SAN ANTONIO — UTSA looked to regroup from its tough two-week road swing against Rice on Thursday, but it was handed a 66-61 setback by the Owls at the Convocation Center.
UTSA has now dropped its last three contests and drops to 11-13 overall and 7-6 in Conference USA, while Rice rides a three-game winning streak and improves to 15-9 on the season and 6-7 in league play.
The Roadrunners led for a little under 28 minutes of Thursday night's contest but Rice rallied late in the fourth quarter for its come-from-behind win. UTSA led by as many as 14 in the third quarter but held just a seven point lead at the end of the stanza, 50-43.
In the fourth, Rice used a 7-0 run to tie the score at 57 with 2:45 remaining in the game. Junior Loryn Goodwin drew the foul to head to the free throw line and made both to give UTSA a 59-57 lead. Both teams exchanged buckets and the Roadrunners even took a 61-59 lead on a pull-up jumper by Crystal Chidomere with 1:04 to go but would be the last time UTSA would score.
Rice ended the game on a 7-0 run to hand the Roadrunners its third straight loss this season.
Four Roadrunners reached scored in double figures with a team-high 19 from Tesha Smith. Goodwin added 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while Kasia Kiejdrowska and Crystal Chidomere chipped in with 11 and 10 respectively.
UTSA shot 42 percent from the field, including 41 percent from behind the arc, and was 12-of-18 from the charity stripe.
Shani Rainey paced the Rice offense with a season-high 22 points with nine rebounds.
The Roadrunners slow start came off the heels of a its lowest scoring quarter when not trailing an opponent in the opening stanza. UTSA scored just 10 points in the first and went off with 18 points in the second to lead the Owls 28-18 at the half.
The second half was the changing point for Rice as the Owls fired away with 56 percent.
UTSA will look to bounce back on Saturday when the Roadrunners host North Texas at 2 p.m. Saturday's contest will also be the Roadrunners annual Pink Out game benefiting the Play 4 Kay Foundation. A silent auction will be held followed by an autograph session at the conclusion of the game.
