‘Runners to face Spartans, Tigers at Puerto Rico Clasico‘Runners to face Spartans, Tigers at Puerto Rico Clasico
Women's Basketball

‘Runners to face Spartans, Tigers at Puerto Rico Clasico

UTSA will battle UNC Greensboro on Thursday and Towson on Friday

SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball program is headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they'll face UNC Greensboro at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum on Thursday at 10 a.m. C.T., ahead of a 1 p.m. contest with Towson at Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum the following day as a part of the 2024 Puerto Rico Clasico. 

The game will be broadcast live on the Puerto Rico Clasico website. Neal Raphael will deliver all the action on the radio in the greater San Antonio area on The Bull 93.3 FM and worldwide on the iHeartRadio app.

The Roadrunners (4-1, 0-0 The American) picked up a 62-43 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi a week ago that pushed UTSA to 4-1 against NCAA Division I teams to start the season for the first time since 2007-08 when the squad went 23-10 and reached the NCAA Tournament. 

Redshirt senior Jordyn Jenkins and graduate student Nina De Leon Negron each charted 16 points, with Negron sinking 5-of-8 shots. Sophomore Idara Udo collected a game-high 10 boards, with junior Maya Linton managing eight rebounds and Jenkins seven. Additionally, Jenkins recorded five steals and four blocks en route to a weekly honorable mention by the American Athletic Conference.

UTSA checks in with the second-best field goal percentage in the AAC, converting shots at a 42.5% rate, and a 74.2% mark from the charity stripe leads the league. The Roadrunners also rank 38th in the NCAA, with a plus-9.6 rebound margin. 

Individually, Jenkins sits inside the top 15 nationally with three double-doubles (14th), 35 free throws made (15th), and 22.0 points per game (9th), all of which pace The American. Junior Sidney Love and De Leon Negron each check in on the conference's assist/turnover ratio leader board, with Love third at 1.85 and De Leon Negron fifth at 1.67. Love is also third in assists per game, dishing out 4.8, and De Leon Negron is fourth with a 53.3% rate from beyond the arc. 

The Spartans (6-1, 0-0 SoCon) have been red-hot to start the season, falling only to Coastal Carolina on the road. 

They hit 44.2% of the shots they take to lead the Southern Conference, and a scoring defense of 47.6 is ninth in the NCAA. Jayde Gamble has played a major role in their success, leading the squad with 93 points at a 46.7% clip, which goes with a 1.35 assists/turnover ratio, and 20 steals that are 11th on the national leaderboard. Khalis Cain has commanded the boards for UNCG with 8.1 rebounds per game, including 4.4 on the offensive end. 

The Tigers (0-6, 0-0 CAA) are still searching for their first victory of the year, with India Johnston pacing the squad at 13.0 points per game and 15 assists tying Shariah Baynes for the team lead. Khady Leye, meanwhile, has recorded 7.8 rebounds per game, boasting eight blocks and three steals.  

Keep up with UTSA Women's Basketball on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.

-UTSA-