SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women’s basketball team will kick-start the 2026-27 season on Friday, taking on UNLV at 8:30 p.m. CT in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The game will air live on Mountain West+ 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. Live stats for the contest can be found at goUTSA.com/wbbstats.
In the sixth season of the Karen Aston era, UTSA will look to build upon an 18-16 season that saw the squad lift an American Tournament Championship trophy and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. The squad got hot down the stretch, entering as the No. 6 seed before winning four games in four days to take the title. The ‘Runners subsequently fell to No. 1 overall seed UConn in the Round of 64, in what represented UTSA’s third national postseason appearance in as many seasons.
The Roadrunners return a preseason all-conference first-team selection in senior Idara Udo, who started 24 games across 26 total appearances, averaging 9.3 points per game with 7.4 rebounds per game, 20 steals and 19 blocks. UTSA also brings back regular starters in juniors Mia Hammonds and Damara Allen, sophomore Adriana Robles and redshirt senior Maya Linton, who started 26 games in the 2024-25 season before missing the previous campaign. Additionally, junior Marie Han, redshirt sophomore Taylor Ross, sophomore Sanaa Bean and redshirt freshman Sema Udo return.
UTSA added transfer pieces in senior Kierra Merchant (Houston), redshirt senior Praise Egharevba (Oklahoma State) and sophomores Bhret Clay (Air Force) and Emily Hunter (TCU). True freshmen Jana Ros, Amaya McDonald and Rihyana Kinsey round out the team.
UNLV, meanwhile, opened the season on Monday, suffering a 100-68 defeat at the hands of No. 3 USC in the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase. Maia Rosarion led the Lady Rebels with 12 points, and Jayla Constant wasn’t far behind with 10. Norah Moo tied Rosarion for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Following a 21-11 season, UNLV welcomes back All-Mountain West First-Team selection and All-Defensive pick Meadow Roland, as well as starter Jasmyn Lott.
Keep up with UTSA Women’s Basketball all season long on goUTSA.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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