EDINBURG, Tx. — The Houston Christian women's basketball team dropped a Southland Conference road matchup Thursday night, falling 63–41 to the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

HCU (5–14, 3–9 SLC) trailed 12–8 after the first quarter before tightening the margin in the second. A three from Madison Hurta and a late triple by Tove Caesar helped the Huskies close the gap to 25–22, and two free throws from Caesar made it a four-point game at halftime, 25–19.

The Huskies briefly cut the deficit to one early in the third quarter when Jo Oly finished inside to make it 25–24, but UTRGV answered with a sustained run. The Vaqueros shot 9-of-10 in the third period and outscored HCU 25–9 in the quarter to build separation heading into the fourth.

Houston Christian recorded paint baskets from Kamryn McLaurin and Jordan Jackson in the final period, while Martyna Czescik added two late free throws and Dasia Hyams converted a fastbreak layup in the closing minute to account for the final margin.

Caesar led the Huskies with nine points, including two three-pointers and three made free throws. Madison Hurta added seven points with a three, and McLaurin finished with six points. Grace Booth knocked down a three-pointer and totaled five points off the bench.

UTRGV (12–9, 9–3 SLC) was led by Charlotte O'Keefe with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Jalayah Ingram added 18 points. The Vaqueros shot 49% from the floor and held a 38–25 rebounding advantage.
Houston Christian shot 28.6% overall and 4-of-30 from three-point range, with 16 bench points in the contest.

The Huskies continue conference play Saturday on the road against the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders at 1 p.m.