RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s basketball team had plenty of new pieces heading into the 2022-23 season and when those pieces started to fit together go things happened.
“We had such a young roster, as far as experience in the WAC, with nine new players,” UTRGV Head Coach Lane Lord said. “I thought we played better at the end of the season, which is really nice. Getting them the experience was big and getting four starters back next season will be nice too. The WAC is a unique league and going through it once will help next season, so I was really proud of the way we responded to finish the season.”
The Vaqueros got off to a good start as they won six of their first 10 games. UTRGV picked up good wins over McNeese, Northern Colorado, Corpus Christi, Houston Christian, and Boise State.
The level of consistency dipped when the Vaqueros reached Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play as they dropped seven of their first eight games. The Vaqueros did show glimpses of what they could be when they played well as they picked up a road win at UT Arlington and beat Utah Tech and Abilene Christian at home.
The consistency was a key piece for the Vaqueros throughout WAC play.
“We won some big games this year and some big road games as well,” Lord said. “I think the consistency was lacking at times, but we showed that we can play with anyone in the league. Hopefully that will carry over into next year. Being more consistent will help us with the experiences we had last year.”
UTRGV started to put it all together down the stretch of the regular season. After dropping a couple of closes games at Southern Utah (lost by seven) and at Utah Tech (lost by 3), the Vaqueros won three of their last four games with the loss coming in overtime.
Coach Lord always talks about playing their best basketball at the end of the season. It happened the year before when UTRGV defeated Stephen F. Austin and put a run together at the WAC Tournament and things started to click this season too.
“I think we were just more comfortable with each other with all the new starters,” Lord said. “I think that our confidence grew through that last stretch of the season. We started making more shots and when you make more shots, everything becomes more fun. We won three out of four at the end of the season and lost one in overtime at California Baptist, so we were playing good basketball. Seeing it all come together was fun.”
The offense ran through some of those new faces in Iyana Dorsey, Deborah Ogayemi, and Mele Kailahi as they were the team’s top three scorers.
Dorsey earned Second Team All-WAC honors after averaging 16.5 points per game while scoring in double-figures in 18 games, including a WAC best three games of 30 or more points. Ogayemi led the team in rebounding while leading the team with four double-doubles and Kailahi led the team in three-point shooting percentage while scoring in double-figures 15 times.
It took some time for everyone to figure out their roles and the Vaqueros had some fun once everyone did. That showed that the Vaqueros have the pieces to do some special things.
“I think our core was very talented,” Lord said. “We had good chemistry with the returners, and they really bonded together. We had some junior college transfers and some Division I transfer and a really talented freshman that was in the mix with Charlotte O’Keefe. They really learned how to grow together throughout the season and their chemistry from the summer until the end of the season is going to help us in the future.”
O’Keefe played in 28 games, while starting in 19 games. O’Keefe recorded three double-doubles while recording seven games of double-figure rebounds, including a 17-rebound performance against Utah Tech.
There are many ways to gauge what a successful season is. If you dive beyond the win-loss record and look at the good things that came out of the 2022-23 season, then there were plenty of successes to take away for UTRGV.
“I really do think this was a successful season,” Lord said. “I think our players really matured throughout the season, got more confident, and I think our coaches did a great job. I think it was a successful season. Did we win the league, no, but we did finish strong and that is what you try to do. We will build on that and have a good season coming up.”
There were plenty of good things to look back on throughout the 2022-23 season but when Coach Lord looks back at all of the good things collectively, that makes him look forward to 2023-24.
“Looking back at last season is what is making us excited about this coming season,” Lord said. “We have 10 coming back with four starters. We have a couple of nice new pieces. I think we learned from the ups and downs that we had and finished strong. We want to carry that into this summer’s practices and then into the fall. The time that this group has had together and the time we are going to spend together this summer is going to allow us to take off. We will have more experience coming back than anyone in the league. In this league, you have to have juniors and seniors and experience. We have both.”
The Vaqueros will use the 2022-23 season to build towards what could be a great 2023-24 season. The Vaqueros will soon be back on the court and gearing up to make a special run in the WAC.
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