No. 3 UTSA Roadrunners (21-9) vs No. 2 UT Arlington Mavericks (19-9)
March 14, 2008 ? Noon ? Merrell Center (5,600)
Series Record: UT Arlington leads, 23-20
Last Meeting: UTSA won 63-46, in Arlington
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA, the No. 3 seed in this year's Southland Conference Tournament, advanced to the Southland Conference semifinals for the third straight season and will face second-seeded UT Arlington for the third time this year at noon on Friday at the Merrell Center.
On the Web: Fans can listen to the game (Rowdy Zone subscription) at goUTSA.com. Providing play-by-play announcing will be Andy Everett. Live stats and video provided by southland.org.
Series meeting: This will be the 44th all-time meeting between UTSA and UT Arlington. The Mavericks lead the series, 23-20. However, the Roadrunners won both regular season meetings. This will be the second meeting for both teams at a neutral site with UTA holding a 1-0 lead. The Mavericks ended the Roadrunners season last with a 70-52 win back on March 9, 2007 at the Campbell Center in Houston.
Scouting UT Arlington: The Mavericks continued their season with a 82-68 first round win over the seventh seed McNeese State on Wednesday afternoon at the Merrell Center. Maryann Abanobi leads the team averaging 12.6 points per game, while Candice Champion ranks second in scoring (10.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). Tiffeny Riles’ 7.6 rebounds per contest tops the team.
Last meeting: Senior guard Terrie Davis and junior forward Onika Anderson both scored a game-high 14 points and junior guard 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 Feb. 21. 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.
Last time out: Junior Monica Gibbs posted her 21st career double-double and junior Onika Anderson poured in a game-high 19 points to lead second-seeded UTSA past No. 6 Northwestern State, 80-56, on Wednesday in first round action at the Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center. The Roadrunners improved to 21-9 with the victory and tied the school record for wins in a season, which was set in 1983-84.
SFA downs UTSA: Junior Onika Anderson and freshman Jordan Stark combined for 36 points, but it wasn’t enough, as Stephen F. Austin held on for a 57-54 win on Saturday night in Southland Conference action at Johnson Coliseum. Anderson and Stark both scored 18 points for the Roadrunners (20-9, 12-4 SLC). Anderson also hauled in a team-high eight rebounds, while Stark went 4-of-9 from downtown. Junior guard Monica Gibbs added six points and recorded three blocks on the night.
Runners routs Sam Houston State: UTSA collected its 20th win of the season with a 76-51 victory over Sam Houston State on Thursday night at the Convocation Center. It is the first 20-victory campaign in head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair’s tenure and just the second in the program’s 27-year history. Junior Onika Anderson led the Roadrunners with game highs of 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior Monica Gibbs added 14 on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor.
All-conference performers: UTSA landed three players on the All-Southland Conference teams. Junior guard Monica Gibbs, who was the 2006 SLC Freshman of the Year and a second-team all-league selection a year ago, earned first-team honors, junior forward Onika Anderson collected second-team accolades and was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year and senior guard Terrie Davis was a third-team selection.
Runners in the tourney: Since joining the Southland Conference in 1992, UTSA 8-9 all-time in postseason play. The Roadrunners have appeared in the conference finals twice (2003 and 2006).
Anderson gets WBCA honorable mention: Junior forward Onika Anderson was tabbed WBCA honorable mention for the month of February.
Glass dominance: UTSA held a 44-35 rebounding advantage against Northwestern State. The Roadrunners also collected 16 offensive boards, led by senior Amanda Foster, who hauled in six rebounds.
20-win season: Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair posted her first 20-victory campaign during her tenure at UTSA and just the second in the program’s 27-year history and are tied for the most win total of 21 set during the 1983-84 season.
Clamping down on opponents: UTSA is holding the opposition to a league’s best 60.6 points per game and ranks third in defensive field goal percentage at 38.2 percent.
Taking care of the ball: UTSA committed a season-low six turnovers in the win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. The Roadrunners are averaging a league low 14.4 miscues per game and ranks 17th in the nation. UTSA has the league’s’ third-best turnover margin at +2.45.
Winning streak: UTSA’s 10-game winning streak marked the second longest in school-history and is the longest in SLC play. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners longest winning streak is 13 games set during the 2002-03 season (Jan. 9, 2003-Feb. 22, 2003).
Flat out dominance: During their 10-game winning streak this season, the Roadrunners had been beaten up the opposition on both sides of the ball. UTSA was averaging 72.9 points per game, while holding its opponents to 54.4 points per contest (+18.5 scoring margin).
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.
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.
Birdcage dominance: UTSA has proven time after time that home court advantage can result in a successful season. The Roadrunners are an impressive 229-132 (.634) at the Convocation Center all-time, including 13-3 this season. UTSA’s 13 wins at home is most victories in school-history at the Convo.
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 436 dimes in her career and counting. Gibbs dished out a season-high 11 assists in the win against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 9.
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 5.7 assists per game and ranks 16th in the nation.
Gibbs doubles up: Junior guard Monica Gibbs posted her sixth double-double of the season with a 14 points and 10 assists against Northwestern State on March 12. The Stillwater, Okla., native has 21 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 leads UTSA into semifinals: Junior Onika Anderson scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the win against Northwestern State.
O collects another double-double: Junior forward Onika Anderson tallied her team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Anderson scored 12 points and hauled in 13 rebounds at McNeese State on Feb. 28.
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 Lions: 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 180 3-pointers for her career. Davis stands 10th in the 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 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.
Off the bench: Freshman guard Jordan Stark poured 18 points coming off the bench at Stephen F. Austin on March 8. She also connected on four 3-pointers, including three in the first half.
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.
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 241-142 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 will face the winner of the Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game in the 2008 SLC Tournament finals on March 15. Tip-off slated for 3 p.m. and will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest.
