Ladyjacks Fall to Vaqueros

Thursday, February 8

Edinburg, TX

6:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

15-8,9-3WAC

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

5-16,4-8WAC

SFA

UTRGV

2/8/2024 9:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Peter Trainor, Student Assistant for Strategic Communications

EDINBURG, Texas. - The Stephen F. Austin women's basketball team (15-8, 9-3) fell 62-49 on the road to the UTRGV Vaqueros (5-16, 4-8) to finish off a stretch of games where they played four out of their last five games away from home.

The Ladyjacks came into this midweek match-up against the Vaqueros looking to push their win streak to three and claim their 10th conference win of the season. The Vaqueros, however, wanting to end their home stand on a high note came out firing in this one as they opened up the first five minutes of the game with a 9-1 scoring run to stake themselves to a commanding lead early. However, Kyla Deck would take matters into her own hands halfway through the first as she would knock down a jumper off a pass from Destini Lombard, and shortly after drain a three-pointer to score five straight points for SFA and close the UTRGV lead down to 10-6 with a little over three minutes left in the first. The Vaqueros, however, had an answer for Deck as they would go on a 5-0 scoring run of their own to push their lead to nine points at 15-9 with just under three minutes left in the first. The final minutes saw the teams exchange free-throws as Mele Finau drained a pair, while Kurstyn Harden tacked on another to outscore the one free-throw by Kade Hackerott for UTRGV and bring the 'Jacks to within seven at 16-9. Avery VanSickle would end the first quarter with a bang for the Ladyjacks as she would drain a triple off an assist from Kyla Deck with three seconds left and SFA found themselves only trailing by four at 16-12 heading into the second.

The Vaqueros would come out firing on all cylinders for a second straight quarter as they drained a pair of three-pointers to spark an 8-0 scoring run to begin the second and expand their lead to 14 points at 26-12. However, the Ladyjacks would once again claw their way back into the game as they would go on a 9-2 scoring run thanks to a triple from Mele Finau, and points from Zoe Nelson and Kurstyn Harden to close the Vaqueros lead to five points at 26-21. However, just as SFA seemed to be back in the game, the Vaqueros once again launched out to another double-digit lead as they would go on another 7-0 scoring run with just under two minutes left to regain their double-digit lead at 33-21. Avery VanSickle would drain her second triple of the game to cut the UTRGV lead down to nine at 33-24. However, the Vaqueros would be the ones to get final say in scoring for this quarter as Kade Hackerott would knock down a jumper for the Vaqueros with just over a minute left to send both teams into the locker rooms with UTRGV holding a 35-24 lead.

The Ladyjacks looking to mount a second half comeback wasted no time getting the scoring started in the third as Tyler McCliment-Call splashed a triple 30 seconds into the second half to bring SFA to within eight at 35-27. Kurstyn Harden followed in McCliment-Call's lead as she would take matters into her own hands and rattle off an astounding nine straight points for SFA to keep SFA close as the 'Jacks found themselves only trailing 38-36 halfway through the third quarter. However, the Vaqueros would put an end to SFA's scoring spree in the third as they would go on a 5-0 scoring run to keep their lead at multiple possessions at 43-36. However, the Kurstyn Harden train continued to chug along deep into the third as she would rattle off five more points for SFA to bring her point total for the quarter up to 14 and bring SFA to within a single possession at 43-41 with just under three minutes left. The Vaqueros would once again deny SFA of tying the game as they would end the quarter on a 3-0 scoring run and held a 46-41 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Kade Hackerott would go on a scoring spree of her own early in the fourth as she would drop four straight points for UTRGV to open up scoring in the fourth and extend the Vaqueros lead to nine at 50-41 less than a minute into the fourth. Kurstyn Harden's remarkable game would continue in the fourth as she would drain a free-throw to score her 15th consecutive point to hit the 20-point mark for the Ladyjacks and bring them that much closer at 50-42. Once again, however, the Vaqueros would deny SFA of any opportunity of rally as they would go on a 6-0 scoring run to regain their double-digit point lead at 56-42 with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth. Avery VanSickle would look to lead a late comeback for SFA as she would drain her third triple of the game, which Destini Lombard followed with a layup of her own to close the gap to 56-47 with two and a half minutes left in the game. However, the Vaqueros would not relinquish this lead as they would score six consecutive points to all but ice a win. Destini Lombard would close out scoring for this one as she would bank home a layup with 15 seconds remaining but the Vaqueros would still walk away with a 62-49 home win,

Kurstyn Harden was an enforcer on offense for SFA tonight as she dropped her second consecutive 20-point game for the Ladyjacks as she led the team with 20 points, thanks to scoring 15-consecutive points for the 'Jacks, and securing her fifth double-double of the season as she pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to accommodate her 20 points. Avery VanSickle provided a nice compliment to Harden's low post scoring as she drained a team-high three triples tonight, while Kyla Deck and Tyler McCliment-Call each made a three-pointer of their own. Zoe Nelson continues to be a rebounding machine as she pulled down another nine rebounds tonight against the Vaqueros while leading the team by dishing out seven assists. Destini Lombard led the team with a pair of steals defensively while Zoe Nelson, Kyla Deck, and Tyler McCliment-Call each blocked a shot for the 'Jacks.

The Ladyjacks drained six three-pointers today marking the sixth time in their last seven games they have made five or more triples in a game, while shooting 72% from the foul line marking their eighth straight game they have a free-throw percentage over 70%. The Ladyjack defense continues to force turnovers as they recorded six steals and four blocks tonight to record their seventh consecutive game they have forced double-digit turnovers defensively. The 'Jacks recorded double-digit offensive rebounds for the third time in their last four games as they finished tonight with 14 offensive rebounds, which was three more than Vaqueros.

The Ladyjacks will look to put this loss behind them quickly as they will return home to open up a critical four-game home stand starting on Saturday, February 10th when they host the UTA Mavericks at the Sawmill looking to avenge a loss to the Mavericks earlier this season with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CST.