NCAA First Round
2008 Southland Conference Tournament Champions No. 15 UTSA Roadrunners (23-9) vs.
2008 Big 12 Conference Tournament Champions No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies (26-7)
March 22, 2008 ? 11 a.m. ? Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,472)
Tournament Central: Click here
Series Record: Texas A&M leads, 9-4
SAN ANTONIO ? The Southland Conference Tournament Champions UTSARoadrunners earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in schoolhistory with a 65-56 win over Lamar in SLC Championship game on March15 at the Merrell Center in Katy. The No. 15-seed Roadrunners will facetwo-seed Texas A&M in first round action at the Pete MaravichAssembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
On TV: The game will be televised on ESPN2 with Eric Collins(play-by-play), Carolyn Peck (color analyst) and Allen Hopkins(reporter) calling the action.
On the Web: Fans can listen to the game for free at goUTSA.com.Providing play-by-play announcing will be Stu Paul. Live stats will beprovided by ncaa.com.
20-win season: With a 23-9 record this season, head coach RaeRippetoe-Blair posted her first 20-victory campaign during her tenureat UTSA and just the second in the program’s 27-year history. TheRoadrunners’ 23 wins is a new school record, breaking the old mark of21 set during the 1983-84 season.
Dancing for the first-time: UTSA earned its first-ever trip the NCAATournament in its 27-year history with a 65-56 victory over Lamar onMarch 15 at the Merrell Center in Katy.
Tournament top performance: The trio of senior Terrie Davis and juniorsOnika Anderson and Monica Gibbs led UTSA to its first-ever SLCTournament Championship. Gibbs was tabbed conference tournament MVP,while Anderson and Davis were named to the SLC all-tournament team.
Third time’s the charm: Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair led her team toits third Southland Conference final in the last six years. TheRoadrunners clinched the automatic bid with the win against Lamar intheir third finals appearance. In its previous two trips, UTSA, whowere the 2003 SLC Regular Season Champions, fell to Texas State in 2003and then lost at Stephen F. Austin in 2005.
All-conference performers: UTSA landed three players on theAll-Southland Conference teams, the league announced on March 10.Junior guard Monica Gibbs, who was the 2006 SLC Freshman of the Yearand a second-team all-league selection a year ago, earned first-teamhonors, junior forward Onika Anderson collected second-team accoladesand was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year and senior guard TerrieDavis was a third-team selection.
Defense does win championships: UTSA’s run to its first conferencetournament title was credited in large part to its defense. TheRoadrunners held their three opponents to 38.9 percent shooting fromthe floor, forced 15.7 turnovers per game and averaged 5.0 blocks percontest. UTSA, which ranks first in the league in scoring defense (60.5ppg), also held its opposition to 59.7 points per game and below theirseason average in all three contests.
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 aconference game, while the four field goals made by UCA were also thefewest FGs in a frame for a league game. Both marks are school records,as well.
Anderson earns WBCA honorable mention accolades: Junior forward OnikaAnderson was tabbed an honorable mention WBCA Player of the Month forFebruary. Anderson recorded five double-doubles, while averaging 18.8points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Winning streak: UTSA’s 10-game winning streak this season (Jan. 17-Feb.21) marked the second longest in school-history and is the longest inSLC play. Meanwhile, the school’s longest winning streak is 13 gamesset during the 2002-03 season (Jan. 9, 2003-Feb. 22, 2003). UTSAaveraged 72.9 points per game, while holding opponents to 54.4 pointsper contest (+18.5 scoring margin).
Taking care of the ball: UTSA committed a season-low six turnovers inthe win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14. The Roadrunners areaveraging a league low-14.0 miscues per game and rank 17th in thenation. UTSA has the league’s’ third-best turnover margin at +2.80.
Series meeting: This will be the 14th all-time meeting between UTSA andTexas A&M. The Aggies lead the series, 9-4. The Roadrunners havedropped the last three meeting, including a 74-48 loss at CollegeStation on Nov. 30, 2004. The last time, UTSA collected a win againstTexas A&M was back on Dec. 11, 1992, with a 75-59 victory in SanAntonio. This will be the first meeting for both teams in a neutralsite.
Scouting Texas A&M: The Aggies earned the automatic bid to the NCAATournamentwith a 64-59 win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12Championship game on March 13 in Kansas City, Mo. Texas A&M iscurrently on a nine-game winning streak and is 26-7 overall. TakiaStarks leads the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game, whileDanielle Gant ranks second averaging 14.8 ppg.
Texas A&M connections: The UTSA Athletics Department has manyconnections to Texas A&M. Athletics director Lynn Hickey was headcoach at A&M from 1984-94, guiding the Aggies to the Sweet Sixteenin 1994, and also served as senior woman administrator from 1994-2000.Associate head coach Lubomyr Lichonczak was an assistant coach atA&M from 1987-90 under Hickey. Baseball head coach Sherman Corbettplayed at A&M from 1982-84, while associate head coach JasonMarshall played for the Aggies from 1989-92. Head men’s basketballcoach Brooks Thompson played for A&M from 1989-91, earningAll-Southwest Conference honors in 1991. Head volleyball coach LauraNeugebauer-Groff was an assistant coach at A&M from 1990-92, whileassistant volleyball coach Carol Price played for the Aggies volleyballteam from 2000-03 and for the women’s basketball team during the2003-04 campaign. Associate athletics director/senior woman'sadministrator Elizabeth Dalton (1990) played soccer at A&M 1986-90,while director of athletics facilities Patrick Grant (2005) and sportsinformation director Kyle Stephens (1998) both graduated and worked atA&M.
SLC recap: UTSA is going NCAA Tournament dancing for the first time inschool history after defeating Lamar, 65-56, in the 2008 SouthlandConference championship game on March 15 at the Merrell Center. SeniorAmanda Foster posted her second double-double of the season with 16points and 13 rebounds for the Roadrunners, while junior Monica Gibbs,who was named the SLC Tournament MVP, collected her 22nd careerdouble-double with 14 points and 12 boards. Senior Terrie Davis, namedto the SLC All-Tournament Team, chipped in with 15 points on thestrength of five 3-pointers, including four in the first half. JuniorOnika Anderson also collected All-Tournament honors. The Roadrunnersreached the conference finals for the third time in the last six years,when they handed UT Arlington a 77-67 loss in the semifinals on March14. UTSA opened the tournament with a convincing 80-56 win overNorthwestern State in first round action on March 12.
Most non-conference wins: The eight non-conference wins that UTSAposted this season is the most under head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair.
Birdcage dominance: The Roadrunners are an impressive 229-132 (.634) atthe Convocation Center all-time, including 13-3 this season. UTSA’s 13home victorious this year is a school record.
New assist leader: Junior guard Monica Gibbs became UTSA’s careerassists leader in the win against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14.The Stillwater, Okla., native currently has 461 dimes and counting.Gibbs dished out a season-high 11 assists in the win against Stephen F.Austin on Feb. 9. She is averaging a league-best 5.8 assists per gameand ranks 16th in the nation, in that category. Gibbs has handed outseven or more assists 14 times this season, including a season-high 11against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 9.
Gibbs doubles up: Junior guard Monica Gibbs posted her seventhdouble-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds in thechampionship game against Lamar on March 15. She also collected hersixth in the first round game of the SLC Tournament againstNorthwestern State on March 12. The Stillwater, Okla., native has 22career double-doubles, including 13 last season.
Onika has another double-double: Junior Onika Anderson posted her teamleading ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10rebounds in the win against UT Arlington on March 14. The Pine Bluff,Ark., native recorded five double-doubles in the month of February,totaling two in January. Anderson tallied her first double-double with23 points and 14 rebounds in the win against Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 29.
Another double-double week for Anderson: Junior Onika Anderson recordedher second straight week with back-to-back double-doubles in Feburary.The Pine Bluff, Ark., native posted her fourth double-double with 12points and 10 rebounds in the win at Sam Houston State on Feb. 7. Shethen collected her fifth two days later against Stephen F. Austin witha career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Anderson collects POW: Junior forward Onika Anderson collected herfirst career Southland Conference Player of the Week award, the leagueoffice 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.
Owning the Cards: In her two meetings against Lamar, senior TerrieDavis tallied 13 3-pointers, including a school-record eightthree-balls on Jan. 12, in San Antonio. In the SLC championship game,the Houston native connected on five 3-pointers. She averaged 19.5points per game and shot 50 percent behind the 3-point line (13-26) inthe two contests.
Topping 20: Senior Terrie Davis leads the team with six 20-pointefforts this season, including career-highs of 24 points againstGeorgia Southern on Nov. 24 and against Lamar on Jan. 12.
Raining threes: Senior Terrie Davis broke UTSA’s all-time 3-pointrecord on her first attempt at Tulsa on Dec. 1 surpassing the formerrecord of 121 held by Philicia Ross. She has a total of 194 3-pointersfor her career. Davis leads the conference with 2.53 3-pointers pergame and ranks 32nd in the nation.
Davis shoots down the Bobcats: Senior Terrie Davis scored 23 points onthe 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 five games this season.
Keeps playing and playing: Freshman guard Whitney York has madeteam-best 32 starts this season. The Bryan native is averaging 24.6minutes per game. She played a career-high 38 minutes against Miami(Ohio) on Dec. 29. Against Southeastern Louisiana, she tallied 11points in a row, as she scored the final six points of the first halfand then opened the second frame with the first five points. Meanwhile,York was a near perfect from the field, shooting 8-of-9, includingmaking her first six attempts in the 73-45 win against Weber State onDec. 30.
York earns consecutive SLC honors: Freshman Whitney York became thefirst Roadrunner in school history to earn Southland Conference Playerof the Week honors in consecutive weeks (Nov. 13 and Nov. 20). Yorkposted a career-high 22 points in the 68-60 win against Wichita Stateon Nov. 18. The Bryan native helped UTSA to a pair of wins againstHuston-Tillotson (89-50) on Nov. 9 and Belmont (77-65) on Nov. 11. Inher Roadrunners debut, she tallied 12 points and was 10-of-10 from thefree throw line. York then chipped in with 16 points, while grabbing acareer-best eight boards in the 12-point victory against Belmont.
Off the bench: Freshman guard Jordan Stark is averaging 8.6 points and4.5 rebounds per game coming off the bench. Stark helped theRoadrunners defeat UT Arlington with 14 points on March 14. She thenpoured in 18 points coming off the bench, including connecting on four3-pointers at Stephen F. Austin on March 8. In her meeting against UTA,she posted a game-high 21 points, including 13 in the second half, onJan. 24.
Stark collects SLC POW honors: Freshman Jordan Stark, who averaged adouble-double against Missouri State and Tulsa, collected SouthlandConference Player of the Week honors on Dec. 3. The Weatherford, Okla.,native averaged 14.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game en route tocollecting the weekly honor.
Newest addition: UTSA announced on Feb. 5 that Alysse Davis, who hailsfrom 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. 19 thesigning of JaMorgan Davis (Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacogdoches HS) to aNational Letter of Intent for the 2008-09 season.
