On Nov. 15, the Women’s Basketball Team won a close game against Northern Colorado with a score of 61-55 in their first home game of the season.
The Vaqueras game was a nailbiter with the lead changing six times and the game tied seven times.
The team scored 12 out of the 15 free throws, shooting at an 80% accuracy, and the bench contributed 53 points out of the 61 total points, helping put the score over the top.
Sophomore guard Iyana Dorsey said she has stress taken off her because she now has players who make the plays needed to win.
“I’m a player that has a lot of growing to do, I have a lot of learning to do, coming from my background, I forced a lot, that’s just how I play. I forced a lot because I didn’t have the players that could. Today was finally a game where I was able to relax and not stress about having to force because we have those players,” said Dorsey.
Dorsey put up 27 points in the 31 minutes she played.
Game impacting players also include junior guard Tiffany McGarity, who in the 17 minutes played, put up six points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Freshman forward Charlotte O’Keefe put up four points, two assists, and one steal in the 26 minutes she played.
Head Coach Lane Lord said he was proud of the fight the Vaqueras displayed last Tuesday.
“It’s what you call a grinder. We really struggled to score the basketball, with very few shots made in the first half. Yaya (Dorsey) kinda saved us in the first half and got us going, but we continued to fight and play great defense all night long. It was a great team win and it was kinda ugly at times but I was proud of the effort and fight and it was a great win at home,” Lord said.
The team made seven out of 10 possible shots, shooting at a 70% accuracy in the fourth quarter, four out of seven baskets coming from behind the three point line.
Two players scored double digits, including junior guard Halie Jones who contributed 16 points, two blocks, and three rebounds.
Jones said she gained confidence after hitting free throws and after that, she made four out of seven 3-point plays.
“I am the person who does the dirty work for the team but I think after I had those free throws to end the third I finally saw it go through the hole and that’s when my confidence started to grow I wasn’t thinking I was just shooting and playing basketball,” said Jones.
The UTRGV Women’s Basketball Team will hit the court and take on Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Tuesday at 12 p.m., at the UTRGV fieldhouse.
For more information on the women’s basketball team, visit goutrgv.com.
