SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team battled back from a fourth quarter 10-point deficit but fell to North Texas, 54-51, on Thursday night in San Antonio at the Convocation Center.
GAME LEADERS
Jordyn Jenkins recorded her 11th 20-point scoring game this season, putting up 27 points along with 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the 2022-23 campaign. Defensively, Elyssa Coleman led the team with two blocks. Kyra White collected a team-high three assists, paired with eight boards.
The Roadrunners and Mean Green played evenly in the paint as both teams scored 24 points in the paint. UTSA had an advantage with 16 second-chance points and 13 points scored on fast breaks. The Roadrunners struggled on the field, only shooting 30.2 percent compared to the Mean Green's 35.6 percent.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Mean Green came out strong in the first quarter, outscoring the Roadrunners by 15 points to seven points. North Texas sank two baskets from outside the arc and took advantage of a few shooting fouls to jump out to the 15-7 lead early.
The Roadrunners quickly changed the pace in the second quarter, scoring 14 points to the Mean Green's 10. UTSA went on a 10-2 scoring run sparked by a Jordyn Jenkins layup with 8:17 on the clock and ended with the junior tying the game at 19-19 with a driving layup with 3:36 left. The tie score didn't last long as North Texas' Jaaucklyn Moore gave the Mean Green the lead less than 30 seconds later. Jenkins once again tied the score up, making two free throws to tie it up at 21-21 with 2:02 on the clock. The Mean Green scored a few more before the break to take a 25-21 lead to the intermission.
North Texas extended its lead to seven points in the third quarter, scoring 14 points to UTSA's 11 points. The Mean Green took advantage of seven UTSA turnovers, converting that into six points to take a 39-32 advantage to the fourth period. The Roadrunners gave their all in the final quarter, putting up 19 points to North Texas' 15 points. Jenkins exploded for 12 points and six rebounds to keep the Roadrunners close. A five-point scoring run by the Roadrunners from 5:58 through 5:08 tied the game up at 46-46. The Roadrunners and Mean Green continued to fight back and forth as Jenkins made two free throws with a minute left to cut UTSA's deficit to three points. Although the teams combined for three shots in the final minute, none of them made it as UTSA fell to North Texas, 54-51.
UTSA's record falls to 4-15 overall (2-8 in C-USA action), while North Texas' record improves to 7-13 overall (4-6 in conference play).
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners hit the road to face Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Jan. 28. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Ruston, La.
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