Ruston, La. – The UTSA women's basketball (2-11, 0-1 C-USA) team threw everything it had at league-leading La Tech (11-4, 2-0 C-USA), but it ultimately fell by a score of 63-55 in front of 1,735 fans at Thomas Assembly center on Friday evening.
Marie Benson had a career night for the Roadrunners in the setback, exploding for a game-high 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting in 33 minutes. Benson now leads the Roadrunners with 146 points on the season. Kourtney Kekec also had a big day for UTSA going 4-for-4 from the charity strip, helping the Roadrunners to a season-high 77.8 free throw percentage.
Turning Points
UTSA opened with an early 2-1 lead, but La Tech responded with five consecutive points and never trailed again in the first half. The Lady Techsters led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter and 30-29 at halftime. Relentless, UTSA reclaimed the lead in the third frame. Opening with a pair of free throws from Kekec, the Roadrunners took a three-point lead. Five more free throws helped UTSA to a 42-38 advantage late in the frame before Kierra Lang and Alexus Malone combined for the final six points, giving the Techsters a 44-42 advantage through three. Extending its lead into the fourth, La Tech took a 54-48 edge before a three pointer from Carlie Heineman fueled a 7-2 run for the Roadrunners, putting UTSA within one at 56-55 (1:19). With a minute remaining in regulation Tech forced a UTSA turnover on the next possession and then once again ran the shot clock down before Anna McLeod answered with a pair of jumpers to push the lead to 60-55. La Tech finished the game on a trio of free throws from Kierra Anthony for the 63-55 victory.
Inside The Numbers
- The Roadrunners were 20-of-57 (35.1 percent) from the floor and 1-for-6 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range.
- Equally, UTSA held La Tech to 18.8 percent from the arch, its lowest showing of the season. La Tech shot 27-of-62 (43.5 percent)from the field and 6-for-10 (60 percent) from the line.
- The Birds held a slim 40-37 edge on the glass, led by eight rebounds from Marie Benson and six boards from Crystal Chidomere.
- UTSA recorded four blocked shots, getting two from Chidomere. La Tech had one block in the game.
- The Roadrunners led the Lady Techsters 20-14 in points off turnovers and outscored them 14-10 in second chances.
News and Notes
- The 24-point effort was a career high from Marie Benson and her second 20+ performance this season. The sophomore opened the season with 23 points against Sul Ross State (11/10/17).
- UTSA registered a season-high 77.8 free throw percentage as the Roadrunners went 14-of-18.
- Kourtney Kekec went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe for a 100 percent performance. It is the third perfect showing from the junior this season as she was perfect from the line against Sul Ross State and Arizona.
- UTSA registered a season-low 14 turnovers while forcing La Tech 13 mistakes.
- The Roadrunners fall to 3-11 all-time against La Tech and 3-8 as conference foes.
- UTSA is now 1-4 in Conference USA openers since joining the league for the 2013-14 season.
What's Next
The Roadrunners visit Rice for a Sunday matchup at Tudor Fieldhouse. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.