NORFOLK, Va. – The UTSA women's basketball team (3-15, 1-5 C-USA) suffered a tough Conference USA setback to Old Dominion (4-16, 2-4 C-USA) by a score of 69-63 on Saturday night at the Ted Constant Center. Senior Crystal Chidomere recorded a new career-high with 29 points while freshman Tasharian Robinson tallied a new career-high of her own with 12 points.
In addition to her game-high 29 points, Chidomere went for seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Robinson also set a pair of assists while adding four rebounds. Defensively, sophomore Marie Benson paced the Roadrunners with nine rebounds
Turning Points
After the first five minutes of play, UTSA fell into foul trouble putting ODU in the bonus, but the Roadrunners kept afloat with four points from sophomore Tija Hawkins. Chidomere added three more points to push UTSA ahead, 11-8, at the end of the quarter.
An aggressive ODU team battled back with a 6-0 run while forcing five UTSA turnovers to open the second frame. With the Roadrunners down 16-11, a 3-pointer from freshman Karrington Donald sparked a 7-0 run to return the advantage to UTSA at 22-20. The Roadrunner burst saw a pair of points from Chidomere off a steal and block, but it wasn't enough to maintain the advantage. Old Dominion rattled off a 6-0 run to close out the frame and take a 27-24 edge into the half.
After a third quarter that saw UTSA and Old Dominion exchange short runs, the Monarchs led by eight heading into the fourth quarter. With seven minutes left in regulation, the Roadrunners tied the game with an early fourth-quarter run. However, ODU responded, using a quick 5-0 burst to take a two-score advantage with five minutes left to play. Down the stretch, the Monarchs then went 9-for-9 at the free throw line to strengthen their advantage and claim the victory.
Inside The Numbers
- After the Roadrunners held ODU to 9-of 27 (33.3 percent) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, the Monarchs went 14-of-28 in the second half.
- Overall, UTSA went 25-for-54 (46.3 percent) from the field while holding Old Dominion to 23-of-55 (41.8 percent).
- ODU went 2-for-13 from 3-point range while UTSA went 2-of-5.
- The Monarchs held a slim advantage on the boards at 37-35, led by 12 from Taylor Edwards and seven from Odegua Oigbokie.
- Benson was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season but notched a team-best nine rebounds while chipping in two assists, a block and a steal.
- ODU went 21-of-31 from the charity stripe while UTSA was limited to 11-of-16 at the line.
- The Roadrunners committed 18 turnovers while only forcing 16 Monarch turnovers.
- UTSA recorded a 34-21 edge in points off the bench and a 12-10 advantage in second chance points.
News and Notes
- UTSA moves to 4-4 all-time against Old Dominion.
- The Roadrunners held ODU to eight points in the first period, the 18th single-digit quarter for the Monarchs this season.
- Both Chidomere (29) and Robinson (12) set new career scoring highs.
- Chidomere's 29 points are the most for a Roadrunner this season.
- With a total of 849 career points, Chidomere becomes the 19th top scorer in UTSA women's basketball history.
What's Ahead
The Roadrunners are back at the Convocation Center on Thursday night when they host Florida Atlantic in their annual Hoops for Troops game. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.