O’Keefe double-doubles in UTRGV comeback vs. Lions
The UTRGV Women’s Basketball team overcame a 1st half deficit to set up a thrilling 69-68 victory against the East Texas A&M Lions Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Vaqueros junior forward Charlotte O’Keefe tallied a double-double on a career-high 19 points with 18 rebounds. Her clutch 4th quarter layup gave the Vaqueros the lead and decided the outcome.
O’Keefe told reporters the team was resilient not just in this game, but all season. In their previous game last Saturday, they overcame a 17 point deficit on the road against New Orleans to win 64-62.
“We’ve shown [resilience] a lot of times this season and tonight was no different,” she said. “I just want to win. I don’t particularly care how many points I score.”
Senior guard Tierra Trotter (13 points, 3-6 3-pointers), who provided the second-half momentum swing with a big steal, said she was “proud” of the team following their comeback victory.
“I’m really proud of the team and how we played tonight,” Trotter said. “I’m [also] really proud of myself for stepping up.”
UTRGV Women’s Basketball head coach Lane Lord said he thought it was a great game, and that this was to be expected of games in the Southland Conference.
“They really came in and played well,” Lord said. “We made just one more play than they did.”
The Vaqueros got ahead to a quick lead on a 3-point play by graduate Kade Hackerott, and with both teams trading blows, the Vaqueros found themselves holding on to a 6-5 lead.
This didn’t last, as missed opportunities by UTRGV and lethal shooting by East Texas A&M saw the Lions end the first quarter ahead 24-16. They shot 4-5 from behind the arc in the first quarter.
The Lions picked up where they left off, starting the second quarter on a 5-0 run. The Vaqueros began to find their rhythm on offense, cutting the lead to 39-30 at the half.
Trotter provided the spark UTRGV needed to start the comeback, opening the scoring by hitting a three on the wing. She then stole the ball on a Lions possession, laying the ball up herself to make it a two-possession game at 39-35.
Following a foul on Lions guard Jordyn Newsome, Trotter sank both of her free throws to tie the game at 39. Both teams continued to trade blows, finding themselves tied at 49. A Lions run put them up 56-52 at the end of the third quarter.
The Vaqueros began the fourth quarter by going on a 15-6 run, O’Keefe’s back to back threes giving UTRGV a 61-58 lead. The Lions clawed back to bring it to a one-possession game.
Down 68-67 with 1:54 remaining, O’Keefe hit a layup to give the Vaqueros a 69-68 lead. The UTRGV defense forced a bad shot with 0.6 remaining to ice the game and finish the comeback.
The Vaqueros will go on the road to take on the rival A&M Corpus Islanders at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
