HOUSTON––On Saturday, the UTSA women's basketball team suffered a 52-48 defeat at the hands of Houston in nonconference action at the Fertitta Center.
The Roadrunners (0-2, 0-0 The American) fell to the Cougars (2-0, 0-0 Big 12), despite senior Cheyenne Rowe recording a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Junior Idara Udo led the 'Runners with 13 points, while sophomore Damara Allen charted 11. Classmate Mia Hammonds recorded a career-best seven points and nine boards, while senior Ereauna Hardaway made her Roadrunner debut with four points, four rebounds and three assists.
UTSA led the contest with 38 points in the paint to Houston's 18, and also recorded nine more second-chance points and three more rebounds.
Houston hit back-to-back triples to open the contest, before Hamonds connected on a layup to put UTSA on the board, and Allen hit a floater to pull the 'Runners within two. The Cougars knocked down a jumper, ahead of a 9-0 UTSA surge that saw multiple Rowe makes and an Allen three-pointer. Now leading, 13-8, the squads exchanged blows en route to a 15-12 Roadrunner lead at the conclusion of the period.
The slugfest continued, as both teams went shot for shot, until consecutive Cougar makes prompted a 20-20 deadlock. From there, neither squad could gain an inch before heading into the locker room tied at 27.
Houston took a 33-27 edge to start the third, with a Rowe layup halting the Cougar run. Junior Jayda Holiman knocked down a trey to pull within three, but Houston kept UTSA at arm's length for the remainder of the quarter until a Cougar triple sent the contest into the fourth with a 42-36 Houston lead.
The Cougars scored the first four in the final frame, but UTSA sparked a 6-0 rally to pull within four with under two minutes to play. A pair of Houston free throws worked a 48-42 edge, but an Udo layup followed to keep UTSA within striking distance. Hardaway went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for a 48-45 score line. Houston scored, ahead of another Hardaway freebie and a Rowe putback layup that issued a 50-48 score with 40 ticks in the contest. The Cougars then got one more shot to fall, cementing a 52-48 victory.
The Roadrunners will next face Texas State with a Thursday Battle of I-35 set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in San Antonio at the Convocation Center.
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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