SAN ANTONIO – UTSA women's basketball concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule at home on Friday, Dec. 29 against Texas A&M-Commerce. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
Game overview
After a five-game road swing, UTSA plays its 12th game of the 2017-18 season with a Friday evening contest against Texas A&M-Commerce. The game will tip at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. UTSA enters the matchup looking to snap a four-game losing streak, while the Lions looks to bounce back from a 59-57 overtime loss to St. Mary's. Overall, the Roadrunners are 2-9 on the season while the Lions stand at 6-5. Friday's meeting will air on C-USA TV with Stu Paul providing play-by-play. To watch click here.
Inside the series: UTSA leads 2-0
UTSA and Texas A&M-Commerce will meet for the first time in over 28 years since last meeting on January 7, 1988. UTSA claimed the 1988 meeting with a 64-50 road victory over the Lions. The teams first met in 1987 when the Roadrunners defeated the Lions 93-48 at the Convocation Center.
Getting to know Texas A&M-Commerce
The Lions are 6-5 on the season, including 2-2 showing on the road this year. Most recently, Texas A&M-Commerce fell to the St. Mary's Rattlers in overtime, 59-57. For the Lions, a pair of double-digit scorers in Brianna Wise and Artaejah Gay pace the Commerce offense, which averages about 68 points per game. Wise is the Lone Star Conference's second leading scorer this season at 16.0 points per game, and has been productive from beyond the arc this season, hitting 14 of 33 attempts (.424) this season. Gay (13.4 ppg) leads the team from the charity strip owning an .826 (19-of-23) free throw percentage. Defensively, the Lions average 43.2 rebounds per game and have out rebounded their opponents 475-436 this season. Guiding the Commerce defense is Jenna Price, who tops the squad with 83 rebounds.
Last time out
The UTSA women's basketball team could not overcome foul trouble against a stingy Cal State Fullerton offense and fell by a score of 55-46 on Tuesday evening at Titan Gym. Leading 20-19 at the half, the Roadrunners used a strong start to the third quarter to extend their advantage to 30-24 with 4:13 to play in the frame. The Titans responded emphatically drawing six UTSA fouls to deliver a 13-3 run and take a 37-33 edge into the fourth. Fullerton continued its run, scoring the first five points of the final frame to swell its lead to seven points. Cal State Fullerton went on to score 18 points in the fourth quarter after scoring only 19 points over the first 27 minutes of action. Senior Carlie Heineman finished with 13 points for her fifth double-digit scoring performance this season.
Back home
The Roadrunners return to the Convocation Center for the first time since hosting their annual Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 24-25. Not having played at home in the month of the December, UTSA spent four weeks on the road with a pair of games in the UTRGV Battle on the Border, a midweek matchup against Texas State in San Marcos and a California tour with games against San Diego and Cal State-Fullerton.
Off the glass
Sophomore Marie Benson has tallied 82 (60 defensive/ 22 offensive) rebounds this year to top UTSA's defensive efforts. Averaging 9.1 rebounds per game, the forward ranks second among Conference USA student-athletes this season and she also ranks second among league players with an average of 7.0 defensive rebounds per game. Overall, she owns five double-digit rebound performances this season against Sul Ross State (10), Arizona State (11), UT Arlington (12), Northern Illinois (13) and San Diego (10).
Breaking out
Last year, sophomore Tija Hawkins averaged just five minutes per game last year and had just 20 career points entering the 2017-18 season. Now as a starting forward for the Roadrunners, she is second on the team with 27.8 minutes per game. The Killeen native is also second on the team with 63 rebounds and seven blocks this year. She is also fourth on the squad with 86 points.
3-for-3
For a third consecutive year, senior Carlie Heineman paces the Roadrunners in 3-pointers made (27– second in C-USA), 3-pointers attempted (71). Helping her cause was burying six triples against North Dakota on Nov. 25 in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic. As a junior Heineman led UTSA with 69 3-pointers last season. In her sophomore campaign, she made a squad-best 35, while she tallied 22 as a freshman, which was good for fourth among the team.
New Faces
The Roadrunners have four newcomers this year in in freshmen Barbara Benson, Karrington Donald, Tasharian Robinson and junior-transfer Evelyn Omemmah. Pacing the newcomers are Donald and Robinson. The guards have combined for over 428 minutes on the court this season. Touching the court in all of UTSA's 11 games this season, Donald currently averages 4.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. She has also second on the squad with 10 3-pointers. Playing in 10 games with eight starts, Robinson averages 5.0 points per game, 2.2 rebounds, while having added 17 assists and nine steals on the season.
Plenty of playing time to go around
The Roadrunners have only 13 active players this year, meaning that there's going to be plenty of playing time to go around. Head Coach Kristen Holt has done a good job of spreading the minutes around with eight different Roadrunners (Carlie Heineman – 34.4/Tija Hawkins– 27.8/Crystal Chidomere – 27.1/Tasharian Robinson – 25.3/Marie Benson – 25.8/Kourtney Kekec – 20.0/Timea Toth – 17.9/Barbara Benson-16.0) logging at least 16 minutes per contest.
Game format
For the third straight season, NCAA women's basketball games will be played in four 10-minute quarters. Teams reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter. In the four-quarter format, team fouls reset to zero at the start of each quarter. Teams have four timeouts (three 30s, one 60), three which carry over to the second half. They will be able to advance the ball to the frontcourt after a timeout with less than 59.9 seconds in 4Q. There are seven media timeouts (four under five minutes in quarter/first called), two intermission media timeouts (after first and third quarters) and the first team-called timeout during the second half. Bands or amplified music may play during any dead ball.
Connect on social media
Fans are encouraged to connect with the Roadrunners on Facebook (UTSA Women's Basketball), Instagram (@UTSAWBBALL) and Twitter (@UTSAWBB). They are also encouraged to use RunningWithExcellence and BirdsUp in posts.
2018 C-USA Tournament hosted at The Star
UTSA won't have to travel far for the 2018 Conference USA Tournament that will be held in Frisco at the Ford Center at the Star, practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys. The championship tournament is scheduled for March 7-10 with all 22 games - 11 men's and 11 women's games at the Star.
Up Next
The Roadrunners hit the road to open Conference USA play against La Tech and Rice. UTSA visits La Tech on Friday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Ruston, La., before heading to Houston to match up against Rice on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.
