| Junior Amber Gregg scored all 11 of her points in the second half on Wednesday. |
NATCHITOCHES, La. — Junior Amber Gregg scored all of 11 her points in the second half to lead UTSA past Northwestern State, 50-48, in Southland Conference action on Wednesday night at Prather Coliseum.
“I thought our effort and heart came to life in the second half,” head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair said. “We have to give Cierra a lot credit tonight, because she stepped into the starting role and did a great job. Amber also had a great game. She struggled in the first half, but had a strong second half to really get us going.”
The Roadrunners, who have won their last eight games against the Lady Demons, improved to 15-11 overall and 9-4 in conference play, while NSU dropped to 13-13 on the season and 6-7 in league play.
Gregg was 0-of-4 from the floor in the opening half, but she heated up in the second fame going 4-for-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown, en route to her 11 point outing. Sophomore Whitney York led the team with 15 points, while junior Ashleigh Franklin registered her ninth double-double of the season with 10 and 10 rebounds.
Anne Cate Williams led all scorers with 22 points but was held to only seven in the second half.
UTSA scored the first five points to start the second half and make it a 26-25 Northwestern State lead. Brittiany Houston connected on two free throws that extended the Lady Demons lead to 32-27 with 12:01 to play. NSU posted its largest lead of the game at 41-35 on Brook Shepherd’s 3-pointer off an inbound play with 7:58 to go.
The Roadrunners then turned a six-point deficit into a seven-point advantage with a 13-0 run over the next five minutes. Gregg paced the Runners with seven of the 13 points scored during that stretch.
Northwestern State got within two on Shepherd’s driving layup with 54 seconds, but York knocked down two clutch freebies to make it a 50-46 margin with 15 ticks showing on the clock and would hold on for the win.
UTSA and Northwestern State opened the first 10 minutes of the first half going back and forth with neither team holding more than a two point lead. Sophomore Cierra Martin put the Roadrunners atop 14-12 with back-to-back layups at the 9-minute mark of the frame.
The Lady Demons put together seven straight points for the 21-16 advantage with 4:40 left in the stanza and then tooka 26-20 halftime lead.
UTSA returns to the Convocation Center to host league leader Lamar on Saturday. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. (please note the time change).