SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team defeated Abilene Christian, 76-70, to earn a home-opening win on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
GAME LEADERS
Nwakamma led the team with 16 points, a career high for the senior guard. Four more Roadrunners had double-digit scoring games – Elyssa Coleman with 10 points, Sidney Love with 10 points, Kyra White with 10 points and Queen Ulabo with 11 points.
UTSA took advantage of a slow defense by ACU, scoring 19 fast break points. The Roadrunners also harbored some solid reinforcements as the team scored 21 bench points in the matchup.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners took claim of home court advantage in their home opener, only allowing the Wildcats to tie the game twice and never gain the lead. UTSA outscored ACU by 21 points to 16 points in the first quarter, led by junior White who recorded the first two baskets of the game – a driving layup in the paint off a fast break with 8:47 on the clock and a pull up jump shot from a turnover with 8:04 on the clock.
ACU outscored UTSA by 21 points to 18 points in the second quarter. The Roadrunners quickly responded each of the two times the Wildcats tied the game in the second quarter. After ACU tied it up with 8:37 in the second, Ulabo sank a three point jump shot to give the lead right back to UTSA. With 52 seconds left in the first half, the Wildcats tied it up again, but a made layup in the paint by Coleman gave the Roadrunners a 39-27 lead at the half.
Love opened the second half with a driving layup made with 9:23 on the clock. The Wildcats got within one point of the Roadrunners on three separate occasions, but an eight-point run by UTSA starting at the 3:23 mark gave the Roadrunners a cushion. The eight-point run began with a layup in the paint by junior Jordyn Jenkins, followed by a fast break three-point basket by Hailey Atwood and capped with a Jenkins three point shot from an ACU turnover. UTSA jumped out to a nine-point lead twice during the third quarter.
The Wildcats outscored the Roadrunners by 19 points to 18 points in the fourth quarter. San Antonio area native Love put on a show for the local community as she paced UTSA with six points in the final quarter. ACU cut its deficit to one point with 7:22 on the clock but that was the closest they would get for the rest of the game. Love responded with a driving layup in the paint about 30 seconds later. The Roadrunners drew seven fouls in the final quarter, scoring eight points off of it. Nwakamma sealed the six-point win with two made free throws at the end of the game, leading UTSA to a 76-70 win over ACU on Sunday afternoon.
With its first win of the season, UTSA's record improves to 1-2 to gain some momentum heading to the Las Vegas Invitational over the Thanksgiving break. ACU's record falls to 2-2.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners hit the road during Thanksgiving week for the Las Vegas Invitational, playing Missouri State and St. John's on Nov. 25 and 26, respectively. The tournament will be streamed on FloHoops, live from The Mirage.
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