SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA women's basketball team will return to the Convocation Center after four consecutive road games on Thursday, with a 5 p.m. Battle of I-35 showdown against Texas State.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Karl Schoening providing play-by-play alongside Sophia Ramos. Neal Raphael will deliver the radio call in the greater San Antonio area on The Bull 93.3 FM and worldwide on the iHeartRadio app.
The Roadrunners (4-2, 0-0 AAC) are off to their best start since the 2014-15 season after falling in a hard-fought battle against Texas Tech, 63-58, and besting Sam Houston, 63-56 last week. Playing a significant role in the success, sophomore Sidney Love was named to the American Athletic Conference's Weekly Honor Roll.
She dropped 18 points at a .500 clip against the Lady Raiders before adding 12 more against the Bearkats. On the week, she averaged a team-high 15.0 ppg, to go along with 10 rebounds and two assists. She shot an efficient 47.6% from the field and went 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. Defensively, she boasted a block and swiped five steals.
Most recently, the team completed an 11-point comeback to take down SHSU in a contest that saw senior Elyssa Coleman score 17 while converting shots at a 61% clip. She collected six rebounds throughout the game, with freshman Aysia Proctor snagging eight and sophomore Maya Linton matching Coleman with six.
The Roadrunners logged 16 more boards as a team than the Bearkats, bringing their seasonal rebound margin to 13.5, the best in the AAC and the 17th-highest standard in the NCAA. They also top the conference and rank 12th nationally in blocks per game, averaging six each time they take the floor. Coleman plays a significant role in the team's defensive prowess, with 2.33 bpg representing the most in the American. Love joins Coleman as a league leader, sinking 87.9% of her shots from the free-throw line.
The Bobcats (3-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) have lost their last two, narrowly falling to Sam Houston and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, after picking up victories over Arlington Baptist, Bowling Green, and UTRGV to start the season.
Tiffany Tullis and Ja'Niah Henson have been standout performers for TXST, with Tullis leading the AAC and ranking 25th nationally at 10.4 rpg. Henson, meanwhile, tops the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 13.6 ppg, and is third on the SBC free throw percentage leader board, converting free throws at an 88.2% clip. She also paces TXST with 12 assists and 10 steals on the year.
Timia Jefferson joins Henson in averaging double-digit points at 10.8 ppg, with Gara Beth Self not far behind at 8.0 ppg. Additionally, Jaylin Foster rounds out a starting rotation that's remained unchanged since the start of the season.
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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