SAN ANTONIO — Tesha Smith's career day against I-10 rival UTEP helped lead UTSA to a 97-76 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Smith poured in a career high 38 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field along with 12-of-13 from the charity stripe — both career marks. The San Antonio native was just shy of a double-double with nine boards as she also registered a pair of steals and an assist. Her 38 points were also two shy of the program record of 40 set by Starlite Williams back in 1986.
Meanwhile, Loryn Goodwin was back to her antics, as she netted 20 points with 15 of those coming in the first half. The junior guard padded her stat line with six rebounds, five assists and a steal.
As Smith and Goodwin combined for 58 of the team's points, all but one Roadrunner who saw action against the Miners recorded at least one point. Overall, UTSA (9-8, 5-1 C-USA) shot 48.4 percent from the field and was 31-of-39 from the free throw line. The Roadrunners made as many free throws as they did field goals (31-of-64).
UTSA's 97 points against the Miners became the 21st time in program history that the Roadrunners scored 90-plus points in a game and extends the team's win streak to four straight, the longest this season.
The Roadrunners hot streak continued against the UTEP Miners (5-13, 2-4 C-USA) as UTSA jumped to a 52-35 halftime lead. The Roadrunners made eight of their last nine field goals right before the half as the team scored 35 points in just the second quarter.
The lead continued to build throughout the second half and saw the Roadrunners with their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter by a 24-point margin at the 5:42 mark.
UTEP had three players score in double figures despite three players fouling out. Sparkle Taylor led all scorers with 16 points and added six rebounds.
The Roadrunners will wrap up its three-game home stand next weekend when the team welcomes Marshall (11-7, 3-4 C-USA) and WKU (14-5, 6-1 C-USA) on Thursday, Jan. 26, and Saturday, Jan. 28, respectively.
