The Vaqueras made the New Mexico State University Aggies fight to the end, but came up short 79-77 tonight in the Fieldhouse.
Over 730 attendees cheered the Vaqueras on as they lost in overtime against the Aggies. The home side ended the game with an overall record of 11-11 and 1-6 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Vaquera center Laura Van Tilburg scored an impressive career-high 23 points and eight rebounds. On the visiting side, forward Gia Pack did not disappoint as she came in with a 14.9 points-per-game average to score a dashing 29 points and nine rebounds while playing for 42 minutes.
UTRGV forward Megan Johnson opened the night by scoring from the free-throw line. Aggie guard Tonishia Childress retaliated swiftly with a 3-pointer. The end of the first quarter saw both teams in a 17-17 tie. Vaquera forward Quynne Huggins gave her team the lead early in the second quarter with a screaming 3-pointer. However, this was not enough to prevent the team from being down 30-27 by the end of the second quarter.
The home side started the third quarter on third gear as Van Tilburg forced her way into two back-to-back layups. The fourth quarter gave way to an array of impressive plays as Valeria Tapia scored a field goal to keep
UTRGV up 67-64 with 20 seconds on the clock. New Mexico State guard Zaire Williams smashed the home team’s hopes of a regulation victory by tying with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game.
The overtime began dramatically as Pack scored two treys for the Aggies. The game soon turned into a series of back-and-forth runs as the teams battled for victory. Even after a field goal by Van Tilburg in the last 10 seconds, the home team fell in the end after an unforgiving Williams scored two free throws during the last three seconds.
After the game, Van Tilburg said the key to the Vaqueras winning any future games is to focus on finishing their plays.
“We just need to ultimately finish,” she said. “We need to do everything that we have control over to win these games.”
Follow the Vaqueras as they visit Grand Canyon University at 8 p.m. Thursday in Phoenix.
