SAN ANTONIO – A fourth quarter comeback helped the Roadrunners defeat Louisiana Tech 59-49 Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Elyssa Coleman recorded a double-double as UTSA improved to 6-19 overall and 3-11 in conference.
The game opened as a battle for the ball as it was tied three times by the 6:46 mark. Elyssa Coleman put the first points on the board with a 3-pointer at the 9:32 mark. The Lady Techsters followed to tie the game 3-3 at 9:10. The game continued back and forth until back-to-back shots from Jadyn Pimentel and Chantel Govan put UTSA up by four, 11-7. In the final three minutes of the quarter, the Roadrunners hit a 9-2 scoring surge to lead 20-11 at the end of the first.
Louisiana Tech gained momentum in the second, opening on a 10-2 run to close the gap to one (22-21). Lapraisjah Johnson broke the scoring drought with a shot at 4:09 which started an 8-0 run for the Roadrunners as they led 30-21 at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Coleman made a basket 40 seconds in to extend the lead to 11 (32-21). The Lady Techsters started the half 0 for 2 until two free throws at the 7:50 mark. Yuliyana Valcheva made a layup to push the lead back to 11 (34-23) with 7:23 remaining. LA Tech then went on an 11-0 run to tie the game 34-34 at the 2:40 mark. The Lady Techsters took the lead (36-34) from two free throws, but Hailey Atwood made a basket and drew a foul as UTSA regained the lead (37-36) with 1:56 remaining. LA Tech closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run to lead 40-37.
The Lady Techsters continued to find the basket as they scored three consecutive points to lead 43-37 a minute and a half into the fourth. Deborah Nwakamma then went on a 9-0 run with three 3-pointers to regain the lead (46-43) with 5:15 remaining. LA Tech made two free throws to close the gap to one (46-45), but the Roadrunners followed with a 4-0 run to extend the lead to five, 50-45, with 3:17 on the clock. Two more free throws from the Lady Techsters bridged the gap to three (50-47), until Coleman made back-to-back layups to push the lead to seven, 54-47, with 40 seconds remaining. In the final seconds on the game, UTSA outscored LA Tech 7-2 to clinch the game.
The Roadrunners return to the court on Feb. 23 at UAB.
Notes
- Starters: Elyssa Coleman, Jadyn Pimentel, Yuliyana Valcheva, Lapraisjah Johnson, Chantel Govan
- Elyssa Coleman (15) and Jadyn Pimentel (10) scored double digits.
- Coleman recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds as well
-UTSA-