RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team rallied back from a late 11-point deficit to kick off the Bert Ogden Arena Series, presented by the City of Edinburg, with a 58-51 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Wednesday as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union.
The Vaqueros (2-1) now lead the Islanders (0-4) 3-0 in the showdown standings.
The Vaqueros trailed 38-27 with 2:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Tiffany McGarity answered by hitting three three-pointers, a jumper, a layup and a free throw to power a 24-7 run to give the Vaqueros a 51-45 lead with 4:24 remaining in the fourth.
McGarity led the Vaqueros with a career-high 25 points while going a career-best 9-for-13, including a career-best 6-for-7 from behind the arc, with four rebounds. The six three-pointers are tied for the seventh-highest single-game total in program history. Junior Jordan Lewis scored 13 points with five rebounds and four steals.
Alecia Westbrook led the Islanders with 16 points and nine rebounds. Giana Wright scored 12 points with four rebounds. Paige Allen finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals.
The Islanders led 9-3 midway through the first quarter when a Lewis three and a pair of McGarity threes helped the Vaqueros to go on an 11-2 run to take a 14-11 lead.
The Vaqueros still led at 18-17 on a jumper by freshman Arianna Sturdivant midway through the second quarter, but the Islanders scored six of the next nine points to take a 23-21 halftime lead.
The Islanders scored the first six points of the third quarter before a McGarity three put the Vaqueros back on the board.
The Vaqueros are back in action on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Texas Southern.
The next event of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is at 7 p.m. when the men’s basketball team hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the Bert Ogden Arena Series, presented by the City of Edinburg.
