Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team rallied from down 10 over the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime and beat the Seattle U Redhawks 85-81 on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Graduate student Desirea Buerge led the Vaqueros (8-9, 3-1 WAC) with a career-high 27 points and seven rebounds. Junior Zhane Templeton scored a career-high-tying 17 points while hitting a career-high-tying five three-pointers and grabbing a career-high six rebounds with two steals. Junior Trelynn Tyler scored 13 points with a career-high nine assists and a career-high-tying six steals. Junior Amara Graham scored 12 points with four assists.Â
McKenzi Williams led the Redhawks (7-10, 1-3 WAC) with 20 points and four assists. Kamira Sanders scored 16 points with five assists. Courtney Murphy finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Vaqueros trailed 59-49 when Buerge came up with a jumper, a layup and two free throws and Tyler drilled a deep three to bring the Vaqueros within one. The Vaqueros still trailed 63-60 with the shot clock off. Great passing allowed Templeton to get open at the top of the key, leading to a game-tying three with 4.4 seconds left.
Buerge hit a jumper and Templeton nailed a three to put the Vaqueros up 70-65 a minute and a half into overtime. The Redhawks pulled within 71-70, but two Graham free throws and a Templeton free throw put the Vaqueros up 74-70. The Redhawks got as close as two twice more, including 83-81, but Tyler followed with a pair of free throws with 6.5 seconds left to put the game on ice.
The first half was tight throughout, was the largest lead coming when the Vaqueros went up 4-0 on a Graham layup and a Tyler jumper. The Redhawks scored the next six points and the game stayed within one possession from there.
Templeton hit a pair of threes to tie the game at 11 and 14. Buerge gave the Vaqueros an 18-16 lead late in the first quarter.
The Vaqueros went down 21-18 early in the second before a Buerge jumper and a Graham three made the score 23-21. The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 25-22 on a Tyler jumper and led again at 27-26 on a pair of Graham free throws.
The Redhawks scored the final four points of the second and the first seven points of the third to go up 37-27.
The Vaqueros still trailed by 10 at 46-36 with two minutes left in the quarter. That’s when a layup by senior Megan Johnson sparked a 10-0 run, capped by a Buerge jumper, to tie the game in the opening minute of the fourth.
The Redhawks, however, responded with a 12-2 run, fueled in part by a pair of Murphy threes, to go up 10 again.
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Utah Valley at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Current UTRGV students get free general admission with a valid UTRGV student ID. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. Fans purchasing their tickets online prior to game day can save up to $2 per ticket. The party starts at Vaquero Village at 5:30.
 Vaqueros women's basketball team rallied from down 10 over the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime and beat the Seattle U Redhawks 85-81 on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.){kind=link}