NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Jordyn Jenkins scored a game-high 17 points in her UTSA debut, but SFA used a strong fourth quarter to pull away for a 68-63 victory in the season opener for both teams on Monday evening at Johnson Coliseum.
Jenkins, a transfer from USC, was 8 of 16 from the floor and added three rebounds, two assists and a block for the Roadrunners. Elyssa Coleman also reached double figures with 10 points, while Converse native Kyra White had eight points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
In a game that featured five ties and 11 lead changes, UTSA built a 57-52 early in the fourth quarter on a Coleman layup only to see the Ladyjacks rally for the victory, outscoring the Roadrunners 16-8 in the final frame.
SFA answered Coleman's layup on the first possession of the fourth with an 8-0 run over the next five minutes to build a three-point advantage.
Hailey Atwood cut it to 60-59 on a layup with just under three minutes left to play, only to see the Ladyjacks respond with six unanswered points, the last three on an and-one converted by Kurstyn Harden with 43 seconds left on the clock.
The Roadrunners would not go away easily, as Sidney Love came up with a steal and layup with 31 ticks remaining to make it 66-61. The freshman from Steele High School finished with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with four boards and three steals.
Forced to foul, UTSA sent Harden to the line where she missed the first attempt but made the second free throw to extend the lead to six with 28.1 seconds left.
The Roadrunners had a good look at a long 3-pointer from the right wing, but it came up short.
Aiyana Johnson then was fouled, and she made one of two from the charity stripe with 11.1 seconds left to push the advantage to seven before Siena Guttadauro was fouled in the final seconds on a 3-point attempt. The freshman made two of the free throws to provide the final five-point margin.
Harden led SFA with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Kyla Deck scored 14 behind four 3-pointers.
The two teams played to a 19-19 deadlock through the first 10 minutes. White had a pair of 3-pointers in the opening period to pace the Roadrunners.
Deborah Nwakamma connected from downtown to give UTSA a 29-26 lead with 3:36 left in the second quarter. Jenkins answered an SFA free throw with a basket and Guttadauro then hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Roadrunners up 34-29 with 1:33 on the clock.
SFA pulled to within 36-34 after Harden drained a jumper from the left elbow as time expired in the half.
The two teams traded leads early in the third quarter before Hailey Atwood's layup made it 45-42 at the 6:18 mark. UTSA maintained its advantage through most of the frame, pushing it to five on a Jenkins layup three minutes later.
However, SFA scored six unanswered points to take a 52-51 lead on a Kyla Deck three with 1:14 left in the quarter. UTSA closed the frame with baskets by Jenkins and Love, the latter just before the buzzer, to take a 55-52 edge into the fourth.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 16, when they travel to Fort Worth to face TCU. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
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