SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women’s basketball team took down Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-43 in nonconference action on Wednesday in the Convocation Center, going 4-1 against NCAA Division I teams to start the season for the first time since 2007-08 when the squad went 23-10 and reached the NCAA Tournament.
The Roadrunners (4-1, 0-0 The American) overcame the Islanders (3-2, 0-0 Southland) after hauling in 25 more rebounds, including 22 on the offensive end. UTSA’s defense was phenomenal as they outscored TAMUCC 31-12 across the final 20 minutes and held the opposition to one field goal in both the first and third quarters.
Redshirt senior Jordyn Jenkins and graduate student Nina De Leon Negron each tallied 16 points, with Negron converting 5-of-8 shots featuring three makes from beyond the arc. Sophomore Idara Udo pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go with seven points, and not far behind junior Maya Linton managed eight boards and Jenkins seven. Additionally, Jenkins recorded five steals and four blocks, while freshman Emilia Dannebauer made her collegiate debut.
Udo and De Leon Negron connected on back-to-back shots to open the first, ahead of an Islander and-one that brought them within one. De Leon Negron three-pointers then book-ended an 8-0 run that saw a 12-3 edge midway through the frame. Redshirt senior Nyayongah Gony worked a putback before TAMUCC scored the next six, all on free throws, for a 14-9 score entering the second.
The Islanders used multiple threes to claw back, and a later 6-0 surge saw them take a 21-18 lead at the media timeout. Their success continued as they built a 28-21 advantage, but a junior Siena Guttadauro triple kept UTSA within striking distance and sparked a 9-3 swing in favor of the Roadrunners that sent the squads into the locker room with UTSA trailing, 31-30.
UTSA came out on fire, scoring the first 10 points of the period in a stretch that saw makes for De Leon Negron, junior Maya Linton, classmate Sidney Love, and Jenkins. TAMUCC finally tickled the twine after six minutes, ahead of a Guttadauro trey and a Jenkins and-one that saw a 46-33 lead, prompting a 48-34 score at the half.
Multiple surges in the fourth allowed a De Leon Negron triple to see a 61-41 lead with under three to play that the Islanders could not recover from en route to a 62-43 final score.
The Roadrunners will now make the trek to Puerto Rico, with games against UNC-Greenville and Towson on the docket as a part of the Puerto Rico Classico tournament that will take place on Nov. 28-29.
Keep up with UTSA Women's Basketball on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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