BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UTSA women's basketball team suffered a road loss to UAB by 67-64 in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday afternoon.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
Jordyn Jenkins led the Roadrunners with 19 points. Kyra White was the only other Roadrunner to score in double-digits with 10 points. Four Roadrunners – Elyssa Coleman, Hailey Atwood, Sidney Love and Maya Linton - had five rebounds apiece.
The Roadrunners led the way from the field, shooting 40 percent consisting of 26 made field goals. The Blazers had 18 field goals for 39.1 percent from the field. UAB had the advantage from beyond the arc with nine three-pointers to UTSA's four. The Blazers also had the foul call advantage, making 22 of 24 free throw attempts. The Roadrunners were only awarded 10 free throw shots, making eight of those. UTSA continues to dominate in the paint, scoring 36 points to UAB's 16 points in the paint.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
In a game that saw 14 lead changes and five tie scores, it had a slow start. Although the Blazers struck first with a free throw made just over 30 seconds into the game, the first field goal of the game wasn't until 7:46 on the clock when Love sank a jumper to give UTSA a 2-1 lead. The Blazers then took the 3-2 lead just 20 seconds later. Another 20 seconds later, White sank a three-pointer to regain the lead for the Roadrunners – a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the first period. Another three-point jump shot by White extended UTSA's lead to 8-3. Jenkins earned a couple foul calls and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, helping extend the UTSA lead further. A pull up jumper by Coleman extended UTSA's lead to 18-9 with 1:18 on the clock. A fast break layup by the Blazers' Denim DeShields right before the buzzer cut UAB's deficit to seven as UTSA took a 18-11 lead to the second quarter.
The Blazers began to pick up the pace in the second period as they outscored the Roadrunners by 24 points to 19 points. The second quarter saw six lead changes and two tie scores. UAB went on a 11-4 scoring run to tie the score at 22-22. After the Blazers took the lead for about two and a half minutes, Deborah Nwakamma sank a three-point basket to give UTSA the 31-30 lead with 2:23 on the clock. UAB responded with a three pointer to regain the lead, but Love responded once again with a three-point basket with 42 seconds left. The Blazers took advantage of a shooting foul to regain a one-point lead with 12 seconds left, but a hoop and the harm call for Queen Ulabo gave UTSA the 37-32 lead to end the first half.
Coming back from the intermission, White extended the Roadrunners lead to six points with two straight baskets inside the arc. From here, the Blazers worked their way to a one-point lead as they outscored the Roadrunners by 8 points to one in the next four minutes. A second chance jumper by Hailey Atwood handed back the lead to UTSA with 4:37 on the clock but the UAB responded with a three pointer to take the lead about a minute and a half later. Atwood tied the game up at 46-46 with 2:03 left in the third period with a turnaround jumper off a UAB turnover. The Blazers then went on six-point scoring run, but Jenkins cut UTSA's deficit to four points with a layup with 31 seconds remaining.
With UAB leading 52-48 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners fought back as Jenkins opened the final period with two straight layups to tie the score at 52 apiece. The Blazers then scored two straight three-point baskets to take a six-point lead. Then commenced a 10-point scoring run by the Roadrunners to take a four-point lead concluded with layup by Jenkins with 3:41 left in the game. UAB then went on a seven-point scoring run to take a three-point lead with 15 second left. A layup in the paint by Love with nine seconds left cut UTSA's deficit to one point. A couple free throws by the Blazers with eight seconds left extended their lead to three points. Althought UTSA attempted to tie it up with a three-point attempt at the buzzer, the Roadrunners ultimately fell to UAB, 67-64.
UTSA's record falls to 7-18 overall (5-11 in C-USA action), while UAB's record improves to 12-14 overall (4-13 in conference play).
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners conclude their road trip in Denton, Texas, playing North Texas on Monday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
-UTSA-
