CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UTSA women's basketball team extended their win streak to four games and concluded the regular season with a 80-59 victory over Charlotte on Thursday night.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
Jordyn Jenkins led the team with 25 points and three steals. This is her 17th 20-point scoring game of the season. Sidney Love put up 22 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while going a perfect 4-for-4 in three-point attempts. Hailey Atwood was tied with Love for team-high rebounds (7). Kyra White was the final Roadrunner to score double-digits as she recorded 13 points and a team-high seven assists.
The Roadrunners shot the ball exceptionally well from beyond the arc, sinking nine three-point baskets for a 45 three-point percentage in the game. This is just the fifth game this season that UTSA scores more three-pointers than the opponent. UTSA continues to run the rebound game, leading with 37 rebounds to the 49ers' 32 boards. The Roadrunners converted 11 Charlotte turnovers to 16 points, while the 49ers converted 10 UTSA turnovers to seven points. Not many teams in the league have matched UTSA's dominance in the paint but that was not the case in this game as UTSA scored 28 points in the paint and Charlotte responded with 30 points in the paint. The Roadrunners took advantage of second-chance opportunities with 28 points, while the 49ers responded with 10 points in the paint.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
In a game that only saw one tie score and the Roadrunners led for 39 minutes and seven seconds, UTSA dominated from the start. The Roadrunners opened up scoring with a second chance jumper by Atwood with 9:44 on the clock, but the 49ers tied it up shortly after. This would be the closest the game would be. A five-point scoring run, with a jumper by White and a three-point basket by Love, would prove to be what put UTSA above Charlotte in the first period. The scoring bounced back and forth through the rest of the first period. Queen Ulabo made a jumper with 27 seconds left to extend UTSA's lead to seven points, but a buzzer-beater jump shot by the 49ers cut it to five. UTSA had the 22-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Charlotte opened up the second quarter with the first bucket, but the Roadrunners followed that with a 13-point scoring run, concluded by a Love three-pointer with 5:54 on the clock, to jump out to a 35-19 lead. The 49ers cut UTSA's lead to 10 points at 2:41, but the Roadrunners continued to bounce back. A five-point run consisting of a jumper by Deborah Nwakamma and layup with a foul drawn to make the free throw gave UTSA a 15-point advantage. The 49ers made a layup with 37 seconds left, but Jenkins responded with a layup of her own to give UTSA the 44-29 lead heading to halftime. This is tied for UTSA's largest halftime score of the season, the other time being the Roadrunners' last game against FIU on Feb. 25.
UTSA and Charlotte played a more even game in the third quarter. Jenkins opened up scoring with second-chance jumper less than 30 seconds left, before Charlotte's Dazia Lawrence followed with a jumper about 30 seconds later. The Roadrunners then went on an 8-0 run to jump out to a 23-point advantage, their largest lead of the game. The 49ers went on a 9-0 run after this to cut into UTSA's lead, getting it down to 14 points. A Jenkins layup and Love three-point basket got the lead up to 19 points, but a layup by the 49ers ended the third quarter with a 59-42 UTSA lead.
The Roadrunners outscored the 49ers by 22 points to 17 points to secure the win in the regular season finale. Charlotte cut their deficit to nine points but UTSA got right back to work every time the 49ers attempted a comeback. A seven-point run, on a White three-point basket and two layups by Elyssa Coleman, in the final two minutes gave UTSA the 21-point lead. The Roadrunners also played great defense as they did not allow the 49ers to score during that span, leading UTSA to a 80-59 victory over Charlotte in the Roadrunners' regular season finale.
UTSA's record improves to 11-18 overall (9-11 in C-USA action), while Charlotte falls to a 11-17 record (7-12 in C-USA action).
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners head to the Conference USA Championships on March 8-11, hosted at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Seeding is to be determined on Saturday after the conclusion of the final regular season games.
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