SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA women's basketball team concluded their regular season on Tuesday with a 60-52 victory over Rice at the Convocation Center, allowing them to reach 16 wins for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
UTSA will now await its seeding for the 2024 American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championships. Their 10-8 mark in league play currently slots them fourth with a double-bye to the quarterfinals. If the results hold, the Runners will log their highest conference seeding since finishing fourth with an 11-7 Conference-USA mark in 2015.
The Roadrunners (16-13, 10-8 The American) bested the Owls (15-14, 9-9 The American), with freshman Idara Udo logging a double-double to the tune of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt junior Elyssa Coleman and senior Jordyn Jenkins tied for the team scoring lead, each charting 14, while Jenkins was one board shy of a double-double herself.
Coleman kick-started the game with a three-pointer that gave UTSA an early lead. Shortly after, senior Kyra White sparked a 6-2 run with a triple of her own, leading to a 14-7 Roadrunner edge. Rice then converted an and-one, and Coleman knocked down a freebie, resulting in a 15-10 UTSA advantage entering the second.
The subsequent stanza began with a sophomore Madison Cockrell and-one, and Udo knocked down a jumper for a 10-point 'Runner lead. The Owls surged, scoring the next six, but UTSA responded as Udo, Jenkins, and freshman Aysia Proctor hit shots en route to a 30-16 lead. Rice tickled the twine on a jumper down the stretch, sending the squads into the locker room with a 30-18 score line.
The Owls struck first in the third quarter, sinking back-to-back jumpers. UTSA again replied as a Jenkins three-pointer capped off a seven-point streak that prompted a 37-22 score line. Shortly after, a Coleman layup started a six-score rally that put UTSA up 45-26. Rice knocked down a quartet of free throws to cap off the frame, working a 45-30 score.
Rice then continued its comeback bid, using multiple spurts to cut their deficit to three late in the fourth. A converted and-one for Jenkins then allowed the Runners to keep the Owls at arm's length, and she hit two more freebies down the stretch to secure a 60-52 win for UTSA.
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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