EDINBURG, Texas – Tarleton faced a must-win scenario on Wednesday night in order to keep their WAC Tournament hopes alive, but a 66-58 loss at UTRGV officially eliminated the Texans from conference tournament contention.
The Texans (7-20, 1-15 WAC) lost their 11th straight game and finished their road campaign 1-12 on the year. The Vaqueros (10-16, 4-11 WAC) snapped a two-game slide and clinched a WAC Tournament berth with the win.
After playing just a single minute in Tarleton's last game,
Nyajah Mitchels responded with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
Teresa Da Silva tallied 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, playing the entirety of the game.
Mayra Caicedo dished eight assists, adding four points and three rebounds.
Both teams shot similar percentages across the board, and Tarleton had just seven turnovers compared to UTRGV's 13. The Vaqueros outrebounded the Texans 42-30 and used a 12-0 fourth quarter run to take the win.
Like the first matchup on Jan. 11, a Tarleton 70-60 win, this one was close throughout too. UTRGV jumped ahead 6-0 and 10-3 to start, but Tarleton closed the first quarter well to trail by just three entering the second, 14-11.
Down 20-14 midway through the second quarter, the Texans went on a 9-0 run to jump ahead by three for their first lead of the game. They went into the locker room up by four at the break, 26-22.
UTRGV started the third quarter strong to take the lead back, then it was a back-and-forth affair the remainder of the frame, with the Vaqueros leading 45-42 entering the fourth.
Over the first 4:30 in the final frame, UTRGV went on a 12-0 run to suddenly take a 15-point lead, their largest of the game. Tarleton made it six straight in response to try and stay in it, but the deficit was too large with only a few minutes left.
Iyana Dorsey was the lone Vaquero to score 10+ points, finishing with 27 points (10-11 FT) and five rebounds. Charlotte O'Keefe pulled down 11 rebounds, adding eight points and two blocks.
Just two games remain for the Texans in 2022-23, both at Wisdom Gym. Next up for Tarleton is Southern Utah on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
