FRISCO, Texas – The UTSA women's basketball team's phenomenal postseason run came to an end on Friday night as the Roadrunners fell to No. 2 seed WKU, 70-55, in the semifinal round of the Conference USA Championships at The Star.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
Sidney Love led the Roadrunners with 13 points and five assists. Elyssa Coleman picked up a team-high 10 boards. Coleman and Maya Linton each collected two blocks. Coleman, Hailey Atwood and Deborah Nwakamma notched a team-high two steals each. UTSA dominated the rebound game over WKU by 47 rebounds to 27 rebounds. The Roadrunners continue to dominate in the area they know best, putting up 38 points in the paint to the Lady Toppers' 24 points in the paint. Although UTSA and WKU each sank 24 field goals, three-pointers were what made the difference. The Roadrunners had one three-point basket while the Lady Toppers countered with 11 baskets from beyond the arc.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
Despite losing the opening tip, the Roadrunners battled to sink the first basket as Atwood opened scoring with a second-chance layup in the paint a little over 30 seconds into the game. Through the first quarter, the score bounced back and forth as the first 10 minutes saw three lead changes and three tie scores. The Roadrunners went on a 6-0 run to take a four-point lead, but a couple of made free throws and a three point basket by the Lady Toppers gave WKU a 13-12 advantage at the end of the period.
The second quarter saw a lot of back and forth scoring. A 10-2 scoring run by WKU gave them a nine-point lead twice in the 10-minute period. UTSA continued to fight back though and cut its deficit to just two points as Linton stepped up in the final few minutes with a couple of crucial baskets and rebounds to make it a close game. Love also recorded nine points with an assist and steal to keep the Roadrunners in the game. A driving layup by WKU's Teresa Faustino with two seconds left gave the Lady Toppers a 34-30 advantage heading to the intermission.
Despite having the lead, the Lady Toppers didn't slow down coming back from the break as WKU outscored UTSA by 19 points to six points in the third quarter. WKU extended its lead to 17 points by the end of the third period. In the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners outscored the Lady Toppers by 19 points to 17 points to attempt to fight their way back. WKU jumped out to a 21-point lead at one point, but UTSA cut it down to 14 points. Queen Ulabo stepped up in the final ten minutes with six points in the final quarter. A layup by Ulabo as time expired cut UTSA's deficit to 15 points, but the Roadrunners ultimately fell to WKU, 70-55, in the semifinal matchup.
UTSA ends its season with a 13-19 overall record, while WKU advances on to the championship with a 19-12 record.
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