Women’s hoops chased history Thursday night when it hosted Stephen F. Austin University in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
UTRGV defeated SFA 62-54 for its first postseason win in program history and will advance to play Rice University in Houston Sunday.
Vaquera Guard Shawnte’ Goff had a huge night in a game that would have been her last in the event of a loss. She scored 30 points along with 12 rebounds and three steals, her fourth double-double this season.
Weslaco native Laura Van Tilburg also played a big piece in the win. She had career highs in blocks with four and rebounds with 12.
“Every day in practice, we stress playing as one collective unit and when we do that, we are unbeatable,” the 6-foot-3-inch forward said. “I think tonight we played as one unit. I was just trying to do what I needed to do to help our team win. … I’m glad that I got to help anchor our team.”
In the first quarter, UTRGV started and finished strong. The Vaqueras were outscored in 16 first quarters this season, they avoided that trend Thursday.
Goff had nine points and Van Tilburg’s two early blocks contributed to the 16-8 first frame.
SFA made a push but UTRGV ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 16-8.
The Ladyjack’s second quarter reversed the script. The visitors went on a 16-2 run, giving SFA a 24-20 lead.
Leading the way for the Ladyjacks was their go-to scorer Taylor Ross, who had 12 first-half points.
Going into halftime, the Vaqueras faced a 29-32 deficit.
UTRGV took the lead back less than five minutes into the second half. The lead changes and close play in the third quarter displayed how evenly matched the two teams were.
“We were only down three, so we’ve been down a lot more than that,” Goff said after the win. “We knew that the third quarter is our slump and we knew it was important for us to not have that third quarter slump.”
The Vaqueras outscored the Ladyjacks 12-6 in the third quarter. The road team made 50 percent of its shots in the first half, but was held to 25 percent shooting in the second half.
UTRGV led 41-38 moving into the most important quarter in program history. Defense and composure was key in the fourth.
UTRGV started the fourth hot. Goff hit a running layup, then found Nichele Hyman for an open three. The 5-0 run forced a timeout by visiting coach Mark Kellogg.
Goff took over in the fourth quarter. She had 14 second-half points, all coming in the final quarter.
Even with Goff’s outburst of points, it was an intense ride to the finish. With about four minutes to play, the game got a chippy, with hard fouls and physical play. Van Tilburg was called for a technical foul that forced Ross out of the game with a cut lip.
The following minute of play lasted about 10 minutes with stoppages.
After the dust cleared and technical fouls were assessed, SFA’s No. 3 Chanell Hayes was ejected, sending Goff to the line. She made three of four free throws, putting UTRGV ahead 13 and putting the win on ice.
Almost lost in the excitement was a milestone for Head Coach Larry Tidwell. He now sits alone as the all-time most winning coach in program history. He recorded in four seasons, two less than second place holder DeAnn Craft.
“It’s all about your players,” the veteran bench boss said. “As a coach, I haven’t scored any points, grabbed any rebounds, had assists or steals. If you ever think it’s not about your players, you’re not going to win any games.”
UTRGV will face Rice in the second round of the WBI. The Owls won their first round match 73-72 over Lamar University.
The teams haven’t met since 2012, when Rice beat legacy institution UT Pan American 75-54 in Houston.
