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DALLAS — UTSA opened the second half on a 19-7 run to grab a 15-point advantage, but SMU countered with a 23-7 stretch and the Mustangs rallied for a 69-65 victory on Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum.
Samantha Mahnesmith led SMU (7-5) with a game-high 17 points.
Meanwhile, junior Simone Young paced the Roadrunners (4-8) with 16 points, while senior Ashley Gardner and freshman Kamra King chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.
UTSA’s run to start the second half began with four different players scoring for a quick 8-0 spurt. Gardner, King and juniors Whitney Wright and Jalisa Montgomery notched buckets to make it 38-27 with 18:31 to play.
A King layup followed by buckets from sophomore Judy Jones and Young stretched the advantage to 15 (49-34), which was the Roadrunners’ largest of the night.
However, SMU began to chip away at the deficit and it trimmed UTSA’s lead to one (52-51) with seven minutes to play thanks to a 17-3 spurt that saw five different players score.
The Roadrunners responded by trading baskets until Mahnesmith’s jumper with 4:09 on the clock gave the Mustangs the lead for good.
SMU overcame a 32-percent shooting night from the floor by going 31-for-43 at the free throw line, including an 18-for-27 clip in the second half. Meanwhile, UTSA managed just seven freebies in the second stanza, connecting on six, and shot 40 percent for the contest.
The Roadrunners controlled much of the opening 20 minutes and King connected on the first of her two 3-pointers to start the scoring. The Norman, Okla., native also helped keep the Mustangs scoreless for the first two-and-a-half minutes with a pair of steals before Alisha Filmore knotted the score with a trey.
A pair of free throws by Kristin Hernandez gave SMU its largest lead of the half, 9-5, with 13:33 to play. However, UTSA rattled off an 8-0 run to grab an advantage it would hold well into the second half.
Gardner started the stretch with a jumper that was followed by a steal and layup from Young. Jones added a jumper and capped the run with a steal and assist on a fast break layup by Wright for a 13-9 edge.
The squads traded baskets for much of the rest of the stanza. UTSA took its largest lead of the half, 25-19, on a pair of free throws by Young with four-and-a-half minutes to play.
The Mustangs cut the advantage in half by the break, but still trailed 30-27 going into intermission. The Roadrunners held SMU to 25 percent shooting from the floor, but the Mustangs stayed in the game by outscoring UTSA 13-7 at the free throw line.
UTSA will return to the hardwood on Friday when it closes out its non-conference schedule against Rice (5-6). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.