The Wildcats traveled to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Wednesday night and beat the Vaqueros 59-45.

Hot off winning the Florida International Tournament over Thanksgiving, the Wildcats looked to extend their winning streak to four games. 

A strong defense helped the team triumph over UTRGV, forcing 25 turnovers, 13 of which were steals. 

This defense has maintained its intensity throughout the winning streak, according to Head Coach Julie Goodenough. 

“Defensively, really good team defense. We forced a lot of turnovers between the two teams that we played,” she said. 

Strong defenses become much more effective when they are turned into efficient offenses. In Wednesday’s win, the team scored 20 of its 59 points off of Vaquero turnovers. 

Payton Hull, sophomore guard from Peaster, has led the team in scoring in the last three games, with 25 against Sacramento State on Nov. 29, 26 against Florida International on Dec. 1, and 16 against UTRGV.

Twenty-six points is Hull’s season-high and her performances against Sacramento State and FIU awarded her tournament MVP and Western Athletic Conference player of the week. 

The team has been held back by injuries this season, preventing them from establishing a consistent starting lineup. 

“Everybody’s got injuries. And so you can’t use that as an excuse,” Goodenough said. “You’ve got to figure out, you know, how to win with the players that are available for you. But I think that we’re learning a lot, and I really appreciate that from our team.”

Another aspect of how the team plays that will possibly be improved when everyone is healthy again is three-point shooting. 

So far this season, the Wildcats are shooting 27.9% from three-point range, which is lower than Goodenough wants her squad to shoot. Last season, the team shot 30.5% from three. 

Goodenough said her team needs to find better looks and stay composed to raise the percentages as it did against FIU. 

“We didn’t allow the defense to rush us or get us in a big hurry,” she said. “We were shot-ready when the ball got kicked out to us. The best shot for us, and probably any team that shoots threes, is when the ball goes inside and it comes back out.

The team will play its next game at home on Saturday when they host East Texas A&M University at 1 p.m. for the annual Christmas Slam.