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SAN ANTONIO — UTSA shot 52 percent from the field in the second half, but the Roadrunners committed 21 turnovers that led to 21 points for Wichita State and the Shockers left the Convocation Center with a 69-56 victory on Friday night.
Freshman Ashley Spaletta paced the Roadrunners (3-6) with a game-high 16 points, marking the fourth time this season the Magnolia, Ark., native has led the squad in scoring. Three other players — sophomore Judy Jones (13), junior Cori Cooper (10) and freshman Kamra King (10) — also reached double figures.
Alex Harden led a balanced attack that saw 10 players score for the Shockers (4-5) with 15 points.
After a back-and-forth start, Wichita State grabbed an 11-point lead with a 10-2 run that covered 2:49. The Shockers went inside during the spurt and tallied three baskets in the paint to go along with four free throws.
Down 24-10 with six minutes to go in the half, the Roadrunners responded with a quick 13-3 stretch.
Spaletta started the run with her first 3-pointer of the contest. Meanwhile, King came up with an errant pass and found Spaletta, who was fouled while converting a layup, and she made the ensuing free throw.
Junior Whitney Wright added a three-point play that was followed by a fastbreak layup by Jones and a pair of free throws by King, which pulled UTSA to within four at 27-23.
However, Wichita State regained its double-digit lead by scoring nine of the final 11 points of the half and it took a 36-25 advantage into the locker room.
Another Jones layup and Spaletta 3-pointer to open the second stanza cut the deficit to six with 18 minutes to play, but that was the closest UTSA got the rest of the way.
The Shockers used a 14-2 run to grab their largest lead, 18, with less than 13 minutes to play and never looked back.
From there, the Wichita State lead stayed in double digits, as the Shockers slowed the Roadrunners attack with full-court pressure that forced 14 turnovers in the half.
UTSA shot 37 percent (20-of-53) from the floor and 82 percent (14-of-17) from the free throw line for their best shooting performance of the season.
The Roadrunners will take to the floor again on Tuesday, Dec. 20, when they host Creighton (4-4) at 7 p.m. on the opening day of the UTSA Holiday Classic.