Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team fell to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 59-54 as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The Vaqueros (5-4) drop the attendance point 1,002-to-872 and now trail the Islanders (6-3) 19-14 in the showdown standings.
Junior Trelynn Tyler led the Vaqueros with 19 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and a career-high two blocks for her first double-double. Junior Amara Graham scored 14 points with three assists.
Emma Young led the Islanders with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Dalesia Booth scored 13 points with six rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Tiara Matthews scored 10 points with six rebounds.
The Islanders built an 8-0 lead over the first seven minutes before back-to-back three-pointers by junior Megan Johnson and freshman Saint Joseph alum Valeria Tapia put the Vaqueros on the board.
The Islanders pushed their lead back to eight at 18-10 early in the second quarter. Tyler bookended a 7-4 run with layups as the Vaqueros closed the half within 22-17.
The Islanders extended their lead to 26-19 early in the third. That’s when Tyler and junior Zhane Templeton hit back-to-back threes to make it a one-point game.
The Vaqueros tied the game for the first time at 33 on a Tyler layup late in the third.
The Vaqueros trailed 40-37 early in the fourth when Graham hit a three and a layup to give the Vaqueros their first lead. Tyler followed with a pair of free throws to make the score 44-40.
The Vaqueros still led at 46-42 on a Graham layup with 6:36 remaining, but the Islanders scored the next 10 points to take the lead for good.
UTRGV opens up a four-game road swing on Wednesday at 9 p.m. at USC.
The next events of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, are on Jan. 29 when the men’s and women’s tennis teams visit Corpus Christi. The men play at 12 with the women following at 3.
