PHILADELPHIA — The UTSA women's basketball team suffered a 71-58 defeat at the hands of Temple on Saturday at the Liacouras Center, in what represented the Roadrunner's first matchup of American Athletic Conference play.
The Roadrunners (6-6, 0-1 AAC) fell to the Owls (7-6, 1-0 AAC), as senior Kyra White led the contest with 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Redshirt junior Elyssa Coleman and freshman Idara Udo joined White in scoring double-digit points as Coleman logged 11 and Udo 10. Coleman and sophomore Sidney Love paced the 'Runners in rebounds, each snagging seven, while Love scored five points to go along with five assists.
The Owls jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in the first quarter, ahead of a White floater that halted the run. A White three-pointer shortly after brought UTSA within three, and following a Temple make, back-to-back buckets by Udo saw a 12-11 score line. Now trailing by one, Coleman converted an and-one, handing the Roadrunners a 14-12 advantage. The Owls, however, sunk a triple, resulting in a 15-14 score at the conclusion of the period.
Coleman wasted no time out of the break, converting a second-chance basket to put UTSA back in front. Temple responded with an eight-point surge, leading to a 23-16 Owl edge. Freshman Aysia Proctor nailed a triple, keeping the Roadrunners within striking distance, and White converted a pair from the charity stripe for a 23-21 score. The teams then traded buckets before a White jumper knotted the contest at 25. The battle raged on, as a buzzer-beating Love layup sent the squads into the locker room, with Temple leading 29-28.
After a pair of Owl free throws, sophomore Maya Linton sunk the first three-pointer of her collegiate career, and White knocked down a step-back jumper for a 33-31 Roadrunner lead. Temple tied things up, eventually using a six-point run to take a 48-41 lead. An Owl three-pointer then put Temple up 51-43 with less than a minute in the frame, but a fadeaway triple by White saw a 51-46 score line entering the fourth.
Love kick-started the final period with a three-pointer, and back-to-back Coleman layups allowed UTSA to grasp a 53-51 advantage. Temple responded with a seven-point surge midway through the stanza, affording them a 64-55 lead. The Owls then finished strong, keeping the Roadrunners at arms-length and working a 71-58 victory,
The 'Runners journey in The American will continue on Tuesday, as UTSA heads to Greenville, North Carolina to face East Carolina with tipoff set for 5 p.m. C.T.
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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