SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team earned a crucial 66-53 win over Rice on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
Jordyn Jenkins led the Roadrunners with 25 points and 11 rebounds, her eighth double-double of the season. This is also her 13th 20-point scoring game, along with her 21st double-digit scoring game. Jenkins also led the team with three steals. With 13 points scored, Sidney Love collected her ninth double-digit scoring game. Kyra White recorded a team-high five assists. Deborah Nwakamma and Maya Linton also contributed seven boards apiece.
The Roadrunners have been dominant in the paint all season, working the Owls by 38 points to 14 points. UTSA also had the advantage in points from turnovers (20 points to 15), second chance points (11 points to nine) and fast break points (nine points to five). The Roadrunners had 10 more field goals (27/61) than the Owls (17/49), going 44.3 percent from the field. Rebounding was another key component in the UTSA win as the Roadrunners grabbed 45 boards to the Owls' 23 rebounds.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
The Roadrunners exploded for 23 points in the first quarter, while keeping Rice to just six points – tied for the least points allowed in a quarter this season. This hot start gave the Roadrunners the lead which they held for the entire game. UTSA began the first quarter with a 10-0 scoring run, sparked by quick layup by Jenkins with 9:54 on the clock and finished with a turnaround jumper by Jenkins with 6:16 left. The Owls didn't score their first field goal until a driving layup by Destiny Jackson with 2:50 left in the first period. A three-point basket by Love with 36 seconds left extended the UTSA lead to 17 points as UTSA led Rice by 23-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Although the Owls outscored the Roadrunners by 16 points to 11 points, UTSA had a good cushion to hold onto the lead. A 10-0 scoring run by Rice from 5:28 to 1:21 cut the Owls' deficit to 10 points as Rice took advantage of a few UTSA turnovers. With four seconds left, Love got a driving layup in to give UTSA a 34-22 advantage heading to the halftime break.
Rice came back from the break once again trying to chop away at the UTSA lead, even getting it down to eight points twice during the third period. After the Owls scored the first basket of the second half, the Roadrunners went on a seven-point scoring run to jump out to a 17-point lead with 6:25 left on a pullup jumper by White. White led the team as she erupted for eight points, a trio of rebounds and a steal in the third period. The Owls got their deficit down to eight points with a three pointer with 1:22 on the clock, but the Roadrunners responded with another pull up jump shot by White with 21 seconds left. Rice cut their deficit down to eight points once again as a floating jumper by Jackson beat the buzzer to end the third with a UTSA lead of 48-40.
The Roadrunners outscored the Owls by 18 points to 13 points in the final quarter. Through the first three minutes of the period, Rice went on a 6-3 stretch to cut its deficit to five points. The Roadrunners quickly followed this with a 8-0 run of their own to extend their lead to 12 points off a pull up jumper by Love with 4:15 left in the game. The Roadrunners kept the Owls to just two field goals through the remainder of the game to ensure the 66-53 UTSA win on Thursday night.
UTSA's record improves to 7-17 overall (5-10 in C-USA action), while Rice's record falls to 17-7 overall (8-7 in conference play).
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners gained momentum before hitting the road for a pair of games in the next five days. UTSA will first face UAB in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday at 1 p.m., before playing North Texas in Denton, Texas, on Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
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