SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team fell to Southern Miss 66-50 Thursday evening at the Convocation Center.
Elyssa Coleman and Lapraisjah Johnson both scored double digits, but the Roadrunners couldn't overcome a second quarter surge from the Lady Eagles.
Coleman put the first points on the board 40 seconds into the game. Southern Miss hit a 3-pointer to lead 3-2. Jadyn Pimentel made two free throws and Hailey Atwood followed with a basket to lead 6-3with 6:05 remaining. The Lady Eagles then went on a 6-0 scoring surge to regain the lead (9-6) at the 3:03 mark. In the final two minutes, UTSA outscored Southern Miss 5-4 but it wasn't enough as they trailed 13-11 at the end of the first.
The Lady Eagles opened the second with 17 consecutive points to extend the lead to 19 (30-11) with 3:17 remaining. Johnson broke the drought with two free throws to trail 30-13. Southern Miss closed out the half on a 6-3 run to lead 36-16.
Coming out of the locker room, the Lady Eagles kept the momentum going as they went on a 7-4 run to push the lead (43-20) at the 5:46 mark. The Roadrunners kept it close in the quarter as they finished on a 6-5 run to trail 48-26 going to the fourth.
In the final 10 minutes, it was a battle for the ball as both teams hit short scoring runs. Southern Miss continued to find they basket as it led 54-31 with 6:05 remaining. Each team continued to find the basket until the Lady Eagles went on a 6-2 run to lead 64-39 with 1:50 on the clock. In the last minute and a half, UTSA went on a 11-2 run to close the gap to 16 to finish the game.
The Roadrunners return to action on Saturday when they host LA Tech at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.
Notes
- UTSA is now 5-19 overall and 2-11 in conference
- Starters: Elyssa Coleman, Hailey Atwood, Jadyn Pimentel, Queen Ulabo, Chantel Govan
- Elyssa Coleman led the team with 14 points and Lapraisjah Johnson followed right behind with 13
- Hailey Atwood led in rebounds with eight
-UTSA-