SAN ANTONIO — New Mexico State went on a 10-0 run midway through the first half to take a lead that it would not relinquish in a 69-52 victory at UTSA in Western Athletic Conference action on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
Sophomore Kamra King paced the Roadrunners (7-7, 1-2 WAC), who held a 43-32 rebounding edge, with 12 points.
Meanwhile, Stefanie Gilbreath led all scorers with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and Jasmine Rutledge came off the bench to score 15 for the Aggies (8-5, 2-1 WAC).
New Mexico State struck early with an Abby Scott 3-pointer on its first possession and quickly led 6-2 on another trey from Sasha Weber. The visitors lead was 8-4 before UTSA responded with a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the contest.
Freshman Mannasha Bell started the stretch with an offensive rebound and layup before senior Jermini Malone knocked in a 3-pointer. Another offensive board and putback from King gave the Birds an 11-8 cushion.
However, New Mexico State came right back with its decisive run for an 18-11 lead and it did not trail the rest of the way.
The Aggies held UTSA scoreless over the final six minutes of the opening stanza and outscored the home squad 13-0 during that time for a 39-19 halftime advantage.
King scored inside to open the second half as part of an 8-2 start for UTSA, but New Mexico State regained a 20-point lead with an 11-0 stretch minutes later. The Aggies advantage did not dip below 17 the rest of the way.
The Roadrunners shot 32.8 percent in the contest, including 43.8 percent in the second half and finished with 30 points in the paint.
UTSA will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Saturday when it hosts Denver (7-7, 2-1 WAC).