SAN ANTONIO – In the UTSA women’s basketball team’s 80-61 win against Memphis on Saturday, head coach Karen Aston felt her team made progress that extended far beyond its 22nd win of the year that gave the Roadrunners their 15th consecutive home victory.
UTSA (22-3, 13-1 The American) benefited from valuable contributions up and down its roster. It’s a trait that will serve the Roadrunners well as they work to achieve their goals in postseason play.
“When you get into tournament play, you never know what’s going to happen,” Aston said. “You’re playing, we hope, three nights in a row and someone’s probably going to have to step up. Other teams focus on who I guess people think are our main scorers. The fact that we’re starting to get some major contributions from other players has really been the story of the last two games.”
One of the biggest standouts on Saturday was sophomore guard Aysia Proctor, who scored a season-high 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, brought down three rebounds and dished out three assists.
“She was crucial,” Aston said of Proctor. “Obviously the shot-making, but I think her defense is improving, which has been something that we’ve focused on quite a bit. It’s just learning how to go play to play and you can definitely see that she’s starting to find her groove. I think that her contributions today really opened up the other players a little bit.”
The Roadrunners have also gotten solid contributions from Cheyenne Rowe all season long, and have seen the emergence of Taylor Ross in recent contests.
Depth was particularly important in Saturday’s game as Jordyn Jenkins, the early favorite for the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year award, was plagued with three first half fouls that forced her to the bench for most of the second quarter. Jenkins, who entered the game as the AAC’s leading scorer at nearly 19 points per game, played fewer than 15 minutes on Saturday and scored eight points.
“Whenever Jordy is scoring 30 points, that just makes everybody else’s lives easier,” joked point guard Nina De Leon Negron. “I just think that we feed off each other. We play like a team. Whoever’s scoring, we try to feed them and score in transition. We just keep it going and play together.”
Despite some players not seeing much action early in the season, Aston is pleased that her entire team has trusted the process. She is starting to see that commitment pay off across the board.
“This is what I was hoping for,” Aston said. “That people would stay engaged and not get down because they weren’t getting to play in certain games, and I’ve seen a lot of that. They just keep working.”
Aston trusts her team and its leadership to be able to work through challenges that it faces in games. On Saturday, the Roadrunners trailed by as many as 12 points, powered by a 9-0 Memphis run that concluded early in the second quarter. UTSA didn’t use a single one of its timeouts against the Tigers.
“It goes back to who we are and who we’ve been the whole year,” Aston said. “I have a lot of trust in these guys. Sid [Love] and Nina were on the floor at that time and I just don’t think I have to call a timeout when they’re on the floor. They can get our team organized if there’s a dead ball. I thought they could work through it.”
As their opponents have tried to stop the high-powered Roadrunners this season, they have employed a number of different approaches. Regardless of what they’re facing, UTSA’s players have found a way to adapt.
“We’ve seen all kinds of different defenses,” Aston said. “There’s been a lot of different looks. That’s probably what I’m most proud of – that they’ve learned how to handle and read the defense. That’s why I think our second halves have been better – because they’ve managed to figure out how people are playing us.”
Twenty-five games into the season, the Roadrunners seem to get better with every outing. It’s the right formula for them to achieve their ultimate goals headed into March.
“With four games left, it’s kind of the final stretch; like the last lap of the race,” said sophomore post player Idara Udo. “Now, more than ever, we’re just honed in on trying to get a ring, but also keeping our minds on the American Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. We are still locked in on the moment, but also on what’s ahead as well.”
HOLDING (HOME) COURT
Saturday’s win against Memphis marked the Roadrunners’ 15th consecutive victory in the Convocation Center dating back to last season.
An important part of the team’s success has been the support of its growing fan base. On Saturday, the third-largest crowd in program history (1,523) turned out to cheer on UTSA. The Roadrunners average better than 1,000 fans per game on the season.
“It’s mind blowing,” Udo said. “Just being here for two years – the difference from year one to year two, even from the beginning of the year until now is tremendous. I think that we’re really appreciative for all the fans that come out every single game. People who you don’t even know are your biggest fans. It just means the world to us.”
NEXT UP
UTSA is back in action next Saturday, traveling to Houston to take on Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.