SAN ANTONIO – In front of its home crowd, the UTSA women's basketball team ( 6-19, 4-9 C-USA) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to a 69-66 victory over FIU (6-19, 3-9 C-USA) on Wednesday night.
Sophomore Marie Benson had a huge day for UTSA in the win, recording her tenth career double-double, with a career-high 26 points and game-high 15 rebounds. Seniors Crystal Chidomere and Carlie Heineman joined Benson at the top of the scoresheet with 14 points apiece. Guard Kristian Hudson paced the Panthers with 23 points.
Turning Points
The Roadrunners trailed by as many as nine midway through the third quarter, but utilized an 8-0 run to tie the game at 50 with 1:47 left in the frame. The burst was highlighted by UTSA going 4-for-4 from the line and a 3-pointer from junior Alexus Dukes. The Roadrunners and the Panthers exchanged possessions to tie at 53 heading to the fourth.
In the final frame, FIU scored the first four points to pull ahead 57-53 with 9:09 to go. UTSA answered with a jumper and a layup from Benson to come within two at 59-57, but the visitors stretched their lead back out to four with a jumper from Hudson. Relentless, the Roadrunners regrouped to deliver a 12-2 run, taking their first lead of the second half at 69-63 with 10 seconds left to play. FIU used the final seconds to record three free throws but would not find the equalizer. Overall, UTSA scored 16 points in the final period and out-scored FIU, 37-26, in the second half.
Inside The Numbers
- UTSA's victory came despite shooting 35.9 percent from the floor. FIU went 24-of-64 from the field for a 37.5 field-goal percentage.
- The Roadrunners won the rebound battle, 47-37, and outscored the Panthers, 14-13, in second chance points.
- Both teams recorded six steals and six blocks.
- The Roadrunners finished with a 32-30 edge in points in the paint, while FIU outscored UTSA, 23-7, off the bench.
- Benson's 26-point effort came on an efficient 9-of-18 mark from the floor and a 7-of-11 effort at the line.
- UTSA went 19-of-25 (76.0 percent) from the charity stripe, highlighted by a 4-for-4 day from Heineman and a 7-of-11 effort from Benson.
News and Notes
- The Roadrunners improve to 6-4 all-time against FIU and 3-2 in the month of February this season.
- Registering 14 points against FIU, Chidomere improves to 944 career points to rank 15th on the UTSA career list. She needs 56 points to become the 15th Roadrunner in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
- Benson has scored in double-figures in each of her last seven outings, averaging 13.6 points per game during that stretch. Chidomere has also scored in double figures in UTSA's last five games.