SAN ANTONIO – The 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season champion UTSA women's basketball team is set to open the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament on Thursday, with an 8 p.m. CT bout on the docket against No. 4 seed Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and 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 (26-4, 17-1 The American) are set to compete in postseason basketball for the fourth time in program history. Last season, UTSA topped Northern Colorado 80-62 in the First Round of the 2024 WNIT before falling to Wyoming in the Second Round. The 'Runners are 1-3 all-time in national postseason events, also making the NCAA Tournament following Southland Conference Tournament Championships in 2008 and 2009.
The Bulldogs (22-10, 17-3 WCC) invite UTSA into The Kennel, as the squads are set to cross paths for the first time. Gonzaga was crowned West Coast Conference regular-season champions with a 17-3 record and boasts the reigning Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year, Yvonne Ejim. Additionally, the Zags are fifth in the NCAA with a rebound-margin of plus-10.2 and a 37.1 3PT% is 13th.
Ejim was named a finalist for the award for the third time and was also named WCC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. She ranks 12th in the nation with 660 points and an average of 20.6 PPG is 15th. 12 double-doubles on the campaign slot her 39th, and she is 68th with 8.9 RPG. Ejim is also one of five finalists for the Katrina McClain's Power Forward of the Year award.
In addition to Ejim, Allie Turner was named WCC Freshman of the Year, and Maud Hujibens was an All-WCC Honorable Mention. Head coach Lisa Fortier was the league's Coach of the Year, capturing the award for the third consecutive year and seventh time overall. Turner excels from beyond the arc, with a 45.7 3PT% sitting fifth in the NCAA, and 95 three-pointers made are seventh. Hujibens, meanwhile, is second on the team, collecting 7.0 RPG.
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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