EL PASO — UTSA took home an 83-81 overtime victory at I-10 rival UTEP on Sunday afternoon.
The Roadrunners (5-7, 1-0 C-USA) saw four players score in double figures. Loryn Goodwin led all scorers with 26 points, as she was 6-of-16 from the field on top of sinking a career-best 12 free throws while recording a double-double with 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Tesha Smith poured in 18 points and also went for her second double-double of the season with 11 boards. Carlie Heineman and Kasia Kiejdrowska chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
UTEP (3-10, 0-1 C-USA) had four players reach double digits behind the efforts of Sparkle Taylor, Najala Howell, Lulu McKinney and Tamara Seda. The quartet combined for all but 11 of the team's points.
The Roadrunners hot start in the first half diminished in the second half, as UTEP rallied back to tie the game and take it into overtime with one second remaining.
After the score went even at 75 with 7:15 on the clock, the score bounced back and forth and had the Roadrunners on top with less than three minutes remaining. With eight seconds left and UTSA up by three, Howell nailed a 3-pointer with one second left to tie the score at 73 and take the game into overtime.
UTEP scored first in overtime and took a one-point lead at the 2:57 mark and went on to lead by three with 2:24 left. The Roadrunners slowly chipped away at the lead and eventually came back to tie the score at 81 on a pair of free throws by Goodwin. Smith then knocked down a jumper with four ticks left to put UTSA up 83-81 and start C-USA action with a win.
The Roadrunners blistering start began early in the first quarter as UTSA quickly drew a double-digit lead over the home team. The Roadrunners used three triples from Kiejdrowska and Heineman and eventually led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Momentum shifted in the second stanza as UTEP managed to draw its deficit down to two points at the 8:09 mark, 22-20. UTSA quickly responded back with a 5-0 run and maintained its lead into halftime, 39-37. In the final two minutes of play, the Miners went on a 6-0 run and left the Roadrunners scoreless for the two-point edge.
UTSA will return to the Convocation Center next weekend for games against Southern Miss (Jan. 5) and Louisiana Tech (Jan. 7).
