On Valentine’s, Vaqueros lose narrowly in heartbreaker

EDINBURG — The Vaqueros (16-10, 3-4) had their six-game winning streak snapped by Stephen F. Austin University (18-8, 12-5) here in a game that went down to the wire Saturday.

The Lady Jacks edged by UTRGV, 72-70, in a Southland Conference matchup that was close the entirety of the game.

UTRGV was well-balanced on both ends of the ball as they shot 44% on the night, and kept the Lady Jacks from getting hot from the three-point line with their shooting held at 37%. Stephen F. Austin is one of the top teams in the conference for their three-point shooting.

The home squad had four players in double-digits for scoring as Jalayah Ingram had herself a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. In addition, Gianna Angiolet helped her team gain the lead a few times during the game as she cashed in 5 three-pointers with 17 points on the night.

Head Coach Lane Lord said that one of the biggest problems for his team were the turnovers, in which UTRGV had 22 of them.

“They did a good job attacking,” Lord said. “But the problem for us tonight was the 22 turnovers. They scored 33 points off those 22 turnovers. So that was the difference in the game for sure.”

The head coach said that limiting turnovers is crucial as the season nears its end.

“We got two more road games, three more at home. So, definitely got to do a better job taking care of our home court,” he said. “You know, you’re fighting for those top two spots. Today, really, really hurt us a little bit. But we got to go play the best team in the league, and we got to take care of the basketball and see if we can pull one out.”

That best team Lord was referring to is McNeese State (22-4, 16-1). UTRGV will travel to their house this Thursday.