SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team took down the defending C-USA champion Charlotte, 64-50, on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center, marking head coach Karen Aston's first win over the team that kickstarted her head coaching career.
GAME LEADERS
Jordyn Jenkins led the team with her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 23 points and recording 11 blocks. Elyssa Coleman also put up double digits, scoring 16 points and just two rebounds (8) shy of a double-double. The two freshman point guards – Sidney Love and Madison Cockrell – recorded nine points apiece. Cockrell sank three three-point baskets, leading her to a career-high in scoring.
The Roadrunners capitalized on turnovers, scoring 18 points off of the 49ers' 18 turnovers. Charlotte scored just nine points on UTSA's 15 turnovers. The Roadrunners kept the 49ers out of the paint, only allowing them 14 points in the paint. UTSA doubled that as the Roadrunners scored 28 points in the paint. Although both the 49ers and Roadrunners both drew 14 fouls, UTSA found itself at the line more often for the first time this season. The Roadrunners went 15-for-16 at the charity stripe, while the 49ers had a 5-for-8 game at the free-throw line.
This is coach Aston's first win over Charlotte where she began her head coaching career. Aston was the head coach for the 49ers from 2007-2011, posting an 86-67 record during her span.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
Although Charlotte scored first, UTSA responded as Sidney Love sank a three-point basket to give UTSA a 3-2 lead with 8:37 remaining in the first quarter. The Roadrunners and 49ers went back and forth for the remainder of the first period. Down by four points with 1:11 left in the first quarter, Alexis Parker kickstarted a seven-point scoring run as she took advantage of a Charlotte turnover and sank a three-point shot. On the same play, Jenkins drew a foul to send her to the line, where she made both free throws to give UTSA a one-point advantage. Just over 30 seconds later, Jenkins turned a Charlotte turnover into a field goal to end the first quarter with a 14-11 UTSA lead.
Heating up in the second quarter, the Roadrunners exploded for 20 points while keeping the 49ers to nine points. Jenkins led the scoring with 13 points during the second period. The 49ers scored first to cut their deficit to one point but the Roadrunners didn't let them get any closer than that. The Roadrunners went on a 12-point scoring run in the last four minutes to take a hefty 34-20 lead to halftime.
Charlotte began to pick up the pace, coming back from the intermission. The 49ers scored 15 points to the Roadrunners' 17 in the third quarter, but the Roadrunners' prior 14-point lead helped cushion the fight back as UTSA ended the third period with a 51-35 lead. Coleman led UTSA with eight points, as she went 4-for-4 at the line.
The 49ers continued to attempt a comeback in the final quarter as they outscored the Roadrunners by 15 points to 13 points. Coleman once again led the Roadrunners with six points, also catching six boards in the final period. With 3:51 remaining in the game, Cockrell sank her third and final three-point basket of the game, giving UTSA their largest lead (22) of the matchup. The 49ers then went on an eight-point scoring run to end the game, but it wasn't enough as UTSA ran away with a 64-50 win over Charlotte.
UTSA's record improves to 4-11 overall (2-4 in C-USA action), while Charlotte's record falls to 7-8 overall (3-3 in conference play).
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners travel for their longest conference road trip of the season, playing three games on the road over the span of a week. UTSA will start the week off against Rice in Houston on Monday with a tip-off time of 7 p.m.
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