SAN ANTONIO— The UTSA women’s basketball team used a trio of stellar performances and clutch free throws to take down Charlotte, 69-63 in American Conference action at the Convocation Center on Saturday.
The Roadrunners (8-6, 3-0 American) topped the 49ers (8-9, 2-2 American) with senior Ereauna Hardaway leading the way with 19 points, seven assists and three steals. Classmate Cheyenne Rowe poured in 16 points, with six rebounds and a pair of blocks, while sophomore Mia Hammonds tied her career-high with 18 points and six boards off the bench.
The 49ers started off hot, scoring the first nine points of the contest, before a Hammonds and-one got UTSA on the score board, and a freshman Adriana Robles layup pulled the ‘Runners within four. The squads then traded blows until a Hardaway triple sent the contest into the second with Charlotte leading, 14-10.
Charlotte opened the stanza with a trey, and UTSA responded with a 10-0 run that allowed a Rowe jumper to hand the team a 20-17 edge. The 49ers got back-to-back shots to fall, and Rowe beat the buzzer to take a 22-21 lead into the locker room.
The battle raged on in the third, as a pair of Hammonds' free throws saw a 34-30 score line, as the squads exchanged runs en route to a 47-45 advantage for UTSA at the period’s conclusion.
Charlotte tickled the twine twice to open the fourth, and a Hammonds layup saw a 49-49 tie. The teams matched each other until a 49er layup issued a 55-53 lead with under five minutes remaining. Hardaway finished through contact and Rowe connected from the elbow to flip the script and take a 57-55 advantage. Charlotte hit from deep and junior Jayda Holiman matched to keep the ‘Runners in front. Shortly after, the 49ers knotted things up at 60 apiece. From there, Rowe and Hardaway knocked down shots for a 64-62 edge. Charlotte then went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, resulting in a 64-63 score line with 22 ticks on the clock. Sophomore Damara Allen was fouled and hit a pair to go up 66-63 and the ‘Runners finished strong for a 69-63 win.
UTSA will now hit the road, with contests against South Florida and Florida Atlantic on the docket in The Sunshine State next week.
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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