EDINBURG — Students from elementaries and junior highs across the Rio Grande Valley filled the UTRGV Fieldhouse for UTRGV women’s basketball’s South Texas Showdown against rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday afternoon.
The Vaqueros treated the 2,786 raucous fans who packed the house for “School Day” to a 68-65 overtime thriller, spearheaded by a career-high 30-point performance from sophomore guard Iyana “Yaya” Dorsey.
After the victory, a group of students in the crowd who made makeshift Dorsey jerseys with the No. 2 written in marker on Vaqueros shirts waved them like flags as the UTRGV alma mater played over the Fieldhouse speakers.
“I was a little frustrated at the beginning of the game, but I looked to the crowd and you see that, that’s the reason you do it,” Dorsey said. “I kind of looked to that and saw it as a great opportunity. Coach (Lane) Lord just told me, ‘We might need you to take over’, and that’s what happened.”
The Vaqueros came out red-hot against the Islanders. UTRGV raced out to a 21-9 lead after one and a 36-24 lead at the break. Sophomore forward Deborah Ogayemi went to work down low with 12 points and 10 rebounds in her first game back from injury.
TAMU-CC made its run during the second half, however, erasing the Vaqueros’ lead. The Islanders pulled ahead 55-50 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter before free throws from Halie Jones and a 3-pointer from Mele Kailahi tied the game at 55.
Dorsey hit two free throws to tie the game again at 57 to end regulation, then scored nine of the Vaqueros’ 11 points in overtime to secure the victory. She finished with 30 points, four made 3-pointers and drew 13 fouls, resulting in 14-of-17 shooting from the free throw line.
“Corpus is a good team — very solid, physical, strong,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said. “We got off to a great start. … They came out the second half and really kicked our butts, to tell you the truth. We were able to fight back and overcame a lot of adversity today. We showed a lot of mental toughness. Yaya is such a good player. She gets fouled, she makes free throws. Another career-high 30 points, not bad, 14-of-17 from the line — just really kept us in it all game long.”
Kailahi finished with 15 points and three made 3s. Jones scored six and had three steals, and freshman post Charlotte O’Keefe had two points, seven rebounds and some key defensive stops down the stretch to help the Vaqueros regain momentum.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Violeta Verano led the Islanders with 14 points.
Next for the Vaqueros is a non-conference road game against Houston Christian (3-2) at 5 p.m. Thursday in Houston.
