Off and running

UTRGV women’s basketball swept its opening two games of WAC action this weekend. The Vaqueras completed a perfect seven-game homestand Saturday with a 74-39 win over University of Missouri-Kansas City. On Thursday, they overpowered Chicago State University 71-43.

They not only got off to a perfect conference start, they are riding their longest winning streak in program history, at seven games.

Head Coach Larry Tidwell’s team is off to another strong start with a 12-6 overall record. It marks the best 18-game start in program history, narrowly edging out last year’s 11-7 record.

After Saturday’s game, Tidwell was focused on the remainder of the season when asked about the streak they’re on. 

“You’re pleased when you win seven, but we got a lot more fish to fry,” Tidwell said.

The first quarter was tight in Saturday’s game against the Kangaroos. UTRGV led by two, but there weren’t many close moments after that.

The second quarter saw UTRGV create separation. Offense was strong, but defense set the tone forcing turnovers, blocking shots and holding UMKC’s offense to only two points.

Idil Türk had the UTRGV Pep Band chanting her name with four three-pointers in the second quarter. She finished with a career-high five three-pointers and a career-high 20 points.

Türk raised her average to 7.7 points per game and a .337 shooting percentage from long range. Tidwell praised his sophomore guard who came off the bench to provide the shooting touch. 

“When Türk’s open and she’s hitting shots, she’s automatic,” the fourth-year head coach said. “That’s like shooting a layup for a lot of people. She’s got her legs back and she’s doing great.”

Mary Savoy’s second quarter included a block frenzy; she had four in the quarter alone. She filled the stat sheet with 16 points and three steals as well.

“Our defense played a huge part in how we got so far apart from them,” Savoy said. “Everybody wanted to work super hard considering the fact we started off slow Thursday. We just wanted to really show people we could actually do this right off the bat, not wait until the second half to get it going.”

UTRGV took a 36-15 lead into the break and continued to expand on it. The Vaqueras outscored the Roos 38-24 in the second half, preventing the visitors from posing a threat.

In Thursday’s conference opener, UTRGV defeated Chicago State 71-43. Despite a lopsided final score, the Vaqueras had early difficulties with their guests. In the first half, UTRGV only shot 35.7 percent from the field.

Shawnte’ Goff scored 15 of her team’s 26 points, and only three players scored in the first two quarters.

Halftime adjustments, as well as an earful from Tidwell, got the squad back on track.

“We got chewed out a little by our coaches and it kind of woke us up,” said Goff, reigning WAC Player of the Year. “We started off real sluggish. We just realize this is our home court; we have to protect our home floor.”

UTRGV outscored the Cougars 45-14 in the second half. Hildur Kjartansdottir recorded a double-double, tying her career high with 16 rebounds and scoring 11 points.

Savoy added 10 points and was only three rebounds short of a double-double.

Freshman guard Megan Johnson had six points, all in the second half.

UTRGV’s next three WAC games will be on the road. They return to the Fieldhouse Jan. 26 to host Utah Valley University and Seattle University two days later.