The biggest hurdle for UTRGV forward Sara Bershers during her first two years with the Vaqueros was staying on the court. She was limited during her freshman season due to a foot injury and had surgery on the same foot heading into her sophomore year, which kept her out for the first two and a half months of the season.
UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said her first two years with the program have essentially been one season put together.
This season, Bershers entered the year healthy and has consistently produced at a high level for the Vaqueros (6-9, 2-1). She’s leading the Vaqueros in scoring with 13.9 points per game, and her 7.1 rebounds is tied for the team-high.
“Now, we’re finally getting to see how good she can really be,” Lord said.
Bershers displayed her potential with a streak of 20-plus points in four of five games in December. Her play earned Western Athletic Conference (WAC) player of the week honors for the week of Dec. 6-12.
Sitting at 2-1 in WAC competition with wins over Grand Canyon and Chicago State, Bershers and the Vaqueros hope to add a third straight victory to their conference record. They’ll be tested with a three-game home stretch over the next five days with Utah Valley (6-9, 1-3) coming into town for a tipoff at 7 tonight at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
Lord said he expects Utah Valley to play through the paint and slow the game down while the Vaqueros hope to speed up the pace of play.
“We got to get up and down the floor. If we let them (Utah Valley) get in the half court game, they’re too talented in the half court set, so we need to really push the basketball, get some transition 3s going early and really use our speed like we have the last two games getting off to those good starts,” he said. “We got off to those good starts by playing good defense, one-shot defense, and we’ve been able to get out and run and get some transition buckets early.”
FROM OVER TO IN THE NET
Forward Taylor Muff was a star on the volleyball court at Northern Colorado for four years as a two-time All-Big Sky first team selection. She also helped the program win the 2019 Big Sky conference championship.
Now a graduate student in her first year with UTRGV, Muff has made a seamless transition back to the hardwood for the first time since her high school days as a multi-sport athlete at Pittsburg High School in Kansas.
She has started every game and provided a spark on both ends of the floor with her high energy and ability to score inside and out. Muff scored 23 points against McNeese State on Nov. 21 and drained five 3-pointers during last week’s nonconference game against Texas, both career-highs
“She is a competitor, and she is a winner,” Lord said. “She is a phenomenal athlete, but her competitive spirit has rubbed off on everyone on the team.”
MAKEUP GAMES
UTRGV has a pair of rescheduled games approaching due to COVID-19 causing the cancellations of conference matchups against Sam Houston on Jan. 1 and New Mexico State on Jan. 8.
The matchup against Sam Houston is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The game against New Mexico State is scheduled to be made up Jan. 31 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
