Vaqueros top Roos to go 2-0 at UTRGV Holiday Classic

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team completed a 2-0 run in the UTRGV Holiday Classic with a 71-54 win Friday over the Kansas City (UMKC) Roos at the UTRGV Fieldhouse, using a big second half to improve to .500 on the season.

Last season, UTRGV didn’t win its first game until Dec. 30, 2023 and only won six games as injuries wreaked havoc. The Vaqueros (6-6, 1-1 Southland Conference) have already matched that win total before Dec. 30, 2024.

Junior forward Charlotte O’Keefe led UTRGV as she recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds to go with two blocks. Graduate student Kade Hackerott scored 13 points with a career-high tying six assists and freshman guard Gianna Angiolet added 12 points. Sophomore guard Ja’Shelle Johnson scored a career-high 11 points, going 3-for-3 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Alayna Contreras led Kansas City (3-11, 0-0 Summit League) with 20 points and Emani Bennett scored 15. Elauni Bennett had nine rebounds.

The teams found themselves knotted at 9-9 after a first quarter that saw both teams struggle to hit from the field. UTRGV’s stout defensive effort forced three Roos turnovers and held them to 28% shooting from the field. Kansas City also played tough defense but was called for a handful of fouls, and the Vaqueros took advantage with a 5-for-6 quarter at the charity stripe.

Shooting woes continued in the second quarter, but a scoring flurry midway through the frame led to exciting ties and lead changes. Freshman guard Kayla Lorenz and sophomore guard Madison Huhn knocked down back-to-back three-pointers, but the Kansas City trio of Bennett, Contreras and Tamia Ugass answered each bucket to send the Roos to the locker room with a slim 22-21 lead.

Lorenz drained her second three early in the third quarter and sparked the Vaqueros offense. UTRGV knocked down four three-pointers and got a three-point play from Hackerott on a hard layup through contact to score 23 points in the frame – beating their first half production by two points.

The sharp shooting from behind the arc continued as Hackerott nailed a three to open the fourth, extending UTRGV’s lead to 47-37. Angiolet added her second three-pointer, then it was the defense’s time to shine. The Vaqueros kept the Roos scoreless for over four minutes to build a 56-43 lead after Johnson made a layup through traffic on a long feed from Hackerott to beat the press.

UTRGV closed the game on a 9-0 run as part of a 27-point fourth quarter. The Vaqueros were perfect from the free throw line in the fourth, going 10-for-10 to build out the lead.

Up next for the Vaqueros is the final non-conference contest of the season at No. 6 Texas on Dec. 29.

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