| Sophomore Whitney York led UTSA with 14 points on Saturday (photo by Carmen Santiago). |
SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA women’s basketball improved to 3-0 in Southland Conference play for the first time in school history with a 69-51 win against UT Arlington on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
“It all started with defense today,” head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair said. “We also shot the ball well from the free throw line and the floor. Kameisha had a good game and when she hits her shots it makes it difficult for teams to defend us. We are well balanced and it doesn’t matter who leads us in scoring, as long as we get the win.”
The Roadrunners, who collected their third straight win, improved to 9-7 overall and 3-0 in league play, while the Mavericks dropped to 6-10 on the season and 1-2 in the Southland.
Sophomore Whitney York reached double figures for the 12th time this season with a team-high 14 points and it was the sixth time she led the team in scoring. Meanwhile, junior Kameisha Johnson netted 13 points on the strength of three 3-pointers, while freshman Judy Jones, who posted her fourth straight double digit outing, tagged on 10 on the day.
UTSA’s defense held UT Arlington to 10 points under its season average (61.7 points per game) and to just 28.8 percent (17-59) shooting from the floor, including 18.8 percent (6-32) in the first half. The Roadrunners also forced 23 Mavericks mishaps, which led to 18 points.
Meghan Nelson held game-high honors with 15 points, while Shalyn Martin added 10 and posted a game-best 10 rebounds.
Junior Amber Gregg made good on a pair of free throws that gave UTSA its largest lead of the game at 51-30 with 15:02 to go in the second half. UTA then scored nine unanswered points led by Martin’s seven to make it a 12-point game (51-39) at the 12-minute mark and would be the closet the Mavericks would get for the rest of the game.
The Roadrunners stopped UTA’s run with back-to-back buckets by York and freshman Whitney Wright that pushed their lead to 55-39 with 9:55 left. UTA closed the gap to 59-46 on Kiarra Shofner’s freebies with five minutes and change remaining on the clock.
UTSA matched its largest lead of the game at 21-points (67-46) when junior Kelsey Ansley connected on a lay up with 2:16 left and would hold on for the double digit win.
York paced UTSA’s offense with six of its first 13 points to make it a 13-8 Roadrunners advantage with 11:53 to go in the first half. The Runners stepped up their defensive play forcing five Mavericks turnovers in their first 10 possessions and to zero field goals until the 16:02 mark of the frame.
UTA’s Martin connected on a jumper to cut the Roadrunners deficit to three points (13-10) midway through the stanza. A 3-pointer by Gregg and a sensational block by Jones highlighted a 21-9 run over the final nine minutes and 53 seconds of the half to give UTSA the 34-19 halftime lead.
UTSA hits the road for divisional showdown at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Jan. 23. Tip off is slated for 2 p.m.