CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UTSA women's basketball team will conclude the regular season on the road as the Roadrunners take on the defending champions Charlotte 49ers on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET at Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Junior Jordyn Jenkins leads the conference in scoring with 587 points, averaging 21.0 per game. Jenkins also leads the team with 213 rebounds and 36 steals. Redshirt sophomore Elyssa Coleman has done a phenomenal job on defense with a team-high 48 blocks, while also recording 179 rebounds and 269 points (second on the team in both categories). Coleman owns the top single-game blocks in the conference this season, recording a high of six blocks against FIU on Jan. 21.
Junior Kyra White leads the Roadrunners with 127 assists, averaging 4.6 per game. White is sixth in the conference with a 1.58 assist/turnover ratio. Freshman Sidney Love has the second-most assists on the team (51) and third-most points (223). UTSA is first in the conference with a 6.4 rebound margin, outperforming its opponents by 1124 rebounds to 944 rebounds. The Roadrunners also have a conference-high 40.14 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Roadrunners (10-18, 8-11 in C-USA) are coming off a 85-79 win over FIU on Saturday, Feb. 25. UTSA is on a three-game winning streak and has won four of its last five games and five of its last seven, going 5-3 in the month of February.
After a 33-point performance in this game, Jordyn Jenkins officially broke a 32-year-old UTSA single-season scoring record with 587 points so far this season. The previous program record was 583 points by Tammy Rogers in the 1990-91 season.
Two more Roadrunners had double-digit scoring games, including Kyra White with 22 points (also recording a team-high six assists) and Hailey Atwood with a career-high 13 points. Elyssa Coleman led the team with 10 boards and four blocks. With the win, UTSA jumped up from ninth place to seventh in the conference standings.
The Roadrunners led the way with 39 rebounds to the Panthers' 34 boards. UTSA had a 51.4 percentage from the field, shooting 36 for 70. FIU was 42.4 percent from the court with 28 field goals in 66 attempts. The Roadrunners took advantage of 11 FIU turnovers as they converted that to 18 points, while the Panthers had six points from eight UTSA turnovers. UTSA dominated in the paint with 32 points to FIU's 24 points in the paint.
RECORD WATCHING
Jordyn Jenkins put up a career-high 40 points against North Texas on Feb. 20, 2023. The school single-game record is 41 points in a game by Tesha Smith against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 25, 2017. Scoring 33 points in UTSA's win over FIU on Feb. 25, Jenkins officially broke the program record for points scored in a single season with 587 points this season. The previous program record stood for 32 years (583 points by Tammy Rogers in the 1990-91 season). Jenkins has averaged 21.0 points per game this season so far. The school record is 20.7 per game by Starlite Williams in 1986-87.
With the Roadrunners' 68-67 win over North Texas on Feb. 20, head coach Karen Aston officially notched her 300th career win. Aston is now up to 302 wins.
JINKIES FOR JENKINS
Jordyn Jenkins has been named the Conference USA Player of the Week three times this season – Nov. 28, Dec. 19, and Dec. 26. Scoring a career-high 40 points against North Texas on Feb. 20, Jenkins owns the conference single-game second best this season. She leads the conference in multiple categories – field goal percentage (50.0), field goals (208), free throw attempts (190), total free throws (149) points (587), points per game (21.0), rebounds (213). Amongst all Division I schools in Texas, Jenkins is the highest scoring student-athlete.
Newcomer Jenkins was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, the first Roadrunner to earn that honor. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020 and aims to celebrate those playing in the 26 mid-major conferences.
Jenkins is a transfer from the University of Southern California, where she played the last two seasons. At USC, she led the team offensively in almost every category while starting in 26 of 28 games in 2021-22. Jenkins led the Trojans in total points (384/14.8 per game), free throws made (110) and field goals made (134). The Kent, Wash., native was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player, as well as earning All-Pac 12 Honors at the end of the season.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Charlotte holds a 11-16 record (7-11 in C-USA action) after a 64-52 loss to Rice on Saturday, Feb. 25. The 49ers won the C-USA Championship Tournament last season and were voted to finish third in the conference in the preseason C-USA Coaches' Poll. Currently, Charlotte is ninth in the conference standings. The 49ers are currently on a four-game losing streak, with their last win coming on Feb. 11 (69-61 over North Texas).
Jada McMillian leads the 49ers and the conference in three different categories – assist/turnover ratio (2.37), assists (135) and assists per game (5.2). Dazia Lawrence leads Charlotte with 442 points scored, averaging 16.4 per game, as well as 46 steals. Lawrence had the conference-best 41-point game against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 18. Mya McGraw has a team-high 34 blocks, while Jacee Busick leads the team with 158 rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY VS CHARLOTTE
The 49ers hold the 7-2 advantage over the Roadrunners in the all-times series history. UTSA and Charlotte last played each other on Jan. 14, 2023, when the Roadrunners defeated the 49ers, 64-50. Jordyn Jenkins led the team with 23 points and 11 rebound for her fourth double-double of the season. She also led the Roadrunners with a couple blocks and three steals.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners head to the Conference USA Championships on March 8-11, hosted at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Seeding is to be determined on Saturday after the conclusion of the final regular season games.
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