SAN ANTONIO — On Wednesday, the UTSA women’s basketball team staved off a late comeback with a sophomore Damara Allen game-winner, cementing a 66-64 victory over North Texas in American Conference action at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (10-9, 5-3 American) topped the Mean Green (11-10, 5-4 American), as North Texas recovered from a 20-point deficit to take a 65-64 lead with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Allen collected her own miss and tickled the twine with 13 ticks on the clock to put UTSA back in front, and UNT was unable to connect on a game-winner of their own thanks to stifling defense by the ‘Runners. Senior Cheyenne Rowe added an extra free throw for good measure before the final horn sounded, signaling a UTSA win.
Rowe had a career night, scoring 27 on 12-for-18 shooting with 11 rebounds, while classmate Ereauna Hardaway logged nine points with six rebounds and five assists. Junior Idara Udo charted eight points with four rebounds in just nine minutes of action, and Allen dished out five dimes to go with six points. Additionally, freshman Sanaa Bean posted a collegiate-best three blocks across the contest.
UTSA outrebounded the opposition, 40 to 28, and the Roadrunners shot 46% to the Mean Green’s 40%. The ‘Runners also earned 12 more points in the paint, two more second-chance points and swiped five more steals.
UNT jumped out to an 8-1 edge in the first, before Hardaway halted the scoring drought with a turnaround jumper. The Mean Green finished the frame strong, taking an 11-5 lead into the second stanza.
The ‘Runners came racing back with a 6-0 run featuring makes by Allen, Hardaway and Rowe knotting the contest at 11. North Texas sunk a triple to get back out in front, and UTSA scored the next five to take an 18-14 advantage. The squads exchanged blows until the ‘Runners ended the half with six straight to take a 26-19 lead into the locker room.
UTSA caught fire in the third, with a 12-0 surge, building a 19-point edge. A Mean Green trey saw a 42-26 score line, and the Roadrunners finished off the period in front, 46-28.
The Mean Green threatened a comeback in the fourth, with a 7-0 run midway through the quarter, pulling them within 10. UTSA buried a free throw and UNT a triple for a 59-51 score line, still favoring UTSA. Rowe logged a layup, and the Mean Green scored five straight to trim the deficit to five. Hardaway and UNT traded buckets, with a slurry of Mean Green free throws working a 63-61 score. UNT then drained a three-pointer with 22 ticks remaining for a 64-63 lead, before Allen’s late-game heroics secured the UTSA win.
The Roadrunners will next face Rice on Saturday, with the Owls headed to The Convo for a 1 p.m. Play4Kay contest.
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.
-UTSA-