· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA women’s basketball team heads to Arlington for a key SLC matchup against Western Division leader Texas-Arlington on Tuesday evening at Texas Hall. The game, which tips off at 7 p.m., can be heard on goUTSA.com. Stu Paul will bring the action from courtside, with Assistant Sports Information Director Carlos Valdez providing color commentary.
Series meeting: Texas-Arlington leads the all-time series, 20-18, against UTSA. Last season, the Roadrunners took both meetings against the Mavericks. UTSA won the first meeting in double overtime, 68-67, on Feb. 16 in San Antonio. The Roadrunners and the Mavericks met in last season’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Southland Conference Tournament semifinal game with UTSA outlasting UTA in triple overtime, 76-75, at Texas Hall on March 8. The Mavericks hold a 13-5 advantage at Texas Hall against the Roadrunners.
About Texas-Arlington: The Mavericks sit a top the Western Division of the Southland Conference with a 5-0 mark and are 10-8 overall. The Mavericks have won six of their last seven contests, including five in a row. UTA is coming off a 75-60 win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday. Senior Terra Wallace leads the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game and is averaging 4.1 assists per contest. Senior Ashley Bobb’s 8.4 rebounds per game ranks first on the squad and is fourth in the conference. UTA is sporting a 4-1 record at Texas Hall and is averaging 66 points per game.
Last time out: The UTSA women’s basketball team dropped a 76-64 decision against I-35 rival Texas State at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners saw their two-game conference winning streak come to an end. Senior Vivian Ewalefo led three UTSA players in double figures with a team-high 15 points. Sophomores Tia Bogan and Monica Gibbs chipped in with 12 apiece and Ewalefo grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Gibbs dished out a game-high seven assists, while junior Terrie Davis handed out five dimes.
Vintage Roadrunners: UTSA’s defense held Northwestern State to a season-low 23 percent shooting from the floor (14-of-60). The Roadrunners also held the league’s top scorer Chassidy Jones to 14 points, nearly six below her season average of 19.6.
Climbing the charts: Junior Terrie Davis moved to fourth on UTSA’s chart with 90 career 3-pointers surpassing former Roadrunner Tammy Rogers. The Houston, Texas, sharpshooter is on pace to move into second place by end of the season and surpass last season’s total of 39 3-pointers. Davis is the third UTSA player to connect on 90 or more 3-pointers.
A First: Junior Terrie Davis and freshman Courtney Laing posted their first career double-double in the win against Central Arkansas on Jan. 11. Davis scored 13 points and grabbed a career high 10 rebounds, while Laing tied her career-best with 15 points and hauled in 10 rebounds.
Toughest test ahead: UTSA’s next three opponents are within the division and are a combined 12-2. UTA sports a 5-0 record, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi stands 3-2 and Texas State has a 5-1 mark.
Rebounding machine: Senior Vivian Ewalefo set a career-high with 19 rebounds in the loss at Lamar on Jan. 6. The Las Vegas, Nev., native collected 11 boards in the first half alone. Her 8.6 rebounds per game this season ranks second in the Southland Conference.
Double digits: In the win against Central Arkansas, UTSA had four players score in double figures. Freshman Courtney Laing led the way with 15 points, while senior Vivian Ewalefo and junior Terrie Davis added 13 points apiece. Sophomore Tia Bogan chipped in with 10 points.
Double fever: Sophomore Monica Gibbs added two more double-doubles during the Wells Fargo New Year’s Classic to bring her season total to four. 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 74% free throw percentage. Against Texas State, UTSA connected on 18-of-20 free throws for a season-high 90%. The Roadrunners are on pace to break the school record of 71.5% set during the 1989-90 season.
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.
