SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team will be celebrating Black History Month as the Roadrunners host Florida Atlantic on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN+ at the Convocation Center.
The Black History Month game will be jam-packed with special recognitions and promotions. UTSA's Multicultural Student for Equality and Justice office will present the game ball. The Citrus Diamonds and Jefferson Middle School Choir will be performing pregame and for the national anthem. Fans can pick up Black Lives Matter posters at the front entrance. UTSA's Black Athletes Striving for Excellence (BASE) organization will be recognized. Jefferson Middle School's orchestra will perform during halftime. Postgame, kids will have the opportunity to participate in post-game free throws on the court.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Junior Jordyn Jenkins leads the conference in scoring with 528 points, averaging 20.3 per game. Jenkins also leads the team with 201 rebounds and 34 steals. Redshirt sophomore Elyssa Coleman has done a phenomenal job on defense with a team-high 42 blocks, while also recording 166 rebounds and 258 points (second on the team in both categories). Coleman owns the top single-game blocks in the conference this season, recording a high of six blocks against FIU on Jan. 21.
Junior Kyra White leads the Roadrunners with 116 assists, averaging 4.5 per game. White is fifth in the conference with a 1.56 assist/turnover ratio. Freshman Sidney Love has the second-most assists on the team (47) and third-most points (212). UTSA is first in the conference with a 7.0 rebound margin, outperforming its opponents by 1055 rebounds to 872 rebounds. The Roadrunners also have a conference-high 40.58 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Roadrunners (8-18, 6-11 in C-USA) are coming off a special 68-67 overtime win over North Texas on Monday. The win marked head coach Karen Aston's 300th career win. Not only is 300 career wins a phenomenal feat for any coach, the win is extra special and nostalgic as she earned her 100th career win during the season she coached the Mean Green in 2011-12.
Jenkins dominated the game as she exploded for a career-high 40 points, also notching 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. She also had a team-high two blocks. Other key performers were Sidney Love (13 points and three steals) and Elyssa Coleman (10 points and eight rebounds).
The Roadrunners continue to rebound the ball astonishingly well, outrebounding the Mean Green by 46 rebounds to 28. UTSA also led in second chance points (18 to 9) and points in the paint (30 to 24). From the field, the Roadrunners led the game by 42 percent to 38 percent. At the charity stripe, UTSA went 20 for 24 (83 percent) as North Texas went 15 for 20 (75 percent).
RECORD WATCHING
Jordyn Jenkins put up a career-high 40 points against North Texas on Feb. 20, 2023. The school single-game record is 41 points in a game by Tesha Smith against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 25, 2017. Jenkins currently has 528 total points this season. The program record is 583 points by Tammy Rogers in the 1990-91 season. Jenkins has averaged 20.3 points per game this season. The school record is 20.7 per game by Starlite Williams in 1986-87.
With the Roadrunners' 68-67 win over North Texas on Feb. 20, head coach Karen Aston officially notched her 300th career win.
JINKIES FOR JENKINS
Jordyn Jenkins has been named the Conference USA Player of the Week three times this season – Nov. 28, Dec. 19, and Dec. 26. Scoring a career-high 40 points against North Texas on Feb. 20, Jenkins owns the conference single-game second best this season. She leads the conference in multiple categories – field goal percentage (48.2), field goals (186), points (528), points per game (20.3), rebounds (201). Amongst all Division I schools in Texas, Jenkins is the highest scoring student-athlete.
Newcomer Jenkins was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, the first Roadrunner to earn that honor. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020 and aims to celebrate those playing in the 26 mid-major conferences.
Jenkins is a transfer from the University of Southern California, where she played the last two seasons. At USC, she led the team offensively in almost every category while starting in 26 of 28 games in 2021-22. Jenkins led the Trojans in total points (384/14.8 per game), free throws made (110) and field goals made (134). The Kent, Wash., native was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player, as well as earning All-Pac 12 Honors at the end of the season.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Florida Atlantic holds a 12-13 record (5-11 in C-USA action) after a 85-77 loss to Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 16. The Owls were picked to finish 11th (last) in the conference in the preseason C-USA Coaches' Poll. Florida Atlantic is currently 10th in the conference.
Freshman Aniya Hubbard leads the Owls with 341 points, 66 assists and 65 steals. Hubbard leads the conference with steals and averages 2.60 per game. Janeta Rozentale has a team-high 145 rebounds and 16 blocks.
SERIES HISTORY VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC
The Owls hold the 8-6 advantage over the Roadrunners in the all-time series history. UTSA and Florida Atlantic last played each other on Jan. 19, 2023, when the Roadrunners fell to the Owls, 66-81, in Boca Raton. Jordyn Jenkins led UTSA with 25 points and 10 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners host FIU for Senior Game/Military Appreciation on Saturday at 12 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ from the Convocation Center.
-UTSA-
