Dec. 19, 2006
Roadrunners travel to Las Vegas for Duel in the Desert
SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA women’s basketball team hits the road for a pair of games this week when it travels to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert Tournament. The Roadrunners open play against Purdue at 7 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday. UTSA will then play either Boise State or UNLV the following evening. Both contests can be heard on goUTSA.com. Stu Paul will call the action from courtside.
Series meeting: This will be the first meeting between UTSA and Purdue and Boise State, while the Roadrunners and UNLV will meet the fourth time. The Rebels lead the all-time series, 3-0.
About Purdue: Purdue currently ranks 13th in the country in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Boilermakers are 9-2 on the season and have won three of their last five games. Purdue suffered its second loss of the season at the hands of Notre Dame on Dec. 6. The Fighting Irish outscored the Boilermakers 41-24 in the second half to seal the 67-58 home victory. Purdue bounced back with a 81-38 win against Butler in Indianapolis, Ind. Katie Gearlds is averaging a team-best 16.7 points per game, while Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton’s 8.7 rebounds per game lead the squad.
Possible opponents Boise State/UNLV: Boise State is off to a 7-3 start this season and have won its last two games. The Broncos rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat UC Davis, 58-56, on Dec. 8 in Davis, Calif. Boise State picked up an 80-58 victory at San Francisco on Dec. 10.
UNLV is 3-4 on the year. After dropping their two first games of the season, the Rebels are 3-2 in their last five contests. UNLV picked up its third win of the season with a 61-44 victory at Long Beach State. The Rebels were led by Sequoia Holmes’s 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Holmes leads the team with a 16.7 scoring average.
Runners come up short in battle of the birds: Despite four UTSA players scoring in double figures, Cal State Bakersfield held on for a 77-66 win against UTSA on Dec. 8 at the Convocation Center. Senior Vivian Ewalefo and freshman Courtney Laing led UTSA with 15 points, while junior Terrie Davis added 13. Ewalefo grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and sophomore Monica Gibbs collected eight assists and eight rebounds to go along with her 12 points. Laing’s 15 points were a career high.
Homecoming: Senior Vivian Ewalefo and freshmen Ashley and Lynsey Freeman return home to Las Vegas this week. Ewalefo played at Palo Verde High School, while the Freemans played at Bishop Gorman High.
Fresh start: Freshman Courtney Laing is off to a quick start, since returning from injury. The Abilene native is averaging 7.8 points per game in four appearances. She led the Roadrunners in scoring with a career-high 15 points against Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 8.
Seeing double: Sophomore Monica Gibbs leads the squad with two double-doubles on the season. The Stillwater, Okla., native posted her first one against Eastern Washington with 20 points and 14 rebounds. At UALR, Gibbs had her second double-double of the year with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Freebies: UTSA tops the Southland Conference with a 75.9% percentage from the free throw line. The Roadrunners are on pace to break the school record of 71.5% set during the 1989-90 season. Senior Vivian Ewalefo’s 83.3% from the free throw line ranks eight in the league.
Climbing the charts: Junior Terrie Davis sits sixth on the UTSA’s career charts with 75 career 3-pointers and is four shy of surpassing Denise Forestier for fifth place.
Reaching a milestone: Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair added another milestone to her coaching career, as she recorded her 100th UTSA victory on Nov. 24 against EWU.
UTSA inks four for the 2007-08 season: UTSA coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair announced the signing of Amber Gregg (Austin, Texas/McNeil HS), Cierra Martin (Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville HS), Magdalena Pawlaczyk (Wroclaw, Poland/Casper College) and Jordan Stark (Weatherford, Okla./Weatherford HS) to National Letters of Intent for the 2007-08 season.
UTSA picked third: UTSA was tabbed to finish in third place of both the Southland Conference coaches and SID polls in the West Division behind Texas-Arlington and Stephen F. Austin. The Roadrunners picked up two first-place votes in both polls.
Preseason honors: Senior Vivian Ewalefo received preseason Southland Conference first-team honors. Last season, Ewalefo led the UTSA in scoring (12.2) and rebounding (7.6) en route to garnering the 2005-06 SLC Newcomer of the Year and first-team all-conference accolades.