Texas A&M International Dustdevils at UTSA Roadrunners
Friday, Nov. 14 ? 7 p.m.
Convocation Center (4,080) ? San Antonio, Texas
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA opens its 2008-09 season at 7 p.m. on Friday night against Texas A&M International at the Convocation Center. Prior to tip off, the Roadrunners will be receiving their 2008 Southland Tournament Championship ring. This game will be an exhibition game for the Dustdevils.
Roadrunners on the Web: Fans can follow the Roadrunners this season at goUTSA.com. All 29 games can be heard for free with Stu Paul will providing play-by-play analysis. Fans can also can enjoy watching the UTSA on the Web, as all 16 homes games will be broadcast live on goUTSA.com (RowdyZone subscription required). Live stats will be available at no cost.
UTSA on the tube: The Roadrunners will be featured on television three times this season. Time Warner Cable (Channel 50) will broadcast the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 24 and UT Arlington on Feb. 14. The Southland Television Network will air the contest against Northwestern State on Jan. 24.
Series history: This will be the first meeting between the Roadrunners and Dustdevils.
Scouting Texas A&M International: The Dustdevils are coming off an 8-18 overall record and were tied for sixth in the Heartland Conference with a 4-10 mark last season. The Dustdevils return 10 letterwinners, including four starters. Among them is Jasmine June, who led the team with 15.2 points per game and ranked second in rebounding (6.7 rpg).
The Gibbs watch: Senior guard Monica Gibbs became UTSA’s all-time assists leader a year ago and the Stillwater, Okla., native is on pace to rewrite the program’s record book once again this season. She is 98 rebounds shy of passing Margaret Martinovich, who holds the all-time mark with 778 rebounds. Gibbs is also on track to become the 11th player in school history to score 1,000 points. She currently has 946 career points during her three-year career.
Preseason favorites: UTSA was the unanimous choice to win the West Division in both the Southland Conference Coaches and Sports Information Directors preseason polls, the league office announced on Oct. 21. The Roadrunners collected seven first-place votes and totaled 62 points in the coaches rankings, finishing ahead 2007-08 SLC Regular Season Champion Texas State, which picked up 49 points. Meanwhile, UTSA garnered 10 of the 12 first place votes in the SIDs Poll for a total of 65 points. The Bobcats nabbed the other two first-place votes and finished with 47 points, while the Lamar tied Texas State with 47 points. This was the second time the Roadrunners were selected as preseason SLC favorites. The last time they were picked atop in the rankings was 2003-04.
Exhibition success: The Roadrunners picked up a pair of easy wins in their exhibition season. UTSA defeated the Dallas Diesel, 81-64, on Nov. 2 at the Convocation Center. In its second tune-up, the Runners cruised past St. Edward’s, 71-46, last Sunday.
UTSA lands three on All-SLC preseason teams: Seniors Onika Anderson and Monica Gibbs were named the league’s preseason first team and sophomore Whitey York collected second-team honors on Oct. 21.
Next game: UTSA begins a three-game road trip on Sunday, Nov. 16, when it heads to Fort Worth for a 5 p.m., matchup at TCU.
