UTSA Roadrunners (20-8, 12-3 SLC) at Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (11-16, 8-7 SLC)
March 8, 2008 ? 6 p.m. ? Johnson Coliseum (7,203)
Series Record: SFA leads, 29-7
Last Meeting: UTSA won 75-62 in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO ? Fresh off a 76-51 win Thursday night, UTSA looksto end its regular season on a winning note at Stephen F. Austin thisSaturday at Johnson Coliseum. Tip-off slated for 6 p.m.
On the Web: Fans can listen to the game (Rowdy Zonesubscription) at goUTSA.com. Providing play-by-play announcing will beAssistant Sports Information Director Carlos Valdez. Live statsprovided by sfajacks.com.
Series meeting: This will be the 37th all-time meeting betweenUTSA and Stephen F. Austin. The Ladyjacks lead the series, 29-7.However, the Roadrunners have won the last three meeting, including a75-62 win on Feb. 9 in San Antonio. UTSA is 1-15 all-time inNacogdoches. The Roadrunners lone victory came last season on Feb. 3.
Scouting Stephen F. Austin: The Ladyjacks clinched a berth tothe Southland Conference Tournament with a 66-63 win at TexasA&M-Corpus Christi last Wednesday in the American Bank Center.Stephen F. Austin is 11-16 overall and stands fourth in the WestDivision with a 8-7 mark. SFA is led by Nikki Carr, who is averagingteam-best 14.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, NatashiaGreen ranks second on the squad at 9.8 points per contest.
Last meeting: Junior Onika Anderson posted her fourth straightdouble-double with a career-high 27 points and a game-best 14 reboundsto lead UTSA to its seventh consecutive win, 75-62, against Stephen F.Austin on Feb. 9 at the Convocation Center. Freshman Amber Gregg addeda career-high 12 points, while senior Amanda Foster chipped in with 11for the Roadrunners. Junior Monica Gibbs dished out a season-best 11assists.
Last time out: UTSA collected its 20th win of the season with a76-51 victory over Sam Houston State on Thursday night at theConvocation Center. It is the first 20-victory campaign in head coachRae Rippetoe-Blair’s tenure and just the second in the program’s27-year history. Junior Onika Anderson led the Roadrunners with gamehighs of 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior Monica Gibbs added14 on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Second-half surge lifts UTSA past TAMU-CC: UTSA snapped itstwo-game losing with a 60-47 win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi March1 in Southland Conference action. Junior Onika Anderson recorded herteam-leading 14th double figures scoring game with a game-high 15points and she also hauled in seven rebounds. Junior Monica Gibbscollected a game-best eight boards and added 11 points for theRoadrunners. Freshman Amber Gregg chipped in with eight points, allcoming in the second half.
Cowgirls rally late to beat UTSA: Juniors Onika Anderson andMonica Gibbs double-doubles weren’t enough, as UTSA dropped its secondgame in row with a 52-49 loss at McNeese State on Feb. 28 in SouthlandConference action. Gibbs posted her fifth double-double of the seasonwith a game-high 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Anderson collectedher team-leading eighth double-double with a dozen points and game-best13 boards. Freshman guard Whitney York added 10 points for theRoadrunners.
20-win season: Head coach Rae-Rippetoe-Blair posted her first20-victory campaign during her tenure at UTSA and just the second inthe program’s 27-year history and are one victory away from tying theall-time win total of 21 set during the 1983-84 season.
Clamping down on opponents: UTSA in holding the opposition to aleague’s best 60.7 points per game and ranks third in defensive fieldgoal percentage at 38.4 percent.
Taking care of the ball: UTSA committed a season-low sixturnovers in the win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. TheRoadrunners are averaging a league low 14.2 miscues per game and ranks17th in the nation. UTSA has the league’s’ third-best turnover marginat +2.89.
Winning streak: UTSA’s 10-game winning streak marked the secondlongest in school-history. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners longest winningstreak is 13 games set during the 2002-03 season (Jan. 9, 2003-Feb. 22,2003).
Flat out dominance: During their 10-game winning streak thisseason, the Roadrunners had been beaten up the opposition on both sidesof the ball. UTSA was averaging 72.9 points per game, while holding itsopponents to 54.4 points per contest (+18.5 scoring margin).
Roadrunners sweep SLC champions: After dropping all threemeeting last season against UT Arlington, UTSA took the season seriesversus the Mavericks this year. The Roadrunners handed the champs witha 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 theRoadrunners was +20.0 points per game.
Record-setting half: The 11 points scored by Central Arkansas onJan. 17 in the second half were the fewest points allowed in a stanzafor a conference game, while the four field goals made by UCA were alsothe fewest FGs in a frame for a league game. Both marks are schoolrecords.
Most non-conference wins: The eight non-conference wins that UTSA posted this season was the most by head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair.
Birdcage dominance: UTSA has proven time after time that homecourt advantage can result in a successful season. The Roadrunners arean impressive 229-132 (.634) at the Convocation Center all-time,including 13-3 this season. UTSA’s 13 wins at home is most victories inschool-history at the Convo.
Runners in the SLC: Senior Terrie Davis ranks second the team inscoring and is 15th in the SLC at 11.4 points per game, while freshmanWhitney York’s 10.1 points per outing ranks 21st in the conference.York also is eighth in the league in field goal percentage (45.4percent). Junior Monica Gibbs is fifth in the league at 7.7 reboundsper contest, is dishing out a league-best 5.7 assists per game and iseighth in the conference in steals (2.0 spg). The Stillwater, Okla.,native is tied for 16th in scoring (10.9 ppg).
New assist leader: Junior guard Monica Gibbs became UTSA’sall-time career assists leader in the win against SoutheasternLouisiana on Feb. 14. The Stillwater, Okla., native currently has 436dimes in her career and counting. Gibbs dished out a season-high 11assists in the win against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 9.
Dishing out dimes: UTSA handed out a season-best 23 assists inthe win against Nicholls State on Feb. 16. Junior Monica Gibbs led theway with 10 dimes. She is averaging a league-best 5.7 assists per gameand ranks 16th in the nation.
Gibbs doubles up: Junior guard Monica Gibbs posted her fifthdouble-double of the season with a 14 points and 11 rebounds at McNeeseState Feb. 28. The Stillwater, Okla., native has 20 careerdouble-doubles, including 13 that she recorded a year ago.
Gibbs collects preseason honors: Junior Monica Gibbs was namedto the 2007-08 SLC Preseason First Team. Gibbs, who was a second-teamAll-SLC pick a year ago, led the conference with 13 double-doubles in29 games in 2006-07. The Stillwater, Okla., native also paced the teamin rebounding (8.1) and assists (4.7) and her 12.9 points per gameranked second on the squad last season. She now owns UTSA’s all-timeassists mark with 426 and is ninth with 56 career blocks.
O collects another double-double: Junior forward Onika Andersontallied her team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Andersonscored 12 points and hauled in 13 rebounds at McNeese State on Feb. 28.
Anderson doubles Nicholls: Junior forward Onika Andersoncollected her team leading seventh double-double of the season with 26points and 12 rebounds in the win against Nicholls on Feb. 16. She hastallied 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 Andersonrecorded her second straight week with back-to-back double-doubles. ThePine Bluff, Ark., native posted her fourth double-double with 12 pointsand 10 rebounds in the win at Sam Houston State on Feb. 7. She thencollected her fifth two days later against Stephen F. Austin with acareer-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Anderson cleans it up: Junior Onika Anderson recorded her secondconsecutive double-double in the win against Texas A&M-CorpusChristi on Feb. 2. Anderson scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds inthat contest.
Anderson collects POW: Junior forward Onika Anderson collectedher first career Southland Conference Player of the Week award, theleague office announced Jan. 28. Anderson averaged 14.5 points and 13.5rebounds per game, as the Roadrunners handed defending league championUT Arlington a 76-53 defeat Jan. 24 and I-35 rival Texas State an 81-68setback two days later. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native scored eightpoints and grabbed nine rebounds in the win against the Mavericks andfollowed that performance with 20 points and a conferenceschool-record-tying 19 rebounds against the Bobcats for her thirddouble-double of the year.
Wiping down the glass: Junior Onika Anderson dominated the glassat Texas State on Jan. 26. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native hauled in aconference school-record-tying 19 rebounds against the Bobcats. Her 19rebounding effort is the third-best performance in a single game schoolhistory.
Davis tames Lady Lions: Senior Terrie Davis scored a game-high20 points, including 16 in the first half, in the win againstSoutheastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. Davis leads the team with six20-point efforts this season, including a career-high 24 points againstGeorgia Southern on Nov. 24.
Raining 3’s: Senior Terrie Davis broke UTSA’s all-time 3-pointrecord on her first attempt at Tulsa on Dec. 1. The Houston native seta new school-record with a eight 3-pointers against Lamar on Jan. 12.She has a total of 180 3-pointers for her career. Davis stands 10th inthe SLC in 3-point field goal percentage at 35.6 percent and is second averaging 2.48 3-pointers per game and stands 35th in the nation.
Davis shoots down the Bobcats: Senior Terrie Davis scored 23points on the strength of seven 3-pointers in the win at Texas State onJan. 26. Davis was 7-of-11 from downtown, including 5-of-6 in the firsthalf. She has made five or more 3-pointers in four games this season.
Scoring them in a row: Freshman guard Whitney York tallied 11points in the win against SLU on Feb. 14. The Bryan native scored thefinal six points of the first half, then opened the second frame withthe first five points.
Near perfection: Freshman Whitney York was a near perfect fromthe field, shooting 8-of-9, including making her first six attempts inthe 73-45 win against Weber State on Dec. 30.
York earns consecutive SLC honors: Freshman Whitney York becamethe first Roadrunner in school history to earn Southland ConferencePlayer 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 WichitaState on Nov. 18. The Bryan native helped UTSA to a pair of winsagainst 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-10from the free throw line. York then chipped in with 16 points, whilegrabbing a career-best eight boards in the 12-point victory againstBelmont.
Stark ropes Mavs: Freshman Jordan Stark posted game-high honorswith 21 points, including 13 in the second half, in the win against UTArlington on Jan. 24. She connected on four 3-pointers.
Stark collects SLC POW honors: Freshman Jordan Stark, whoaveraged a double-double against Missouri State and Tulsa, collectedSouthland Conference Player of the Week honors on Dec. 3. TheWeatherford, Okla., native averaged 14.5 points and 12.5 rebounds pergame en route to collecting the weekly honor.
Preseason rankings: UTSA, which finished 14-16 overall and 9-7in SLC play last season, was picked first and fourth, respectively, inthis year’s Southland Conference Preseason Coaches and SIDs polls. TheRoadrunners collected five first-places votes in the coaches rankingsfor a total of 52 points. In the SIDs poll, UTSA garnered 42 points.
Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair: In her eighth season as headcoach, Rae Rippetoe-Blair has established herself as the winningest andlongest-tenured head coach in school history. Since her hiring in 2000,the Roadrunners have made the Southland Conference Tournament sevenconsecutive seasons, including two trips to the conference finals (2003and 2006). She currently owns 131 wins at UTSA and her .565 winningpercentage is second-best in school history. The Roadrunners have thesecond-most SLC wins (88) and second-best winning percentage (.685)since 2001. A two-time SLC Coach of the Year, Rippetoe-Blair has postedan overall mark of 240-142 in 11-plus years as a head coach.
Newest addition: UTSA announced on Feb. 5 that Alysse Davis, whohails from Corpus Christi, has transferred from Memphis to play for theRoadrunners for the 2008-09 season. She will have two years ofeligibility remaining at UTSA.
Fall signing class: Coach Rippetoe-Blair announced on Nov. 19the signing of JaMorgan Davis (Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacogdoches HS) to aNational Letter of Intent for the 2008-09 season.
Next on tap: UTSA travels to Katy for the 2008 SLC Tournament on March 12-15 at the Merrell Center.
