SAN ANTONIO – It’s true that the UTSA Women’s Basketball team has its fair share of star power.
But the identity of this year’s squad, which on Saturday defeated Temple 70-61 to earn its school-record 12th consecutive home victory, isn’t based on a handful of players who score the most points. The Roadrunners opened February by winning their 18th game – matching the 2023-24 edition’s win total – with the total-team effort that has characterized its historic season.
“It shows in practice,” said starting point guard Nina De Leon Negron. “We don’t have bench players, it’s just people that don’t start. Every time they’re on the bench, the energy is good. I can feel it. They’re locked in, they want to play and they’re ready.”
That readiness was on full display in the second quarter of Saturday’s game. Foul trouble plagued the Roadrunners as post player Cheyenne Rowe had three first-half fouls and starters De Leon Negron, Sidney Love and Idara Udo all had two. UTSA’s fourth-year head coach Karen Aston counted on her entire roster to help the Roadrunners weather the storm.
“In the second quarter, it was a lineup that hasn’t played a lot of minutes and hasn’t played together a lot,” Aston said. “It was chaotic and maybe didn’t feel great, but I thought it was huge because they competed. They tried really hard to make plays and do the things that they needed to do. They kind of got our energy up defensively. It was a huge team win for us.”
One of the biggest examples of that came with 5:04 remaining in the game. The Roadrunners, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, were down 56-53 with the shot clock winding down on the possession. De Leon Negron drove to the free-throw line, but didn’t have an open shot. She passed the ball to Rowe on the left wing. Rowe, who entered the game with only one made three-pointer on the season, was heavily guarded, but faked out her defender and launched a step-back three to tie the game as the shot clock expired.
“The fact that she had the presence to get the shot off was just one of many things Cheyenne did really well today,” Aston said. “When she shot it and hit it, she threw up the three sign like it was just an everyday thing.”
Just like Rowe’s improbable three-pointer, no challenge has been too big for this year’s UTSA women’s basketball team. The Roadrunners have faced double-digit second-half deficits in several games this season and continue to find ways to win.
“I think that’s our team in a nutshell,” said Udo. “Our team just responds to adversity very well. We’re always up for a challenge and we’re always up to fight for each other and just represent the letters on our chest with everything we have in us.”
Senior standout Jordyn Jenkins, the early favorite for the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year accolade, embodied that spirit and delivered a gutsy performance on Saturday. Still recovering from getting banged up in the Roadrunners’ win against Tulsa on Jan. 22 which prevented her from playing in UTSA’s last game against South Florida, Jenkins’ status entering the game against Temple was unknown.
Jenkins delivered in one of the biggest ways possible. Having scored only two points by halftime and only seven entering the fourth quarter, she dropped nine points, including five clutch free-throws, forced two steals and brought down two rebounds in six minutes of play in the final frame. Jenkins’ fast-break layup with 45 seconds remaining all but sealed the victory for the Roadrunners. But her effect on the game went far beyond the stat sheet.
“I thought it was one of her most impactful performances,” Aston said. “Sometimes you need to see what someone has inside of them. It’s not about the points. You have to see what they’re going to give to their team. I think that our players felt she was trying to give them everything she had today. I think that’s really critical when you start to get down the stretch of a season. The players have to know what each other is going to give them.”
Off the court, an important factor in UTSA’s success was the impact of its fan base. The Roadrunners welcomed 1,412 fans to the Convocation Center, their third consecutive home game with an attendance of better than 1,300 supporters.
“I think it’s everything for me and for our team as well,” Udo said of the fans in attendance. “Just hearing the crowd and hearing the encouragement we get. Not just hearing it, but seeing how many people come out and support us and are rooting for us and want us to be successful, that means the world to us. It motivates us to play even harder.”
For the Roadrunners, it was just another step on their quest towards the ultimate goal of winning an AAC Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. One day at a time.
“It’s just resilience,” Aston said. “You don’t draw up a game to look like that, but I think that’s kind of how we’re made. We’re not going to give up.”
NEXT UP
UTSA plays host to North Texas at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Convocation Center. It is a Salute to Healthcare, the Play4Kay Cancer Awareness Game and a celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Tickets start at just $12 and fans can purchase them by clicking here.