SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team is set for a New Year's Day bout with UAB in what represents the 'Runners first home American Athletic Conference contest of the 2024-25 campaign. Tipoff is set for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center, and the game will also serve as International Students Day.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Karl Schoening (play-by-play), Carlie Heineman (analyst) and Taylor Guajardo (reporter) on the call. 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 (10-2, 1-0 The American) picked up a 64-50 road victory over Charlotte in the league opener last time out, with redshirt senior Jordyn Jenkins using 18 points at a 50% clip to secure an honorable mention on the conference's weekly awards. In addition to Jenkins, juniors Sidney Love and Maya Linton performed well, each scoring 11, and Linton also recorded nine rebounds and three steals. Graduate student Nina De Leon Negron poured in 10 points, with seven assists and five boards, while sophomore Idara Udo scored nine and pulled down nine rebounds.
UTSA enters the contest ranked 12th nationally with a plus-11.6 rebound margin, is 27th with 15.3 offensive rebounds per game, and a 54.8 scoring defense is 28th. The Roadrunners are also 39th, holding opponents to a 36% mark from the field, and 4.3 blocks per game are 50th.
Individually, De Leon Negron ranks 26th across the country with 5.5 assists per game, and a 2.26 assist/turnover ratio is 51st. Jenkins leads the league in several statistics, including points per game, where 18.9 PPG are 35th in the NCAA, and 53 free throws made are 49th. Additionally, her 227 total points check in at 53rd on the national leader board.
The Blazers (9-4, 0-1 The American) posted a stellar nonconference record before falling to Temple, 97-74, in AAC action. They excel from beyond the arc, sinking 9.8 three-pointers per game for the 15th most in the nation. UAB is 18th in three-point attempts at 27.5, and a 35.8% from beyond-the-arc is 38th. The Blazers also pass the ball well as 16.3 assists per game top The American, and they are solid defensively, boasting 5.4 blocks per game for the 20th most in the NCAA.
Journey Armstead facilitates the offense, with 65 assists, ranking 35th nationally and 5.0 APG 44th. Jade Weathersby commands the boards to the tune of 9.3 RPG that sit 45th, 7.0 defensive boards per game are 17th and 121 total rebounds are 31st. Maddie Walsh provides the bulk of the scoring with 13.2 PPG coming at a 46.2% rate, and Sara Bershers is not far behind at 10.6 PPG.
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.
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