HUNTSVILLE, Texas — The UTSA women’s basketball trailed by as much as 11 entering the fourth quarter before a 30-point final frame propelled the squad to a 63-56 victory win over Sam Houston inside the Johnson Coliseum on Saturday.
The Roadrunners (4-1, 0-0 AAC) bested the Bearkats (3-2, 0-0 C-USA) as the team shot 43% from the field and held the opposition to a 24.6% clip.
Senior Elyssa Coleman led the contest in points, scoring 17 on 61% shooting to go along with six rebounds. Joining Coleman in the double-digit point club, sophomore Sidney Love dropped 12 and senior Kyra White 14.
The ‘Runners collected 16 more rebounds than the opposition, largely thanks to freshman Aysia Proctor, who logged eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Additionally, Love hauled in seven boards as Coleman and sophomore Maya Linton collected six.
Defensively, Coleman blocked three shots and recorded two steals, while Love worked three swipes of her own. Getting in on the action, freshman Emma Lucio made her collegiate debut, playing 11 minutes across the victory.
The Bearkats jumped out to a 9-5 lead midway through the first quarter, with Coleman and Proctor hitting shots for UTSA. Coming out of a media timeout, graduate student Hailey Atwood found White in the corner for a triple, and shortly after, freshman Idara Udo hit a layup to trim the UTSA deficit to one. From there, Proctor sunk a jumper and sophomore Cheyenne Rowe a free throw, ahead of a 16-13 score line entering the second.
A Coleman bucket helped the Roadrunners to a 17-17 tie in the second stanza, but SHSU responded with a 6-0 run, leading to a 23-17 Bearkat edge. Atwood hit two from the charity stripe to halt the run before Coleman logged a second-chance layup for a 25-21 score. The Kats’ found the bottom of the net once more, resulting in a 28-21 Roadrunner deficit at the half.
SHSU extended their lead to 10 out of the break, but multiple makes for Coleman kept the Roadrunners within striking distance in the third. With their lead cut to five, the Bearkats used a three-pointer to work a 36-28 advantage. Love responded with a triple of her own and a pullup jumper for Coleman, followed for a 36-33 score line. Subsequently, the Bearkats scored eight points, resulting in a 44-33 SHSU lead entering the fourth.
UTSA began the final frame on an eight-point surge that started with back-to-back Coleman makes. The Kats then sunk two free throws for a 47-41 SHSU edge. The ‘Runners stayed hot, using multiple Proctor buckets and a White and-one to knot the contest at 47. White then tickled the twine once more to put UTSA out in front. The teams then exchanged blows, resulting in a 57-54 score line, favoring the ‘Runners with under two left to play. From there, clutch free throws by Love and White, as well as a Coleman block, secured a 63-56 Roadrunner victory.
On Thursday, UTSA will return to the Convocation Center for the first time since Nov. 10, as they host Texas State in the Battle of I-35 at 5 p.m.
Keep up with UTSA Women's Basketball all season long on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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