tone defensively from the first whistle, with O’Keefe clogging up the paint and the guards preventing the Colonels from running the offensive effectively. Nicholls did take a slight 7-4 lead, but the Vaqueros closed the quarter with jumpers from Hackerott and Trotter for the 8-7 lead.

The defenses continued to dominate early in the second quarter as the teams exchanged baskets at a slow rate. Romer’s first three came off a great midcourt feed from Trotter to put UTRGV up 13-11. Nicholls responded with a small run to regain the lead at 17-13, and despite a quick-release three-pointer from Huhn in the corner, the Colonels were up 24-20 at the break.

UTRGV came out determined in the third quarter and took control of the contest by outscoring the Colonels 20-11. The three ball created momentum for the Vaqueros as Hackerott and Romer drilled a pair each leading to a 36-29 advantage. Trotter closed the frame with a nail-in-the-coffin type play, swiping a steal and taking it straight to the hoop for the soft-touch layup and a 40-35 lead heading to the fourth.

The Vaqueros carried the energy into a strong start in the fourth, scoring 10 quick points to once again be leading by 13. The Colonels scored a couple of threes late in the game as they tried to mount a comeback, but UTRGV did just enough at the free throw line and continued to play stellar defense to secure the key win.

The Vaqueros will be back at the UTRGV Fieldhouse Thursday at 12 p.m. hosting Southeastern in a School Day game presented by Whataburger. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets.

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