SAN ANTONIO — On Wednesday, the UTSA women's basketball team will host a first-place North Texas squad in American Athletic Conference action. The team will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day and the passing of Title IX, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Lincoln Rose providing play-by-play alongside Carlie Heineman. 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 (10-9, 4-4 The American) dropped their last two contests and will look to bounce back against the Mean Green.
UTSA last fell 78-55 at the hands of SMU in a matchup that saw stellar performances by senior Kyra White and freshman Idara Udo. White recorded nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds to go with seven assists, while Udo collected nine rebounds and scored 11. Redshirt junior Elyssa Coleman and sophomore Sidney Love each matched Udo's point total, and Coleman finished a solid game with six boards.
The 'Runners remain league leaders in several statistical categories, including rebounds per game, where a 46.3 average sits sixth nationally. A plus-10.7 rebound margin slots them 12th across the NCAA, 16.3 offensive rebounds per game rank sixth, and 30.0 defensive boards sit 12th. Additionally, UTSA has held opponents to a 36.0% shooting clip, which tops the AAC and ranks 22nd across the country, and 5.0 blocks per game sit 21st on the national leader board.
Individually, White and Coleman rank near the top, with White's 97 assists slotting her second and 35.0 minutes per game sitting second as well. Meanwhile, Coleman has swatted 30 blocks during the year for the second-most in the AAC, and she connects on 46.6% of her shots for the fifth-best percentage in the league.
The Mean Green (17-3, 7-1 The American) have been unstoppable lately, falling to only Charlotte in league play. UTSA will look to snap their seven-game winning streak that dates back to the 74-64 defeat at the hands of the 49ers on Dec. 30, 2023. UNT boasts the reigning AAC Player of the Week, as DesiRay Kernal was awarded the accolade after averaging 23.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 4.0 apg across wins over UAB and Tulane.
One of the nation's most efficient shooting teams, UNT ranks 15th with a 47.6% field goal percentage, and they excel at getting to the charity stripe, taking 25.6 free throw attempts per game for the second-most in the NCAA. They average 75.8 points each time out for the highest in the AAC, and a plus-14.5 scoring margin tops the conference. Also ranking in the top 10 nationally, the Mean Green holds opponents to a 25.2% clip from beyond the arc.
Tommisha Lampkin and Kernal have played a significant role in UNT’s success, with Lampkin's 67.4% shooting clip representing the fourth-best in the nation, while Kernal's mark of 54.6% is the second-best in The American. Kernal's 103 made free throws sit eighth on the national leader board, and she also tops the team with 7.9 rpg. Not far behind, Lampkin collects 7.2 boards each time out, and the pair pace the team in scoring, with Kernal dropping 17.0 ppg and Lampkin 15.0 ppg. Joining the pair in the double-digit scoring club, Jaaucklyn Moore scores 10.2 ppg.
Defensively, Lampkin swats 1.3 blocks per game, and Kernal swipes 1.5 steals per game to lead the Mean Green.
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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