EDINBURG — UTRGV overcame a first-quarter surge by Southern Utah to take a three-point lead into the locker room, but a third-quarter explosion by the Thunderbirds sunk the Vaqueros 80-67 on Saturday afternoon at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The loss sends UTRGV to 1-4 on the year.
“I thought we had one good quarter out of four,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said. “We had a chance there in the fourth quarter, as bad as we played all game, then I believe we missed 10 straight shots at the end of the game — very frustrating. We got a good enough crew, we just have to get better, get tougher, coach better and we have to play better.”
The Thunderbirds used their size advantage and passing down low to take a 20-14 lead after one quarter. The Vaqueros turned things up a notch over the next 10 minutes using their defense to spark the UTRGV offense.
A 10-point flurry from forwards Sara Bershers and Taylor Muff gave UTRGV a two-point lead, and the Vaqueros extended their lead to 36-33 at halftime thanks to savvy play from guard Maria Llorente.
During the third quarter, however, Southern Utah’s Samantha Johnson caught fire from long range with three 3-pointers.
The Vaqueros clawed their way back from a double-digit deficit to pull within 65-63, but the Thunderbirds closed the door on the comeback with a 15-4 run to finish the game.
Bershers scored a game-high 23 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, three steals and 9-for-9 shooting from the charity stripe. Muff recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Llorente added nine points, five assists and four steals.
“It comes down to who puts the ball in the hole the most, and we didn’t put the ball in the hole for a while,” Bershers said. “We just got to play good defense and make that translate over to our offense. I feel like we just have to get better on defense and be more aggressive and the offense will come.”
Southern Utah’s Lizzy Williamson led the Thunderbirds with 20 points and 12 boards.
Next for UTRGV is a road non-conference matchup against Kansas at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. The Vaqueros return home for a non-conference game against Houston Baptist on Dec. 6. at UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
