| Sophomore Courtney Laing had a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds on Friday. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Sophomore Courtney Laing and freshman Jordan Stack both topped 20 points as the UTSA women’s basketball team routed Huston-Tillotson, 89-50, in the regular season opener Friday night at the Convocation Center.
Laing matched her two previous 20-plus efforts in the exhibition season with 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Stark nailed 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line in posting 20 points in her Roadrunner debut. Freshman Whitney York added 12 points, including a 10-for-10 effort from the free throw line (1-for-1 shy of the school record), while junior Monica Gibbs tallied nine points, seven boards and seven assists. Senior Amanda Foster pulled down 10 rebounds and added nine points.
In winning their second home opener in a row, the Roadrunners improve to 3-0 all-time against H-T. The Lady Rams fall to 0-3.
UTSA built a 23-6 lead through the first 10 minutes and never looked back. The Roadrunners defense held the Lady Rams to just 16.7-percent (3-18 FGs) shooting from the floor during the stretch, while Stark, Laing and Gibbs accounted for 20 of the points.
UTSA held H-T to just 23.5-percent shooting in the half and mounted a 33-19 edge on the boards en route to a 38-18 lead at the break.
The run continued in the second half as a four-point play by freshman Amber Gregg pushed the lead to 60-28 with just under 13 minutes to play. Stark drained her fourth trey of the night with 7:50 left to give the Roadrunners a 76-37 lead.
The lead grew to as many as 44 points at the 4:08 mark in a game the Roadrunners never trailed. UTSA finished with a 56-36 advantage on the glass, held H-T to just 22-of-71 (31.0 percent) from the field and forced 18 turnovers.
Roslynn Robbins led the Lady Rams with nine points, while Faviela Parrilla and Ashley Davis pulled down a team-high five rebounds apiece.
The Roadrunners host Belmont at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11.