Junior guard Iyana Dorsey dribbles past Oral Roberts University junior guard Meghan Weinrich during today’s game in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. Dorsey scored a total of 27 points. Aura Velasquez/THE RIDER
The Vaqueros are now 0-5 after falling 72-63 to Oral Roberts University during today’s Educator Appreciation Game in the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
The UTRGV Women’s Basketball Team has yet to play any conference games.
Oral Roberts University’s new record is now 3-3 overall.
The first quarter started even with the Vaqueros quickly taking a lead over the Golden Eagles.
During the second quarter, Oral Roberts narrowed the gap and stayed on the Vaqueros’ heels until the Golden Eagles ended the quarter with a one-point lead of 28-27.
In the third quarter, Oral Roberts widened the gap. The Vaqueros tried to close it, but in the end, the Golden Eagles took the quarter 54-40.
The gap widened further during the final quarter with the Golden Eagles almost reaching a 20-point lead. The Vaqueros gave a strong push at the end and scored 23 additional points. However, it was not enough.
Throughout the game, especially the second half, a sense of dissatisfaction overcame fans. Attendees appeared to be upset at the referees for not calling fouls on Oral Roberts University.
UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said the start and finish of the game were great.
“The two middle quarters are what got us,” Lord said. “… I’m really proud of the way we finished this game. You get down 15 or 16, it can go one of two ways. We actually had a chance to win the game with three minutes to go, coming all the way back. [It] shows us we have a lot of courage and a lot of heart.”
Junior guard Iyana Dorsey led UTRGV with 27 points, not missing any of her 13 free throws and drawing 10 fouls.
Asked about his thoughts during the fourth quarter as he received a technical foul, Lord replied sometimes coaches think a call should go one way but it doesn’t.
“Sometimes, as a coach, you think a call should go your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” he said. “I was probably wrong, but I felt like I was right. … You should never get a technical. The refs are great. They don’t lose or win the game for you.”
Senior guard Mele Kailahi put up 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Dorsey said she tried to help the team as much as she could despite her injury and pain.
“I was kind of just thinking, ‘You’re not a quitter,’” she said. “As much as I was hurting, especially before we even played, I had already set my mind that I didn’t want to play just because of the pain I was in.”
Dorsey said the team was going to work on ending the games.
“We do really good in the beginning then we have a slump,” she said. “We got to be able to pick it back up. … I think everybody kind of gets in our own heads. A lot of us are dealing with injuries. Some of us as soon as we start feeling the pain, that’s what our mind goes to instead of the game. … A lot of it has to do with missing shots. When we miss shots, we get down on ourselves. We lose confidence. … Everything kind of ties into it. It’s just something that we know we can get out of. We just have to force it.”
The Vaqueros next game will be away and their first Western Athletic Conference match of the season against Grand Canyon University on Wednesday.
