Vaqueras secure place in WAC Tournament

_{Taking an elbow to the face, sophomore guard Iyana Dorsey stays composed as she fights for the ball in a closely contested game tonight against the Tarleton State University Texans in the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Ramiro Castro Jr./THE RIDER}

The UTRGV Women’s Basketball Team brought in a win of 66-58 against Tarleton State University tonight in the UTRGV Fieldhouse, securing a spot in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Vaqueras’ record now stands at 10-16 overall and 4-11 in conference.

In the first quarter, UTRGV took a slight lead, but the Texans jumped ahead 26-22 in the second quarter.

The Vaqueras regained their momentum in the last half, finishing off the game with an 18-point lead and claiming their spot in the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.

Sophomore guard Iyana “Yaya” Dorsey led her team with 27 points against her old school, Tarleton, putting her seven points away from achieving 1,000 points in her career.

Asked what it was like facing her old team, Dorsey replied there was love and appreciation for her old school.

“It was definitely a battle,” she said. “I knew we had to win. Just because I came from there, I don’t like losing, especially to people who want to win against you. I feel the same competition. So I just stepped up and got us to where we needed to be so the team could contribute to get the win.”

Head coach Lane Lord said they played differently between halves, struggling to score in the first half and taking back the lead in the second half.

“Our offense was pretty anemic,” Lord said. “Real proud of our effort. … I feel like we got a great shooting team. Sometimes we just struggle to score. KaCee [Kyle] had a pretty big jumper to get us going, Yaya went crazy. It was the whole team making plays.”

Following Dorsey was sophomore forward Deborah Ogayemi with nine points, seven rebounds and one assist.

Ogayemi said she and her teammates have trust in each other, and they knew they were playing against Dorsey’s old school and had her back.

“It was kind of hard at the start,” she said. “I knew I had to move and create, and they knew if you create, we create.”

Dorsey added Ogayemi was one of the biggest helpers with creating opportunities.

“In the first half, I was struggling and she was like, ‘Hey, this team, we got your back,’” Dorsey said. “She stepped it up and gave them quick buckets that we needed and got us going.”

Freshman forward Charlotte O’Keefe put up eight points, 11 rebounds and two assists during tonight’s game.

Asked about O’Keefe, Lord replied that they try to work inside-out as shown by them getting “32 points in the paint.”

“I think Charlotte and Deb are a good combo down there,” Lord said. “I thought they worked well together.”

Lord said they will be ready to face off against Sam Houston State University after they lost against them 70-65 Jan. 28.

“We didn’t have Yaya that game. … Charlotte wasn’t there, either,” he said. “We were missing two starters. We played them really tough.”

Texans junior center Nyajah Mitchels led Tarleton with 18 points and five rebounds.

The Vaqueras will play their last home game against the Sam Houston State University Bearkats at 4 p.m. Saturday in the UTRGV Fieldhouse.