UTRGV REPORTS
The No. 8-seeded UTRGV women’s basketball team upset No. 5 Abilene Christian 73-70 in the second round of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament on Wednesday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The Vaqueros advance to the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament to take on No. 4 Utah Valley at 2 p.m. Thursday. The game can be streamed online on ESPN+.
UTRGV (14-18) hit nine 3-pointers against Abilene Christian, increasing its total to 36 made 3s over the last three games, the team’s most in a three-game span since Dec. 2010, when they made 37. The Vaqueros have made a program record 236 3-pointers this season. The previous record was 226, set in 2010-11.
“I’m excited about our group. They came out again hot from the 3-point line and really set the tone early,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said. “That first quarter was a lot of fun, and the whole first half was a lot of fun when the ball was going through the basket, but Abilene’s a great team and they made some adjustments and forced us into 18 turnovers today and that was tough on us in the second half. What this team did is when (Abilene Christian) got it down to four is they responded, and that’s what we’re most proud of because they wanted to win. They made big shots when they needed to and I’m just proud of our group.”
Sophomore guard Jena’ Williams led the Vaqueros with a season-high 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Freshman forward Brooke Jessen scored a career-high 14 points off the bench while going a career-best 5-for-7 from the field with nine rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore forward Sara Bershers scored 13 points with five rebounds. Forward Taylor Muff scored 11 points with six rebounds. Freshman guard KaCee Kyle finished with eight points.
The Vaqueros shot 71% during the first quarter to take a commanding lead early. The Wildcats rallied late and trimmed the UTRGV lead to three with under a minute remaining, but the Vaqueros’ defense came up with a stop to secure the victory.
“I think we’ve been moving the ball really well and playing as a team. Anytime I drive or KaCee Kyle drives, most of the time we’re going to kick it out and we’re perfectly OK with that because like the first half, we hit wide open 3s, and once we hit one, we’re going to hit a bunch more,” Williams said.
The Vaqueros will look to keep their momentum going in the quarterfinals of the WAC against Utah Valley. UTRGV lost its only matchup against Utah Valley 59-56 on Jan. 20 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
