SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA women’s basketball team suffered a 65-55 defeat at the hands of Rice on Saturday in American Conference action at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (10-10, 5-4 American) fell to the Owls (19-3, 9-0 American), with sophomore Damara Allen scoring 11 with six rebounds and three assists, while senior Ereauna Hardaway charted 10 points. Classmate Cheyenne Rowe flirted with a double-double to the tune of nine points and eight rebounds, with sophomore Mia Hammonds scoring six with seven boards.
The squads exchanged blows early, with a Rowe triple giving the ‘Runners a 9-7 advantage, before an Owl trey handed them a 10-9 lead. Rice then finished the first frame strong, owning a 19-15 edge.
The Owls grew a 26-19 lead in the second, with a later Allen three-pointer pulling UTSA back within striking distance. Nobody else got shots to fall as the squads headed into the locker room with Rice leading, 31-28.
A slurry of free throws and a triple capped off a 7-0 run that handed the Owls a 40-30 edge. Hammonds halted the surge with a pair of free throws, but Rice remained hot with another seven-point spurt, seeing a 47-32 score line, ahead of a 51-39 edge entering the fourth.
The Roadrunners used a 10-2 run to fight back within six midway through the frame, before a Rice make saw a 57-49 score. After trading buckets, two junior Idara Udo free throws had UTSA down, 59-53, with 42 seconds remaining. Rice knocked down a pair of freebies, and Allen hit a jumper with 20 ticks on the clock. UTSA, however, was unable to complete the comeback, falling 65-55.
The Roadrunners will now hit the road, with a Tuesday night bout against UAB at 6 p.m. inside Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
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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