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SAN ANTONIO — Behind a season-high 18 points from junior Simone Young, UTSA bridged the first and second half with a 24-6 run to rally for a 70-59 victory against Houston on Sunday at the Convocation Center. It was the program’s first win against the Cougars in 18 all-time matchups.
A trio of players joined Young in double figures for the Roadrunners (3-5), including freshman Mannasha Bell, who recorded her second double-double of the campaign with 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, as well as junior Whitney Wright, who registered the first double-double of her career a dozen points points and 12 boards.
Roxana Button paced Houston (0-8) with a game-high 30 points.
The Cougars led throughout the first half and took their largest lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Mileka Loydrake made it 28-19 with 7:37 on the clock. UTSA quickly answered and started its run with a trey by freshman Ashley Spaletta.
The Roadrunners defense allowed just two baskets the rest of the period and slowly chipped away at the deficit.
Young attacked the rim and converted a traditional three-point play to trim the deficit to four. Freshman Kamra King then added a pair of free throws and a layup a minute later before Bell converted a field goal inside.
A running jumper from Young just before the buzzer capped the comeback and squared the score at 34 heading into the break. The Marion, Ark., native tallied 14 points in the frame to go along with two steals, a block and an assist.
UTSA’s momentum continued after intermission and free throw by sophomore Judy Jones ignited a 9-0 spurt to open the half. Another three-point play from Bell, a Wright layup and free throws by Jones and Young gave the Roadrunners a 43-34 lead with 16:59 to play and they did not trail the rest of the afternoon.
The Cougars made several charges, but UTSA came up with a big shot on each occasion.
After the lead was cut to four, Spaletta connected on back-to-back 3-pointers.
Minutes later, an 8-2 Houston run tied the game at 53, but Jones found Wright cutting to the basket for layups on consecutive possessions.
A Terran Alford free throw again cut the lead to four with less than four minutes to play, but that was as close as the Cougars got the rest of the way.
UTSA put the game away with a 9-2 run from the charity stripe to close out its third victory of the season.
The Roadrunners outrebounded Houston, 52-35, with almost as many defensive boards (34) as the Cougars’ total. UTSA also scored nearly twice as many points in the paint, 30-16, and recorded a season-high seven blocks while holding Houston to 32 percent shooting from the floor.
The Roadrunners are back in action on Friday, Dec. 9, when they host Wichita State (3-4) at 7 p.m.