EDINBURG — The UTRGV women’s basketball team led Grand Canyon for nearly 30 minutes of game time during their Western Athletic Conference matchup Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
When the clock showed zeroes at the end of the fourth quarter, however, it was Grand Canyon that finished on top 61-52. The loss sends UTRGV to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in WAC play. Grand Canyon improved to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in conference.
The Lopes outscored the Vaqueros 23-8 during the final 10 minutes to escape with the victory.
“Man, we played great for three quarters — problem is it’s a four-quarter game. I couldn’t be happier with our effort,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said. “On the defensive end we were just fantastic until the fourth quarter. We made a couple communication mistakes on switches that led to an open 3-pointer and a turnover that went to the other team for a layup. That 7-0 run there kind of turned the game around.”
The Vaqueros led by nine points early in the fourth quarter before the Lopes began to chip away at their lead. Grand Canyon’s Olivia Lane converted two timely buckets down low to help keep her team in front. Lane finished with a team-high 13 points, fellow post Evan Zars had 12, and Aaliyah Collins and Dominique Phillips both scored 11.
Tiffany McGarity led the Vaqueros with 14 points and five rebounds off the bench, and Deborah Ogayemi scored 11 points and grabbed five boards.
Lord was pleased with their defensive effort, which produced seven steals and six blocks, and the production the Vaqueros received from their bench unit, which combined to score 25 of UTRGV’s 52 points.
“I really thought the energy they brought us was fantastic. Tiffany McGarity was flying all over the floor, Halie Jones, I really thought Zariah Sango gave us some great minutes today as well,” Lord said. “They brought us energy, scored basically as much as our starters today, which we hadn’t had, so that was nice. We had a few starters do well and a couple that didn’t do well, so it’s all about consistency and we’ll get there. We’ll keep fighting and keep believing.”
The UTRGV women’s basketball team is back in action against Texas at Arlington (8-10, 2-4) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg. The Vaqueros defeated UTA 83-73 in their first matchup on Jan. 4 in Arlington.
