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SAN ANTONIO — Freshman Kamra King tied a season-high with 17 points to lead UTSA to a 50-46 victory against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at the Convocation Center. It marked the first time this season that the Roadrunners (6-10, 2-1 SLC) have posted consecutive wins.
King went 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line and UTSA forced 23 turnovers en route to its third consecutive win against the Ladyjacks, which is tied for the longest such streak in program history.
Porsha Roberts was the only player to reach double-figures for SFA (12-4, 2-1 SLC).
UTSA’s defense set the tone early and held Stephen F. Austin without a field goal for nearly seven minutes to open the contest. UTSA raced out to a 9-0 lead with baskets from King, junior Simone Young and freshman Ashley Spaletta.
The Ladyjacks finally managed a basket at the 13:07 mark, but the Roadrunners' cushion stayed near double digits for most of the half in large part to 19 SFA turnovers in the opening frame. UTSA took advantage by scoring 15 points off of those miscues and it held a 27-19 advantage at the half, holding Stephen F. Austin to its lowest opening half point total of the season.
King answered a Ladyjacks basket with a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the second half and a Spaletta layup made it 32-25 with 15:47 to play.
However, Stephen F. Austin scored seven of the next eight points to trim the deficit to one, 33-32, which set the stage for a back-and-forth final 12 minutes.
From that point, the UTSA lead reached four only once, with four seconds to play.
Each time the Ladyjacks made a charge, the Roadrunners came up with a basket or trip to the free throw line.
SFA finally tied the score at 37 with just under seven minutes to play on a free throw by Brittney Matthew. The teams traded freebies and baskets down the stretch and it was a 45-45 contest with 41 seconds to play.
With just 20 ticks left, King broke the game’s sixth tie with a pair of free throws and UTSA held the advantage the rest of the way.
After an Ashlee Mells free throw cut the lead to one, an intentional foul gave Young a pair of free-throw opportunities and an extra possession for the Roadrunners. The Marion, Ark., native calmly sank both for a three-point lead and the Ladyjacks were forced to foul. Senior Ijeoma Waturuocha missed her first attempt but connected on the second to clinch the four-point victory.
The Birds held their seventh consecutive opponent to less than 40 percent shooting, as Stephen F. Austin connected on just 32 percent of its shots, including 24.2 after intermission.
UTSA will be in search of its third conscutive victory on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when it travels to Natchitoches, La., for a 7 p.m. matchup at Northwestern State (4-12, 0-3 SLC).