Feb. 11, 2005
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930
Roadrunner women host 1-35 rival Texas State
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SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA women's basketball team looks to rebound from a 57-43 loss at Texas-Arlington Thursday by hosting Texas State today at 2 p.m.
Texas State Bobcats (11-10/8-2)
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UTSA Roadrunners (11-9/5-4 SLC)
Saturday, Feb. 12 • 2 p.m.
Convocation Center • San Antonio, Texas
Audio: KSJL 810 AM/goUTSA.com
TIP-OFF
The Roadrunners return to the Convocation Center to face rival Texas State today...UTSA is looking to rebound from a 57-43 loss at Texas-Arlington Thursday night, a game in which it committed 25 turnovers...The Roadrunners actually out-shot the Lady Mavericks 44 percent to 39, but hit just 1-of-10 from the three-point line...UTSA is 10-12 all-time against the Bobcats at the Convocation Center.
SERIES RECORD AGAINST THE BOBCATS
The Roadrunners trail 24-19 in the series but have claimed 10 of the last 14 meetings after losing 15 consecutive games to the Bobcats from 1990-97. In a low scoring affair, Texas State escaped with a 44-43 over UTSA last year in San Antonio, while the Roadrunners won 71-46 in San Marcos.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE BOBCATS
Texas State is 11-10 overall and 8-2 in the league after falling at Stephen F. Austin Thursday. That loss dropped the Bobcats out of tie for first place in the league. Tori Talbert leads the Bobcats and the conference with 21.7 points per game. Head coach Suzanne Fox is 87-131 in her eighth season in San Marcos.
LAST YEAR AGAINST TEXAS STATE
Tori Talbert nailed a two-point jumper in the waning moments of the game and the Bobcats prevailed 44-43 over the Roadruners on Jan. 21 at the Convocation Center. Nikki Hendrix led UTSA with 17 points, while Talbert had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead TSU. The Bobcats led 16-15 at the half. Three players, including Lacy Mingee with 12 points, scored in double figures, as the Roadrunners defeated TSU 71-46 at San Marcos on Feb. 25. The Roadrunners shot 49 percent from the field and 81 percent at the charity stripe. No one for TSU reached double figures.
LAST TIME OUT
Texas-Arlington 57, UTSA 43 (Feb. 10 at the Texas Hall)
The Roadrunners turned the ball over 25 times, including 17 in the first half, and dropped a 57-43 contest at Texas-Arlington Thursday night. Trailing 21-12 with 8:32 left in the first half, UTSA saw UTA score the final 17 points and take an insurmountable 38-12 lead at the half. The Roadrunners could get no closer than 14 in the final half. Richelle Parks had 12 points and nine rebounds, but she was the only Roadrunner in double figures.
10 OR MORE
Freshman Richelle Parks leads the Roadrunners with 15 games scoring in double figures this year, while Lacy Mingee and Nicole Dunson have reached double figures seven times. Lyndsey Greer has notched doubles six times this season. Dunson owns the longest consecutive streak of double figure games with six.
RICHELLE IS SWELL
Freshman Richelle Parks is having one of the best debut seasons ever for the Roadrunners and scored a career high 28 points at McNeese State on Jan. 20. At Lamar last Saturday, Parks chipped in 16 points off the bench and scored 12 on Thursday at Texas-Arlington. Parks is currently the only freshman ranked in the top 20 in the league in scoring. She narrowly missed her fourth double-double on Jan. 14 against Nicholls State with 18 points and nine rebounds. Parks continues to lead UTSA in scoring average (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.2) and ranks fifth in the league on the boards. At Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 6, Parks led UTSA with 18 points. 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.
D-FENCE
In keeping with tradition, the Roadrunners are again one of the best teams in the Southland Conference when it comes to defense. UTSA has allowed just one opponent to shoot better than 50 percent this season, the Roadrunners allow conference opponents to shoot just 39 percent.
CAREER GREER
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 just 2.7 points last season, tied her career high with 14 points versus SLU on Jan. 29, going 3-of-3 from three-point range. She set a career high for rebounds with seven at Texas A&M on Nov. 30. She is averaging 6.4 points per game this year to rank fifth on the team and also ranks first on the team in minutes played.
QUIETLY MAKING NOISE
Junior forward Katie Sandefur, a native of Kingfisher, Okla., is having a productive season with 6.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game to rank second on the team. She saw her string of 16 consecutive starts snapped on Jan. 29 against SLU but came in to provide five points, four rebounds and three assists. 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 ranks third on the team with 45 assists and has played in 78 games over her career. She has scored 479 career points, needing just 36 to place her name 25th on the career scoring chart at UTSA.
WHERE ARE THE POINTS?
The Roadrunners were held to just 12 points in the first half Thursday at Texas-Arlington, which is two more than the school record for fewest points in a half. Ironically, that record (10 points in a half) was set against the Lady Mavericks during the 1997 season.
HOLD THAT LEAD
UTSA is 9-1 this season when leading with five minutes remaining. The Roadrunners are also 7-0 when leading at the half and 9-1 when holding a lead with one minute left in the game.
DOWNTOWN DUNSON
Senior Nicole Dunson continued her streak of double figure scoring games with 11 versus Nicholls State on Jan. 14 but saw the streak come to an end at McNeese State on Jan. 20 with nine points. Before the game, She had 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. 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 third on the team with 8.3 points per game and leads the team in free throw percentage (.850). Dunson set a freshman 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.
HOW CAN I ASSIST YOU?
Senior Kim Reed will finish her career this year as one of the all-time top point guards in UTSA history in terms of assists. With 240 career assists, Reed is now 8th on the all-time career chart at UTSA, needing 19 to move one more notch. UTSA ranks fourth in the Southland Conference in assists per game as a team. The Roadrunners are averaging 14.1 assists per game in 2004-2005
DOUBLE UP
Junior Lacy Mingee recorded her first double-double since the first game of the 2003-2004 season at Lamar with 20 points and 11 rebounds. She now ranks second on the team with 8.9 points per game but is scoring 12.8 points against SLC foes. Since earning a spot in the starting lineup against Southeastern Louisiana, she has scored in double figures in three of the last four games. She has scored 542 career points and has climbed to 20th on the UTSA career scoring chart. She needs 18 rebounds to pass Soonja Robinson (299 rbs, 1995-98) into 22nd all-time.
NEARLY A RECORD
Freshman Terrie Davis came off the bench to score a career high 19 points against Sam Houston. In the game, Davis was a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line, coming up just one short of the school record 11-of-11 held by Starlite Williams and Nikki Hendrix.
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.
DEFENSE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
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 59.7 points per game. Opponents have shot just 37.3 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.
A COMPLETE REVERSE
After 20 games this season, the Roadrunners are 11-9. Last season the Roadrunners were 9-11 after 20 contests but finished the year going 6-3 for a 15-14 overall record.
HANDOUTS A PLENTY
Against Sam Houston State, the Roadrunners dished out 21 assists, which was the second highest total this season. Earlier this season, UTSA recorded 23 handouts against Prairie View A&M.
START ME UP
Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair shuffled her starting lineup against Southeastern Louisiana as Lacy Mingee and Ana Oliveira made their first starts of the season and Kim Reed returned to the starting five. The plan worked out well with Mingee recorded a career high 25 points, Oliveira tallying a career high five steals and Reed dishing out eight assists. The trip combined for 36 points on 14-of-24 from the floor, eight assists, 10 steals and 87 minutes.
60 IS THE TARGET
The Roadrunners are now 9-2 when holding opponents to 60 points or less this year. In the last two seasons, UTSA is now 21-7 when limiting foes to 60 points or less.
NUMBER ONE
With last Saturday’s 69-59 win over Lamar, UTSA head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair is now all-time winningest women’s coach at UTSA .
UTSA Coaching History
1. Rae Rippetoe-Blair (2000-) 76-59
2. Bill McLeay (1985-89) 75-69
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 travel to Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Hammond