Nov. 24, 2004
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930
Roadrunners host Hampton Inn/UTSA Thanksgiving Classic this weekend
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SAN ANTONIO - The Texas-San Antonio women's basketball team hosts the annual Hampton Inn/UTSA Thanksgiving Classic on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 26-27, at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners (0-2) face Prairie View A&M (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m., and Seton Hall (1-1) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Hampton Inn/UTSA Thanksgiving Classic
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 26-27
Convocation Center (5,100) • San Antonio, Texas
UTSA Roadrunners (0-2)
vs.
Prairie View A&M Panthers (1-0)
Friday, Nov. 26 • 7 p.m.
UTSA Roadrunners (0-2)
vs.
Seton Hall Pirates (1-1)
Saturday, Nov. 27 • 4 p.m.
NOTES
UTSA returns home to host the annual UTSA Thanksgiving Classic ... Prairie View A&M, Seton Hall and Arizona State are participating in this year’s tournament ... The Roadrunners host PVAMU tonight and Seton Hall tomorrow at 4 p.m, while Arizona State plays Seton Hall tonight and PVAMU tomorrow ... UTSA looks for its first regular season win tonight, coming into the game 0-2 with losses to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and at Tulsa ... The Roadrunners are 4-6 all-time in this tournament ... Both games in this tournament can be heard on goUTSA.com.
THE SERIES
The Roadrunners lead the all-time series with PVAMU 9-3 with the last meeting coming in 1997. In that game, UTSA prevailed 67-31. This will be the first meeting with the Seton Hall Pirates.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE FIELD
Prairie View opened its regular season Monday with a 72-53 win against Paul Quinn College. Seton Hall enters the tournament 1-1 overall with a 60-54 win against LaSalle and a 71-69 loss to Ball State. Ashley Bush leads the Pirates with 16.0 points per game, while Monique Blake contributes 15.5 points per game. The Pirates have shot 85 percent from the free throw line in their first two games. Arizona State is 2-1 overall. The Sun Devils have knocked off Virginia and San Diego and narrowly lost at Louisiana State.
NEXT UP
UTSA travels to Texas A&M on Nov. 30 for a 7 p.m. contest.
RECAPPING THE 2003 UTSA THANKSGIVING CLASSIC
The University of Denver won two games in the tournament, including a 58-55 win over the Roadrunners, while UTSA posted a 1-1 record. Texas-El Paso also went 1-1, while Western Carolina dropped both its games. UTSA opened the tournament with a 52-49 win against Texas-El Paso. In that game, Katie Sandefur notched 12 points and eight rebounds. In the loss to UD, Lacy Mingee scored 10 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT (Tulsa 80, UTSA 62)
TULSA, Okla. – Three players scored in double figures for the University of Texas at San Antonio women’s basketball team Monday night, but host Tulsa used three key scoring runs to overpower the Roadrunners, 80-62, at the Reynolds Center.
Senior Lyndsey Greer scored a career high 11 points, while freshman Terrie Davis also established a career high with 12 points to lead UTSA. Freshman Richelle Parks netted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but a 17-1 run in the first half and a 16-4 run in the second half, along with a 14-6 run to end the game, proved too costly for the Roadrunners to overcome.
With 10:11 left in the first half and the Roadrunners holding a 17-15 edge, Tulsa’s Jasmine Irving sparked a 17-1, five-minute run with a layup. Tandem Mays, who had a career-high 21 points to lead the Golden Hurricane, capped the run with a three-pointer at the 6:00 mark to give the hosts a 32-18 lead. The Roadrunners trailed 40-31 at the break after Katie Sandefur’s trey with 32 seconds left.
In the second half, UTSA trailed 44-34 with 16:33 left in the game before Greer rattled off seven consecutive Roadrunner points. Her trey at the 14:55 mark left the Roadrunners with only a six-point deficit, at 46-40. But, Tulsa put together a 16-4 scoring run over the next seven minutes to push the lead to 62-44 after a Mays’ free throw at 7:48.
The Roadrunners trimmed the margin to 10, at 66-55, with 3:12 remaining in the game after a Davis free throw but again saw the Golden Hurricane construct another significant run. Irving’s jumper at 2:57 started a 14-6 Tulsa run to close the game.
The Roadrunners held Tulsa to only 35 percent from the field in the second half (12-of-34) but only shot 33 percent (24-of-72) themselves for the game. UTSA collected 43 rebounds, led by Parks’ 10 and Sandefur’s nine. The Roadrunners also hit six three-pointers, while senior Kim Reed notched a season-high five assists. In two games, Parks has registered 24 rebounds. Becky Heidotten had 14 points for Tulsa, while Megan Moody tallied 10.
REBOUNDING RICHELLE
Freshman Richelle Parks has averaged 12.0 rebounds in her first collegiate games. The 5-11 center grabbed 14 rebounds in her collegiate debut against TAMU-CC and then posted her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards at Tulsa. Including the final exhibition contest, Parks has recorded double-figure rebounding stats in the last three games.
CAREER CHANGE
Senior Lyndsey Greer tied her career high with 10 points against TAMU-CC last Friday night and then re-established her career high at Tulsa with 11 points. Greer, who averaged only 2.7 points last season, played all but one minute in the Tulsa game and also had three assists.
LOOKING GOOD
Freshman Terrie Davis earned a spot in the starting lineup Monday at Tulsa and responded with a team-high 12 points. Davis, who had nine points off the bench in her collegiate debut against TAMU-CC, played all 40 minutes at Tulsa and connected on three-of-six from beyond the arc. She currently leads the Roadrunners with five three-pointers made to rank fourth in the Southland Conference.
SWEET SHOT
Junior Lacy Mingee leads the Roadrunners at the free throw line this year, hitting 87. 5 percent (7-of-8) of her charity tosses. As a team, the Roadrunners have not fared quite as well, shooting 62.5 percent from the line (15-of-24), while opponents are shooting just 65.0 percent (26-of-40).
DIALING LONG DISTANCE
UTSA nailed six three-pointers at Tulsa on Monday night and has hit 11 so far on the young season. The Roadrunners currently rank third in the Southland Conference with 5.5 three-pointers per game. Last season, UTSA averaged 4.2 treys per game and held opponents to just 3.3 three-balls per contest.
PASS IT ON
UTSA has done a good job of distributing the ball this season. The Roadrunners are averaging 14.0 assists per game in 2004-2005, compared to 12.7 during the 2003-2004 season. UTSA ranks fourth in the Southland Conference in assists per game. Senior Kim Reed and Freshman Terrie Davis lead the Roadrunners with 2.5 assists per game each. Reed led UTSA with five assists at Tulsa.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Four Roadrunner newcomers made their UTSA debuts against TAMU-CC, including three who saw their first collegiate action. Freshman Richelle Parks had the most impressive debut, grabbing 14 rebounds along with eight points. Terrie Davis netted nine points, while sophomore transfer Lacey Blau led the Roadrunners with three assists. Tia Bogan scored two points.
INCHING CLOSER
UTSA head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair is just 11 wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach in school history. At 65-52, Blair trails only Bill MacLeay (1984-89, 75-60) on the all-time list of UTSA coaches.
WINNING COMES NATURALLY
In head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair’s first four seasons, the Roadrunners have averaged 16.3 wins per seasons. In the 23-year history of the program, UTSA has averaged 13.2 wins per season with 13 seasons finishing above .500.
A DEFENSIVE TRADITION
Under head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair, defense has been the key ingredient in the success of the Roadrunner program. Last season UTSA allowed opponents only 57.1 points per game, tops in the SLC for the third straight season, with opponents shooting only 37.5 percent from the field. UTSA ranked 20th nationally in scoring defense last year and has ranked among national team leaders in scoring defense every year with Blair. Against TAMU-CC last Friday, UTSA held the Islanders to 37.9 percent shooting in the second half and just 40.6 percent for the game.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK
According to a vote by the Southland Conference coaches, UTSA is projected for a fourth place finish in 2004-2005. The league’s SID’s selected UTSA fifth in the preseason vote.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
Senior guard Kim Reed was recently honored by and inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society, a non-profit group recognizing academic accomplishments of college juniors and seniors. Reed graduated seventh in a class of 754 seniors at Dallas’ Skyline High School and has continued her classroom success in San Antonio. She has been recognized as a member of the UTSA Dean’s List, Honor Roll and Honor’s Circle.
SUPER SENIORS
The Roadrunners head into the season with no lack of senior leadership. Four seniors, including three with three letters under their belt, are on board to provide head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair with leadership. Leading the way this season are senior guards Kim Reed and Lyndsey Greer, and center Holly Ziegler. Guard Nicole Dunson transferred from Central Florida two years ago and hopes to finish her collegiate on the court after several years plagued by injuries.