| Senior Monica Gibbs tied her career high with 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on Wednesday night. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Senior guard Monica Gibbs collected her 33rd career double-double with a career-high-tying 24 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore guard Amber Gregg added 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from downtown to lead UTSA past Northwestern State, 74-69, on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners improved to 18-8 overall and remained in a tie with UT Arlington for first place in the West Division at 11-2 in Southland Conference play.
Senior forward Ryba Pawlaczyk collected her eighth double-double of the year with 13 points and a game-best dozen boards and senior forward Onika Anderson matched her with 12 rebounds.
Sherrion Thomas led the way for the Lady Demons (15-11, 7-6 SLC) with team-high 17 points, while Demetria White and Brittany Houston chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively.
UTSA used a 14-8 spurt for a 52-44 advantage within the first five minutes of the second half. However, Northwestern State used a 9-4 stretch over the next two minutes to make it a two-point contest. Gregg’s free throws extended the Roadrunners’ lead 60-54 with 8:06 remaining, but the Lady Demons got within three on Thomas’ layup with less than seven minutes to go.
Gregg then netted the next eight UTSA points to increase the lead 69-62 with 1:54 to go and the Roadrunners sealed the game at the charity stripe, going 4-of-5 in the final minute.
UTSA built an 11-point lead nearly seven minutes into the game, Northwestern State rallied for its first lead of the game, 35-34, on Houston’s 3-pointer with under two minutes showing on the clock. However, sophomore Jordan Stark's three-ball from the left wing gave the Roadrunners a 38-36 edge at the half.
UTSA hits the road for a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday at Lamar.