DENTON — UTSA worked its way back from a deficit late in the second half en route to a 57-54 victory against North Texas to earn the final first-round bye spot for the 2015 Conference USA Tournament.
Seven times the score tied through 40 minutes at Kitty Magee Arena with three coming in the final three minutes of action.
North Texas (5-24, 4-14 C-USA) drew the final tie in the contest with 35 seconds on the clock on a pair of free throws from Breanna Dawkins.
A free throw from Kamra King then gave the Roadrunners a one-point advantage after seven seconds rolled off the clock. The Mean Green fouled and placed Alana Heard on the line with 10.5 seconds remaining. Heard sank both shots and put UTSA (16-14, 11-7 C-USA) up 57-54. North Texas was unable to get a clean shot off as its season ended at the hands of the Roadrunners.
Three players scored in double figures as Crystal Chidomere netted 12 points off the bench. The freshman was 6-of-14 from the field with four rebounds.
Meanwhile, Akunna Elonu and Ashley Spaletta each chipped in with 10 apiece. Elonu also picked up her fifth double-double with 10 rebounds.
Dawkins nearly missed matching her career high with 23 points, to go with seven rebounds.
UTSA will now await its opponent in the second round of the 2015 Conference USA Tournament, which is schedled to begin on Wednesday, March 11, in Birmingham, Ala. The fourth-seeded Roadrunners will play either No. 5 seed Old Dominion or 12th-seeded Rice at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12.