HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The UTSA women's basketball team (3-17, 1-7 C-USA) fell in an 83-60 decision to Southern Miss (12-8, 4-2) on Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum.
Sophomore Marie Benson was one of two Roadrunners in double-figures in the setback, scoring 15 points along with six rebounds. Also hitting double-digits for UTSA was senior Carlie Heineman, who finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. For Southern Miss, it was Megan Brown going for 19 points and six rebounds and Shonte Hailes adding 18 points.
Turning Points
Southern Miss hit the first bucket of the game, but UTSA went on a 6-0 run to take a 6-1 lead with 6:55 on the clock. A pair of USM layups halted the run and put the Gold Eagles within one at 6-5. The conference foes traded points to tie the game at seven with five minutes left the quarter. The teams continued to exchange points for the remainder of the quarter, but a jumper from Respect Leaphart put the Lady Eagles up, 16-15, at the end of the stanza.
The back and fourth extended into the second quarter as the frame saw nine ties and 11 lead changes. With the score knotted at 31, Southern Miss took the lead off a free throw with 23 seconds left in the half, but Chidomere connected with Benson to push UTSA ahead 33-32 at the half.
In the third quarter, Southern Miss got out to a 7-0 run and maintained control the rest of the way. The lead grew to 17 by the end of the third quarter (62-45) and swelled to 31 with 3:36 left in the fourth quarter.
The Roadrunners return to action on Friday, Feb. 2 against C-USA foe North Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
