UTSA Roadrunners (18-6, 10-1 SLC) vs. Texas State (17-8, 11-1 SLC)
Feb. 23, 2008 ? 2 p.m. ? Convocation Center (4,080)
SAN ANTONIO - UTSA puts its season-long 10-game winning streak on the line against I-35 rival Texas State in a pivotal Southland Conference match up Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
On the Web: Fans can listen to the game (Rowdy Zone subscription) at goUTSA.com. Providing play-by-play announcing will be Stu Paul and color announcing will be San Antonio Silver Stars Shana Crossley. Live stats will be provided by UTSA (goUTSA.com).
Series meeting: This will be the 50th all-time meeting between UTSA and Texas State. The Bobcats lead the series, 28-21. The Roadrunners ended a four-game losing streak against Texas State with an 81-68 victory on Jan. 26 in San Marcos. UTSA is 11-14 all-time at the Convocation Center versus the Bobcats.
Scouting Texas State: The Bobcats have won six games in a row since losing to UTSA on Jan. 26 in San Marcos. Texas State improved to 17-8 overall and 11-1 in league after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 78-62 on Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats are led by Joyce Ekworomadu’s 17.8 points per game, while Marie Moser tops the squad in rebounding at 5.6 rpg.
Last meeting: Senior Terrie Davis and junior Onika Anderson combined for 43 points and led UTSA to an 81-68 SLC road victory at I-35 rival Texas State on Jan. 26 at Strahan Coliseum. Davis led four Roadrunners (12-6, 4-1 SLC) who scored in double figures with a team-high 23 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Anderson added 20 points and also grabbed 19 rebounds. Senior Amanda Foster and freshman Whitney York chipped in with 14 and 13 points, respectively, and junior Monica Gibbs dished out a game-high seven assists.
Last time out: Senior Terrie Davis and junior Onika Anderson both scored a game-high 14 points and junior Monica Gibbs just missed a triple-double to lead UTSA to its 10th win in a row, a 63-46 victory at UT Arlington on Thursday night. Gibbs posted her fourth double-double of the season with a dozen points and game-high 11 rebounds and added a game-best eight assists for the Roadrunners.
Anderson powers to UTSA over Nicholls: Junior Onika Anderson posted her seventh double-double of the season and fifth in the past six games with game highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead UTSA to a 82-41 victory against Nicholls State on Feb. 16 in the Convocation Center. It was the Roadrunners’ ninth win in a row. Junior Monica Gibbs just missed a triple-double with 10 assists, nine points and eight rebounds for the Roadrunners (17-6, 9-1 SLC), while senior Amanda Foster and Tia Bogan added 10 and eight points, respectively.
Davis 20-point effort leads UTSA past SLU: Senior Terrie Davis led a balanced UTSA attack with a game-high 20 points to lead the Roadrunners to a 71-59 win against Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference action on Feb. 14 at the Convocation Center. Junior Monica Gibbs, who dished out a game-high seven assists, set UTSA’s all-time assists record with 408, breaking Tammy Rogers’ mark of 406. Gibbs also added 15 points and hauled in eight rebounds for the Roadrunners.
On pace: With five games remaining on the ledger, UTSA is tied for the second most wins in a season (18, 7x, most recent 2005-06 season). The Roadrunners are three victorious away from tying the all-time win total of 21 set during the 1983-84 season.
Winning streak: UTSA’s current 10-game winning streak is the second longest in school-history and is longest in the SLC. The Roadrunners longest winning streak sits at 13 games set during the 2002-03 season (Jan. 9, 2003-Feb. 22, 2003).
Clamping down on opponents: UTSA in holding the opposition to a league’s best 61.0 points per game and ranks third in defensive field goal percentage at 38.5 percent.
Flat out dominance: Since dropping its Southland Conference opener to Lamar, 75-74, on Jan. 12 in San Antonio, the Roadrunners have beaten up the opposition on both sides of the ball. UTSA is averaging 72.9 points per game, while holding its opponents to 54.4 points per contest (+18.5 scoring margin).
Taking care of the ball: UTSA committed only six turnovers in the win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. The Roadrunners are averaging a league low 14.2 miscues per game and rank 20th in the nation. UTSA has the league’s’ third-best turnover margin at 2.67.
Roadrunners sweep SLC champions: After dropping all three meeting last season against UT Arlington, UTSA took the season series versus the Mavericks this year. The Roadrunners handed the champs with a 76-53 win on Jan. 24 in San Antonio, then dealt UTA a 17-point loss (63-46) Thursday night in Arlington. The margin of victory for the Roadrunners was +20.0 points per game.
Taking down SLC contenders: UTSA took down a pair of SLC contenders in defending league champion UT Arlington, 76-53, on Jan. 24 and I-35 rival Texas State, 81-68, two days later. Both team entered their respective contest undefeated in SLC play, but the Roadrunners dealt each their first conference loss.
Record-setting half: The 11 points scored by Central Arkansas on Jan. 17 in the second half were the fewest points allowed in a stanza for a conference game, while the four field goals made by UCA were also the fewest FGs in a frame for a league game. Both marks are school records.
Most non-conference wins: The eight non-conference wins that UTSA posted this season was the most by head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair.
Runners in the SLC: Senior Terrie Davis ranks second the team in scoring and is 11th in the SLC at 12.2 points per game, while freshman Whitney York’s 10.3 points per outing ranks 20th in the conference. York also is sixth in the league in field goal percentage (46.2 percent). Junior Monica Gibbs is third in the league at 7.7 rebounds per contest, is dishing out a league-best 6.2 assists per game and is tied for seventh in the conference in steals (2.1 spg).
New assist leader: Junior guard Monica Gibbs became UTSA’s all-time career assists leader in the win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. The Stillwater, Okla., native currently has 426 dimes in her career and counting.
Dishing out dimes: UTSA handed out a season-best 23 assists in the win against Nicholls State on Feb. 16. Junior Monica Gibbs led the way with 10 dimes. She is averaging a league-best 6.2 assists per game and ranks 15th in the nation.
Gibbs doubles up: Junior guard Monica Gibbs posted her fourth double-double of the season with a 12 points and 11 rebounds at UT Arlington on Feb. 21. The Stillwater, Okla., native has 19 career double-doubles, including 13 that she recorded a year ago.
Gibbs collects preseason honors: Junior Monica Gibbs was named to the 2007-08 SLC Preseason First Team. Gibbs, who was a second-team All-SLC pick a year ago, led the conference with 13 double-doubles in 29 games in 2006-07. The Stillwater, Okla., native also paced the team in rebounding (8.1) and assists (4.7) and her 12.9 points per game ranked second on the squad last season. She now owns UTSA’s all-time assists mark with 426 and is ninth with 56 career blocks.
Anderson doubles Nicholls: Junior forward Onika Anderson collected her team leading seventh double-double of the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds in the win against Nicholls on Feb. 16. She has tallied a double-double in five of the last six games. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native scored 19 of her 26 in the first half.
Another double-double week for Anderson: Junior Onika Anderson recorded her second straight week with back-to-back double-doubles. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native posted her fourth double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Sam Houston State on Feb. 7. She then collected her fifth two days later against Stephen F. Austin with a career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Anderson cleans it up: Junior Onika Anderson recorded her second consecutive double-double in the win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 2. Anderson scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in that contest.
Anderson collects POW: Junior forward Onika Anderson collected her first career Southland Conference Player of the Week award, the league office announced Jan. 28. Anderson averaged 14.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, as the Roadrunners handed defending league champion UT Arlington a 76-53 defeat Jan. 24 and I-35 rival Texas State an 81-68 setback two days later. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win against the Mavericks and followed that performance with 20 points and a conference school-record-tying 19 rebounds against the Bobcats for her third double-double of the year.
Wiping down the glass: Junior Onika Anderson dominated the glass at Texas State on Jan. 26. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native hauled in a conference school-record-tying 19 rebounds against the Bobcats. Her 19 rebounding effort is the third-best performance in a single game school history.
Davis tames Lady Loins: Senior Terrie Davis scored a game-high 20 points, including 16 in the first half, in the win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. Davis leads the team with six 20-point efforts this season, including a career-high 24 points against Georgia Southern on Nov. 24.
Raining 3’s: Senior Terrie Davis broke UTSA’s all-time 3-point record on her first attempt at Tulsa on Dec. 1. The Houston native set a new school-record with a eight 3-pointers against Lamar on Jan. 12. She has a total of 173 3-pointers for her career. Davis stands fifth in the SLC in 3-point field goal percentage at 37.5 percent and is averaging a league-best 2.61 3-pointers per game and stands 31st in the nation.
Davis shoots down the Bobcats: Senior Terrie Davis scored 23 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers in the win at Texas State on Jan. 26. Davis was 7-of-11 from downtown, including 5-of-6 in the first half. She has made five or more 3-pointers in four games this season.
Scoring them in a row: Freshman guard Whitney York tallied 11 points in the win against SLU on Feb. 14. The Bryan native scored the final six points of the first half, then opened the second frame with the first five points.
Near perfection: Freshman Whitney York was a near perfect from the field, shooting 8-of-9, including making her first six attempts in the 73-45 win against Weber State on Dec. 30.
York earns consecutive SLC honors: Freshman Whitney York became the first Roadrunner in school history to earn Southland Conference Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks (Nov. 13 and Nov. 20). York posted a career-high 22 points in the 68-60 win against Wichita State on Nov. 18. The Bryan native helped UTSA to a pair of wins against Huston-Tillotson (89-50) on Nov. 9 and Belmont (77-65) on Nov. 11. In her Roadrunners debut, she tallied 12 points and was 10-of-10 from the free throw line. York then chipped in with 16 points, while grabbing a career-best eight boards in the 12-point victory against Belmont.
Stark ropes Mavs: Freshman Jordan Stark posted game-high honors with 21 points, including 13 in the second half, in the win against UT Arlington on Jan. 24. She connected on four 3-pointers.
Stark collects SLC POW honors: Freshman Jordan Stark, who averaged a double-double against Missouri State and Tulsa, collected Southland Conference Player of the Week honors on Dec. 3. The Weatherford, Okla., native averaged 14.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game en route to collecting the weekly honor.
Birdcage dominance: UTSA has proven time after time that home court advantage can result in a successful season. The Roadrunners are an impressive 226-131 (.633) at the Convocation Center all-time, including 12-2 this season.
Preseason rankings: UTSA, which finished 14-16 overall and 9-7 in SLC play last season, was picked first and fourth, respectively, in this year’s Southland Conference Preseason Coaches and SIDs polls. The Roadrunners collected five first-places votes in the coaches rankings for a total of 52 points. In the SIDs poll, UTSA garnered 42 points.
Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair: In her eighth season as head coach, Rae Rippetoe-Blair has established herself as the winningest and longest-tenured head coach in school history. Since her hiring in 2000, the Roadrunners have made the Southland Conference Tournament seven consecutive seasons, including two trips to the conference finals (2003 and 2006). She currently owns 131 wins at UTSA and her .565 winning percentage is second-best in school history. The Roadrunners have the second-most SLC wins (88) and second-best winning percentage (.685) since 2001. A two-time SLC Coach of the Year, Rippetoe-Blair has posted an overall mark of 238-140 in 11-plus years as a head coach.
Newest addition: UTSA announced on Feb. 5 that Alysse Davis, who hails from Corpus Christi, has transferred from Memphis to play for the Roadrunners for the 2008-09 season. She will have two years of eligibility remaining at UTSA.
Fall signing class: Coach Rippetoe-Blair announced on Nov. 19 the signing of JaMorgan Davis (Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacogdoches HS) to a National Letter of Intent for the 2008-09 season.
Next on tap: The Roadrunners continue SLC play next week when they visits Lake Charles, La., on Feb. 28 for a conference tilt at McNeese State.