SAN ANTONIO — UTSA went on a 12-0 run over the final 2:24 of the first half to break open a close game and the Roadrunners cruised to a 64-36 exhibition victory against McMurry on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
Senior Simone Young led the way for the Roadrunners, who held the War Hawks to just 19 percent shooting, with 13 points, five assists and three steals. Sophomore Kamra King added 11 points in 13 minutes, while freshman Niaga-Mitchell Cole chipped in nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
Meanwhile, Ana Dominguez paced McMurry with 15 points and a dozen boards.
A jumper by Dominguez gave the War Hawks a 19-18 lead with just three minutes to go in the first half before UTSA went on its run.
Sophomore Ashley Spaletta ignited the spurt with a layup off a pass from Young, who also connected twice inside for a 24-19 lead. Young then found Mitchell-Cole for a 3-pointer and the San Antonio native returned the favor with an assist on Young’s 3-pointer for a 30-19 halftime lead.
The Roadrunners forced 19 turnovers in the first half and turned those miscues into 17 points.
UTSA came out of the locker room and clamped down on the defensive end, allowing just nine points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The Roadrunners opened the stanza with 12-4 run that was capped by a King 3-pointer with 14:25 to play. That pushed the lead to 45-25 and the advantage did not dip below 20 the rest of the way.
A pair of Dominguez free throws brought the War Hawks to within 21, but UTSA responded by grabbing its largest advantage of the game, 58-30, with a 10-3 run.
Two more 3-pointers from Spaletta started and capped the spurt, while Mitchell-Cole, senior Lyndi Thorman and redshirt freshman Mannasha Bell scored during the stretch.
King scored four points in the final 1:11 to polish off the 28-point triumph.
The Roadrunners limited McMurry to just 13.8 percent shooting (4-of-29) in the second half and the War Hawks finished the contest 0-of-13 from behind the arc.
Meanwhile, UTSA finished 22-of-68 (32.4-percent) from the floor and outrebounded McMurry, 55-49.
The Roadrunners forced 29 turnovers, including 17 steals, and nine different players had at least one theft to help the Birds score 30 points off turnovers.
UTSA will open the regular season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, when it hosts Texas-Pan American.