Huntington, W.Va. - The UTSA women's basketball team (5-18, 3-8 C-USA) notched its first road win of the 2017-18 season with a 72-59 victory over Marshall (7-16, 1-9 C-USA) on Thursday night at Cam Henderson Center. The win marks the first time the Roadrunners defeat the Herd since January 22, 2015.
The league contest saw four Roadrunners in double figures with senior Crystal Chidomere leading the quartet with 26 points. Fellow senior Carlie Heineman followed with 18 points while sophomores Marie Benson and Tija Hawkins delivered 13 points each. Marshall was paced by Shayna Gore with a game-high 29 points.
Defensively, the Roadrunners outrebounded the Herd, 45-25, including a game-high 11 rebounds from Chidomere. Benson added nine and Heineman chipped in eight.
The Roadrunners led by 11 in just the first three minutes of the contest. Marshall cut UTSA's advantage to single digits by halftime, but never found the equalizer as the Roadrunners led the entire game.
Turning Points
UTSA opened with a strong first quarter as the Roadrunners forced six Marshall turnovers to take a 26-11 advantage. UTSA pushed its lead to as much as 19 in the second frame, but the Herd caught fire at the end of the quarter with a 16-2 run to close the half.
Down 38-33, Marshall opened the third quarter with a 5-2 run to cut UTSA's lead to two, but a 3-pointer Benson halted the Herd's momentum. Benson's shot from beyond the arc sparked a 9-2 run for the Roadrunners, extending their lead back to double-digits. UTSA outscored the Herd, 14-8, in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead through the rest of regulation and claim its first road victory of the season.
Inside The Numbers
- UTSA shot 44.3 percent from the floor and limited Marshall to a 34.7 percent effort.
- The Herd won the turnover battle, 15-13, but the Roadrunners outscored the home team 19-11 off miscues.
- The Roadrunners finished with a 34-16 edge in points in the paint, a 20-10 advantage in second chance points and outscored the Herd 13-6 off the bench.
- Chidomere's 26-point effort came on an efficient 11-of-17 mark from the floor.
- UTSA went 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the charity stripe, highlighted by 4-for-4 day from Benson.
News and Notes
- The Roadrunners move to 2-3 all-time against Marshall, beating the Herd for the first time since 2015.
- Junior Kourtney Kekec had career-high five assists.
- Chidomere's double-double was her second of the season.
- Chidomere's 26 points push her to 924 career points. The senior only needs 76 points to become the 15th Roadrunner to reach 1,000 points.
What's Ahead
The Roadrunners stay on the road as they visit Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN3.