HOUSTON – The HCU women's basketball team wraps up its four-game stint at home inside Sharp Gym on Saturday Saturday afternoon with a 1:00 p.m. Southland Conference matchup against UT Rio Grande Valley, marking the first meeting between the programs this season.
HCU (5–12, 3–7 SLC) enters the contest looking to bounce back from a 74-65 loss to UIW on Thursday. Freshman guard
Sidney Carr scored a career-high 11 points in the loss while
Tove Caesar led the Huskies with 12 and
Madison Hurta added a season-high 11 points. All five of HCU's starters scored at least eight points with
Jordan Jackson finishing with eight points and a career-best 12 rebounds.
Hurta, a sophomore transfer from East Texas Baptist, has enjoyed a strong recent run of play for the Huskies. She is averaging 7.8 ppg over her last four games while seeing increased minutes after scoring just 1.8 ppg over her first 12 games as a Husky.
UTRGV (10–9, 7–3 SLC) comes in as one of the conference's top rebounding teams led by senior Charlotte O'Keefe, who pulls down 13.2 rebounds per game after ranking third nationally last season with 12.5 rpg. The forward is currently averaging a double-double with 10.5 ppg. Jalayah Ingram leads the Vaqueros with 16.9 ppg and has reached the free throw line 134 times this season, the sixth-highest total in the nation. As a team, UTRGV shoots 72.8% at the line and holds a +4.5 rebounding margin.
The Huskies and Vaqueros waste no time in getting to their rematch in Edinburg, Texas, facing off on Thursday, Jan. 29. HCU will then head over to Corpus Christi, Texas to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Jan. 31.
