SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team dominated Sam Houston on Saturday in the Convocation Center, with a 79-36 score line representing UTSA’s largest margin of victory against an NCAA Division I opponent since an 86-33 thrashing of Nicholls on Jan. 14, 2008.
The Roadrunners (7-1, 0-0 The American) bested the Bearkats (5-3, 0-0 Southland) as their seventh consecutive win marked the program's longest winning streak since the 2013-14 season and a 7-1 record represents the second-hottest start in school history. Additionally, after taking down Towson 71-40 last time out, UTSA has recorded consecutive 30-plus point victories over DI foes for the first time since December of 1996 when they beat Prairie View A&M 67-31 before topping Texas Southern 91-30.
Redshirt senior Jordyn Jenkins logged her fourth double-double of the season, tallying 22 points at a 50% clip to go with 10 rebounds and three steals. Also performing well, sophomore Idara Udo scored 15 with eight boards, while junior Sidney Love charted 10 points with five rebounds. Graduate student Nina De Leon Negron racked up eight assists, with junior Cheyenne Rowe working eight points and six rebounds. Freshman Taylor Ross made an impact, logging five points, six rebounds and three blocks, with fellow newcomer Emilia Dannebauer sinking her first collegiate bucket.
The ’Runners led wire-to-wire, shooting 48% from the field to the Bearkats 22%, and notably scored 60 points in the paint to SHSU’s eight. UTSA also collected 26 more rebounds, 25 more points in transition, and 16 more off turnovers.
Love and Udo hit shots to kick-start the contest, ahead of a Bearkat make and a Jenkins and-one that saw a 7-2 UTSA lead. SHSU scored the next four to pull within one, ahead of a 10-9 score line still favoring UTSA midway through the frame. The ‘Runners then embarked on a 13-2 run that allowed a junior Maya Linton triple to see a 23-11 score line at the conclusion of the period.
Udo and Jenkins then stretched the UTSA edge to 16, but SHSU answered with back-to-back buckets of their own. Love finished in transition, and Sam Houston got a trio of free throws to fall en route to a 29-17 score. UTSA then embarked on a seven-point surge with multiple makes by Udo and Jenkins, issuing a 36-17 advantage. A De Leon Negron layup broke up a pair of Bearkat triples, seeing a 38-23 Roadrunner lead at the break.
The squads exchanged blows to open the third, as Jenkins nailed a shot from beyond the arc for the 1,500th point of her career and a 43-24 lead. SHSU got just one field goal to fall in the frame, with a jumper prompting a 49-30 score, before a Ross and-one saw a 52-30 advantage entering the fourth.
UTSA finished the game strong, outscoring the Bearkats 27-6 across the final 10 minutes, cementing the 79-36 victory.
The Roadrunners will now hit the road, with a matchup against Stanford awaiting on Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. CT in California.
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-