SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team fell to 2021 Southland Conference Champion SFA 77-50 Tuesday evening in the season opener at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners were on the board first, but the Ladyjacks hit a 7-0 run to take an early lead. For more than two minutes, neither team scored until Yuliyana Valcheva made a layup to break the drought and close the gap to three (7-4). SFA made a couple of free throws and Elyssa Coleman scored her first points as a Roadrunner, but the Ladyjacks finished the quarter with a 13-3 run to lead 22-9.
The second quarter started off slow as each team only scored five points each at the 7:53 mark. Ceyenne Mass made a layup and drew a foul to close the gap to 12 (24-12). Both teams continued to score until SFA then went on a 7-0 run to lead 36-16 with 3:02 remaining in the quarter. In the final two minutes, LaPraisjah Johnson scored five points to help UTSA hit a 6-2 run to trail 38-22 at the break.
The second half started out close until Johnson scored five consecutive points as the Roadrunners trailed 42-29. The Ladyjacks then hit a 7-2 run to push their advantage to 19 (49-30). Both teams continued to score until SFA closed out the quarter on a 5-1 run to lead 57-36.
In the fourth, UTSA opened with a 5-1 scoring surge until SFA hit a 9-0 run to lead 67-41 at the 6:37 mark. In the remaining minutes, the teams battled for the ball as the Ladyjacks outscored the Roadrunners 10-9 to wrap up the game.
The Roadrunners return to the court on Saturday when they travel to Abilene Christian. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Notes
- UTSA is now 0-1 on the season
- Karen Aston made her UTSA coaching debut at the Convocation Center to open the season
- Hailey Atwood, Queen Ulabo, Lapraisjah Johnson, Jadyn Pimentel, Elyssa Coleman, Chantel Govan and Leslie Hunter all made their Roadrunner debuts.
- Starters: Hailey Atwood, Elena Blanding, Queen Ulabo, Charlene Mass and LaPraisjah Johnson
- Johnson led the team in points with 13 and Elena Blanding was on top with eight rebounds
-UTSA-