Women’s Basketball Falls to UT Arlington at Bert Ogden Arena

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – In the first-ever standalone women’s basketball game at Bert Ogden Arena, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros fell to the UT Arlington Mavericks 71-65 on Thursday.

sophomore Iyana Dorsey led the Vaqueros (7-10, 1-5 WAC) with 24 points and three assists. sophomore Deborah Ogayemi posted her third double-double with 11 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and a career-high tying three steals. Junior Zariah Sango scored a career-high 11 points with six rebounds, two assists and a career-high six blocks. Junior Mele Kailahi scored 10 points with five rebounds, four assists and one steal. sophomore coffee kyle finished with nine points.

Starr Jacobs led the Mavericks (9-10, 3-4 WAC) with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block. De’Sha Benjamin scored 17 points with three assists. Shyia Smith scored 10 points with five rebounds.

The Mavericks jumped out to a 7-2 lead before a Dorsey 3-pointer and a Sango layup tied the game. The Mavericks responded with a 16-8 run to go up 23-15 in the final minute of the first quarter.

The Vaqueros scored the next eight points, tying the game on an Ogayemi 3-point play early in the second quarter.

The Vaqueros tied the game again at 25 on a Kyle layup and 28 on a Dorsey 3-point play before a 9-0 Mavericks run made the score 37-28 in the final minute of the quarter.

The Mavericks pushed their lead to 39-30 at the start of the third quarter before a Sango 3-point play sparked a 7-0 run to bring the Vaqueros within two.

The Vaqueros pulled within one at 41-40 on a Kailahi 3-pointer, 43-42 on an Ogayemi layup, and 45-44 on a Dorsey layup.

The Mavericks, however, hit seven of their next 12 shots to fuel an 18-9 run to go up 63-53 and push the game out of reach.

UTRGV visits Abilene Christian on Saturday at 1 pm Fans can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.

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