SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's basketball team is set to host the conference leader and nationally ranked No. 21 Middle Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. (CT) at the Convocation Center and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Roadrunners welcome all UTSA alumni and women's basketball alumni for their Alumni Appreciation Game. This game will also the Pink Out Game. UTSA is partnering with UT Health San Antonio to spread awareness of the fight against breast cancer. Fans will have the opportunity to snag many giveaway items, including pink tote bags and shirts.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Junior Jordyn Jenkins leads the conference in scoring with 414 points, averaging 19.7 per game. Jenkins also leads the team with 152 rebounds and 29 steals. Redshirt sophomore Elyssa Coleman has done a phenomenal job on defense with a team-high 37 blocks, while also recording 138 rebounds and 195 points (second on the team in both categories). Coleman owns the top single-game blocks in the conference this season, recording a high of six blocks against FIU on Jan. 21.
Junior Kyra White leads the Roadrunners with 94 assists, averaging 4.5 per game. White is fourth in the conference with a 1.56 assist/turnover ratio. Freshman Sidney Love has the second-most assists on the team (40) and third-most points (177). UTSA is first in the conference with a 6.5 rebound margin, outperforming its opponents by 844 rebounds to 707 rebounds. The Roadrunners also average a conference-high 4.4 blocks per game, tied with Middle Tennessee.
LAST TIME OUT
The Roadrunners are coming off a 75-67 loss to WKU at home on Thursday. For the first time since 2021, five Roadrunners had five double-digit scorers - Elyssa Coleman (13), Jordyn Jenkins (14), Hailey Atwood (12), Kyra White (11) and Deborah Nwakamma (11). The last time this was done was on Feb. 6, 2021, when Yuliyana Valcheva, Kyleigh McGuire, Mikayla Woods, Karrington Donald and Charlene Mass achieved the feat.
Coleman paired her scoring with 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. The Roadrunners recorded a season-high 23 assists. White was just an assist short of a double-double. Jenkins, White and Coleman had two blocks each.
The Roadrunners continue to dominate in the paint, outscoring the Lady Toppers by 36 points to 16 points. UTSA and WKU were tied with 40 rebounds each, the first time that has happened this season. From the field, the Roadrunners shot 46.6 percent (27-58) while the Lady Toppers shot 31.9 percent (23-72). than Louisiana Tech (26).
RECORD WATCHING
Jordyn Jenkins put up a career-high 37 points against UTEP on Jan. 11, 2023. The school single-game record is 41 points in a game by Tesha Smith against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 25, 2017. Jenkins currently has 414 total points this season. The program record is 583 points by Tammy Rogers in the 1990-91 season. Jenkins has averaged 19.7 points per game this season. The school record is 20.7 per game by Starlite Williams in 1986-87.
With 297 career wins, head coach Karen Aston is just three wins away from 300 career wins.
JINKIES FOR JENKINS
Jordyn Jenkins has been named the Conference USA Player of the Week three times this season – Nov. 28, Dec. 19, and Dec. 26. Scoring a career-high 37 points against UTEP on Jan. 11, Jenkins owns the conference single-game best this season. She leads the conference in multiple categories – field goal percentage (48.1), field goals (150), points (414) and points per game (19.7). Amongst all Division I schools in Texas, Jenkins is the highest scoring student-athlete.
Newcomer Jenkins was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, the first Roadrunner to earn that honor. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020 and aims to celebrate those playing in the 26 mid-major conferences.
Jenkins is a transfer from the University of Southern California, where she played the last two seasons. At USC, she led the team offensively in almost every category while starting in 26 of 28 games in 2021-22. Jenkins led the Trojans in total points (384/14.8 per game), free throws made (110) and field goals made (134). The Kent, Wash., native was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player, as well as earning All-Pac 12 Honors at the end of the season.
SCOUTING THE LADY RAIDERS
No. 21 Middle Tennessee holds a 18-3 record (11-1 in C-USA action) after a 65-62 loss to UTEP on Thursday, the Lady Raiders first loss of the conference season. The Lady Raiders were picked to win the conference in the preseason C-USA Coaches' Poll. Savannah Wheeler, Courtney Whitson and Kseniya Malashka were named to the preseason all-conference team. Middle Tennessee earned the No. 21 spot in the nation after a hot 11-0 start to the conference season and just two losses before this week.
Middle Tennessee leads the conference in a many different categories and top-25 in the nation in eight different categories. The Lady Raiders are 19th in the nation with a 35.4 field goal percentage defense, 12th in the nation with a 78.5 free throw percentage, fifth in the nation with 16.71 free throws made per game, 20thwith 54.9 scoring defense, 10th with 18.7 scoring margin, 12th with 11.8 turnover margin and 14th with 85.7 winning percentage.
Malashka leads the Lady Raiders with 343 points scored, 16.3 points per game. She leads the conference with 41 blocks and 1.95 per game. Whitson leads the conference with 164 total blocks, averaging 7.8 per game. Jalynn Gregory leads the C-USA with 161 three point attempts, 54 total three pointers, and 2.57 three pointers per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS MIDDLE TENNESSEE
The Lady Raiders hold an 9-0 advantage over the Roadrunners in the all-times series history. UTSA and Middle Tennessee last played each other on Jan. 5, 2023, when the Roadrunners fell to the Lady Raiders, 80-41. Queen Ulabo led the team with 14 points scored, along with seven rebounds.
UP NEXT: For the first time during this conference season, the Roadrunners are only scheduled for one game next week, facing UTEP in El Paso, Texas, next Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. (CT).
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