| Freshman Jermini Malone had a career-high 16 points on Wednesday. |
SAN ANTONIO — Freshman Jermini Malone, who made her first career start, led four UTSA (10-8, 4-1 Southland) players in double-figures with a career-high 16 points in the 70-59 win over I-35 rival Texas State in Southland Conference action in front of a season-high crowd of 1,428 at the Convocation Center Wednesday night.
“Jermini really had a great game for us, especially in the first half,” head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair said. “She took control of this game from start to finish. She also showed her leadership role tonight, which is always good to see from a freshman. We were short-handed today with two starters not playing, but our bench stepped it up tonight.”
Malone’s 16 points came on a 6-of-8 shooting performance from the floor, including a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown all coming in the first half. Freshman Judy Jones, who battled foul trouble for most of the game, managed to score in double-figures for the sixth straight game with 14. Freshman Whitney Wright and junior Ashleigh Franklin contributed with 13 and 11 points apiece.
Offensively, the Runners registered 46.3 percent from the floor (25-54), including 50 percent in the first half and recorded 15 assists which led to 25 field goals on the night. UTSA, the top defense in the conference, has held its opponent to under 60 points in four of the five league games.
The Bobcats (4-13, 0-6 Southland) were led by Aimee Hilburn and Kelsey Krupa posted a team-high 15 points, respectively.
Texas State got within four (43-39) on Krupa’s second 3-pointer of the game with just over 15-minutes to go in the second half. However, Malone connected back-to-back driving layups to extend UTSA’s advantage to nine (52-43) with 10:52 remaining on the clock. The Bobcats would not go away as twice they got within two of the Runners lead with under seven minutes to play.
UTSA then picked up its intensity on both ends of the floor holding Texas State to 2-of-10 shooting from the floor and forcing four turnovers over the final 6:47. During that stretch the Roadrunners used a 16-7 run to seal the 70-59 win.
UTSA built the early 13-6 lead on Malone’s 3-pointer from the right corner with 12:24 to go in the first half. Victoria Davis capped off a 6-0 run by Texas State to cut the Roadrunners deficit to 13-12 midway through the frame.
Wright highlighted a 10-2 spurt with a pair of three-balls from the left corner to make it a 12-point (26-14) Runners margin with six minutes and change left in the stanza. Lacey Klause’s layup made it a 30-25 contest, but Malone’s third trifecta of the half started a 10-4 run that gave UTSA a double-digit lead (40-29) at the break.
UTSA hits the road to Beaumont to face division leader Lamar Saturday afternoon at the Montagne Center.