Jan. 19, 2005
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930
UTSA set for road contest at McNeese State Thursday
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SAN ANTONIO - Coming off their first Southland Conference victory of the season over Nicholls State last Friday, the UTSA women's basketball team will travel to Lake Charles, La., to face McNeese State on Thursday, Jan. 20. Tip is set for 5:15 p.m. at the Lake Charles Civic Center.
UTSA Roadrunners (7-7, 1-2 SLC)
at
McNeese State Cowgirls (3-12, 2-2 SLC)
Thursday, Jan. 20 • 5:15 p.m.
Lake Charles Civic Center • Lake Charles, La.
TIP-OFF
UTSA makes the journey across I-10 to Lake Charles, La., to face the McNeese State Cowgirls .. Because of scheduling conflicts, the Roadrunners and Cowgirls will battle in the Lake Charles Civic Center tonight ... UTSA is looking to even its Southland Conference record as it comes off a 58-53 win against Nicholls State last Friday in San Antonio ... Freshman Terrie Davis notched eight points and career highs of eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in the NSU victory ... Senior Kim Reed moved into ninth place in career assists (218) with two versus the Lady Colonels.
SERIES RECORD AGAINST THE COWGIRLS
UTSA has won the last eight meetings with McNeese State but still trails in the all-time series, 15-11. The Roadrunners are 4-8 all-time against McNeese in Lake Charles. Last season, UTSA won both meetings in San Antonio, 64-56 in overtime on Feb. 7, and 61-42 in the first round of the SLC tournament.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE COWGIRLS
McNeese State is 3-12 overall, but the Cowgirls are a half-game game ahead of UTSA in the Southland standings at 2-2. McNeese has defeated Lamar and Louisiana-Monroe in conference play. Regina Sprivey (11.7 ppg) leads McNeese.
LAST YEAR AGAINST McNEESE
UTSA knocked off the Cowgirls 64-56 in overtime on Feb. 7 at the Convocation Center. Lacy Mingee scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds as UTSA rallied from a 26-21 halftime deficit. The Roadrunners advanced in the SLC tournament with a 61-42 win on March 9. Former standout Nikki Hendrix poured in 28 points.
LAST TIME OUT
UTSA 58, Nicholls State 53 (Jan. 14 at the Convocation Center)
UTSA won its first SLC game of the year in comeback fashion, defeating Nicholls State 58-53. Richelle Parks led the way offensively with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Nicole Dunson reached double figures for the sixth straight game with 11. Freshman Terrie Davis notched eight points and career highs of eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Trailing 51-49 with 2:28 remaining, UTSA closed the game on a 9-2 run to seal the victory. The game featured 11 lead changes and eight ties.
COMPARING THE MATCHUP
Scoring Average: (UTSA - 58.6, McN - 53.5), Scoring Defense: (UTSA - 58.4, McN - 64.7), Rebounding: (UTSA - 41.5, McN - 33.1), FG Pct: (UTSA - .373, McN - .377), 3-Pt Pct: (UTSA - .289, McN - .313), FT Pct: (UTSA - .645, McN - .599), Assists: (UTSA - 14.2, McN - 11.7), Turnovers: (UTSA - 18.2, McN - 23.7)
FABULOUS FROSH
Freshman Richelle Parks is having one of the best debut seasons ever for the Roadrunners and narrowly missed her fourth double-double Friday against Nicholls State with 18 points and nine rebounds. Parks currently leads UTSA in scoring average (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.0) and ranks third in the league on the boards. At Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 6, Parks led UTSA with 18 points. She was recently named all-tournament at the UTSA New Year’s Classic by averaging 12.5 points in the Roadrunners’ two victories. Parks recorded her third double-double of the year against UT Martin on Dec. 19 with a freshman-record 26 points and a career high 17 rebounds, including going 10-of-13 from the free throw line. The 5-11 center grabbed 14 rebounds in her collegiate debut against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and then posted her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards at Tulsa. The record for most rebounds in a season is held by Cindy Pavell (271) in 1981-82.
DOUBLING UP
Richelle Parks has posted three double-doubles so far this season. Of the returning players in 2004-2005, only junior Lacy Mingee had recorded a double-double, picking up two last year.
GOING OUT IN STYLE
Senior Lyndsey Greer is making her senior year her best season yet as she has already established career highs for points and rebounds this season. Greer, who averaged 2.7 points last season, improved her career-best to 14 points in the 60-59 loss to Seton Hall on Nov. 27, and set a career high for rebounds with seven at Texas A&M on Nov. 30. Against Northwestern State on Jan. 8, she tied her career high again with seven caroms. She is averaging 6.1 points per game this year to rank fifth on the team and also ranks first on the team in minutes played.
JUST CHECK THE STAT SHEET
Junior forward Katie Sandefur, a native of Kingfisher, Okla., is having a productive season with 6.9 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game to rank second on the team. Sandefur established a season high with 15 points against Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 6. Having shot only 14 free throws all year, Sandefur reached the line 11 times against the Lady Indians. She led the team against Samford on Dec. 30 with four assists. She narrowly missed a double-double against SMU on Dec. 18 with nine points and eight rebounds. Sandefur also ranks third on the team with 33 assists. She has played in 72 games over her career and has scored 445 career points, needing just 70 to place her name 25th on the career scoring chart at UTSA.
WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE BACK
Senior Kim Reed missed the UTSA New Year’s Classic with a thigh injury but has returned in a limited role trying to shake off the nagging injury. Reed, who hadn’t missed a game since the 2002-2003 season, ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 3.1. She set her season high with seven assists against UT Martin on Dec. 19 and has led UTSA in assists in five of the 14 games. Reed averages 4.8 points per game this year. With 432 career points, the 5-7 guard from Dallas needs just 82 points to climb into 25th on the career scoring chart at UTSA.
STREAK REACHES SIX
Senior Nicole Dunson continued her streak of double figure scoring games with 11 versus Nicholls State last Friday. She has now dotted double figures in six straight contests. She led UTSA with 14 points, playing all 40 minutes, at Northwestern State on Jan. 8 and notched 10 points at Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 6. In the last six games, she is averaging 13.1 points per game. She tied her career high with 18 points against Samford on Dec. 30, then added 16 points against Quinnipiac to be named all-Classic at the UTSA New Year’s Classic. The senior transfer ranks second on the team with 9.8 points per game and leads the team in three-pointers made (2.1) and free throw percentage (.786). Dunson set a record for most three-pointers in a season at Central Florida as a freshman in 2000-2001, then missed the 2001-2202 with a right shoulder injury. She transferred to UTSA in 2002-2003, sat out per NCAA transfer rules, and then missed last year with a right knee injury.
WRITTEN IN STONE
After a long climb, senior Kim Reed finally etched her name onto the career assist chart at UTSA with two against Nicholls State. With 218 career assists, Reed is now 9th on the all-time career assist chart at UTSA, passing Starlite Williams, a standout from 1983-87. With two more handouts, she will move into eighth place past Julie Rampley. UTSA ranks third in the Southland Conference in assists per game as a team. The Roadrunners are averaging 14.4 assists per game in 2004-2005, compared to 12.7 during the 2003-2004 season.
MIGHTY MINGEE
Junior Lacy Mingee ranks fourth on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game and leads the team with 15 blocked shots. She is scoring 6.5 points per game, despite playing just 13.5 minutes per game, and ranks second on the team with 9.7 points per game in conference play. Mingee reached double figures twice in the first two league games, notching 11 points and seven rebounds at Louisiana-Monroe and a season high 14 points off the bench at NSU. Mingee has also scored 456 career points and needs just 58 to climb to 25th on the UTSA career scoring chart past Julie Rampley (513 pts, 2000-2002). She needs 48 rebounds to pass Soonja Robinson (299 rbs, 1995-98) into 22nd all-time.
TRIPLE THREAT
Freshman Terrie Davis proved she can be a factor in several facets Friday against Nicholls State. Davis notched eight points and had career highs of eight rebounds (including four offensive) and six assists. She also swiped four steals as the Roadrunners tallied a season high 11 takeaways. On the season, Davis leads the team with 40 assists.
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.
TOUGH DEFENSE
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. This season, the trend has continued as the Roadrunners have only allowed 58.4 points per game. Opponents have shot just 36 percent from the field so far in 2004-2005. In winning 75-59 against Tennessee-Martin, the Roadrunners allowed the Skyhawks to shoot just 27 percent from the field, while UTSA held Quinnipiac to only 28 percent on Dec. 31. Earlier this season, the Roadrunners allowed Texas Southern to shoot just 19 percent for the game on Dec. 12. Only two opponents have managed to shoot 45 percent or better against the Roadrunners.
BOGAN’S BACK
After missing the last 10 games with a knee injury, freshman Tia Bogan returned to the floor against Nicholls State. Before the injury forced her to miss more than a month, Bogan led UTSA with 17 points and eight rebounds in the 88-44 win over Prairie View A&M.
THE MAGIC NUMBER
The Roadrunners are 7-1 when holding opponents to 60 points or less. In the last two seasons, UTSA is now 20-6 when limiting foes to 60 points or less.
FOUR MORE
UTSA head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair is now just four wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach in school history. At 72-57, Blair trails only Bill MacLeay (1984-89, 75-60) on the all-time list of UTSA coaches.
UTSA Coaching History
1. Bill McLeay (1985-89) 75-69
2. Rae Rippetoe-Blair (2000-) 72-57
3. Ginny DeHaven (1981-84) 54-27
4. Mary Ann McLaughlin (1989-94) 50-87
5. Terry Gray (1996-99) 38-43
6. Jeff Spivey (1994-96) 15-37
7. Jeff Dow (1999-2000) 7-20
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.
NEXT UP
The Roadrunners host Northwestern State on Saturday at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. The game can be heard live on KSJL 810 AM and on www.goUTSA.com.