Monthly Archives: March 2023

UTSA women engineer a monster comeback to win again in Frisco

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Basketball is their game, and they all play on the same team, but it has become clear in the last month or so that the UTSA Roadrunners are more than that. Way more. They’re a group of women who keep getting more remarkable by the day.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Karen Aston’s UTSA Roadrunners have rebounded from a 4-15 record to win nine of their last 12 games, including six in a row. – File photo by Joe Alexander

They started the season with a string of frustrating losses, and now here they are, one win away from playing for the Conference USA postseason title.

“Gosh, it’s hard to put into words how proud I am of this group,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said Thursday, after her sixth-seeded Roadrunners rallied from a 15-point, first-half deficit to stun the three-seed Rice Owls, 62-54, in the C-USA tournament quarterfinals.

With the victory, UTSA claimed its sixth win in a row and made a little bit of school history by winning for the second time in two days in the tournament being contested at The Star in Frisco.

Not only did the Roadrunners earn a spot in Friday night’s semifinals against the two-seed WKU Lady Toppers, but they also became the first UTSA women’s basketball team to win multiple games at a conference postseason tournament in 14 years.

The last one to do it? The Monica Gibbs-led 2009 Roadrunners, who swept three games in Katy to claim the Southland Conference postseason title and a No 15 seed in the NCAA tournament.

This time, it was Sidney Love, Kyra White, Jordyn Jenkins and others who created the magic. They stayed focused against the Owls even when it appeared as if they were more likely to be on the bus ride home to San Antonio later in the evening, rather than having dinner together and preparing a game-plan for the semifinals.

“The coaches said it in the locker room later,” Aston said. “The players kind of checked themselves at halftime. We didn’t play very well in the first half. We played … sort of how we played early in the year, and somewhere in the second half they sort of found themselves again. And remembered who they really are.

“I just thought we dug really deep,” the coach added. “Started to get stops. Obviously, got more aggressive. I thought Kyra and Sidney’s aggression in the second half was really the difference in the game. It opened up some stuff for the other players. So, really it was just a mindset. We changed our mindset in the second half.”

White, a junior guard from Judson, sat next to her coach in the postgame interviews and put her own spin on what she thought it was that changed for her teammates.

“The want to not go home,” she replied. “We just all wanted to be as connected as we could in the last 20 minutes and fight for one another. It’s too early to go home for us. So we just kept that in mind and kept (focusing) on the bigger picture.”

White’s inference might make some in the C-USA administration a bit nervous.

Could a team with a 13-18 record win two more games in Frisco and claim the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAAs? Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing, considering the talents of Jenkins, Love, White and others.

Jenkins, a 6-foot junior transfer from Southern Cal, brushed off foul trouble to finish with 22 points and seven rebounds. In the fourth quarter, the C-USA Player of the Year took over with 12 points, including nine in the last two minutes.

Backcourt mates Love and White also were very good when it mattered. Love had 11 of her 13 points in the fourth, including one stretch when she scored eight in a row. White finished her day with nine points, eight rebounds and five steals.

The 22-win Owls played well early, running off to a 29-14 lead with 3:56 left in the half. They also led 31-19 at intermission and 42-34 at the end of three quarters. But as it turned out, their tournament came to a close, as did their five-game winning streak.

India Bellamy and Ashlee Austin led Rice with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Records

Rice 22-8
UTSA 13-18

C-USA women’s tournament
At The Star, in Frisco

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Middle Tennessee State 84, Charlotte 53
UTEP 64, Louisiana Tech 54
WKU 71, UAB 67
UTSA 62, Rice 54

Friday’s semifinals

No. 1 Middle Tennessee (26-4) vs. No. 4 UTEP (20-10), 4:30 p.m.
No. 2 WKU (18-12) vs. No. 6 UTSA (13-18), 7 p.m.

Saturday’s championship game

Friday’s winners, 4:30 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners have had their struggles this season, starting out 2-7 in the nonconference phase of the schedule. Entering C-USA play, things didn’t get much better. They played the first half of a 20-game conference slate and put down a 2-8 record. In the second half, the Roadrunners started to click, winning seven of their last 10. Now that they’ve beaten Florida Atlantic and Rice on back-to-back days at the tournament, it means that since the last weekend of January, they are 9-3.

Can the Rice women stay with UTSA on the boards today?

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Elyssa Coleman. UTSA women's basketball beat No. 21 Middle Tennessee 58-53 on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Six-foot-three center Elyssa Coleman figures prominently in UTSA’s stature as one of Conference USA’s best rebounding teams. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The sixth-seeded UTSA Roadrunners will meet No. 3 Rice Owls today at 2 p.m. in Frisco in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA women’s basketball tournament.

Both the Roadrunners and the Owls have won five games in a row, setting up an intriguing third matchup between the teams this season.

Rice won by two points in the first meeting at Houston. UTSA returned the favor last month with a 13-point victory in San Antonio.

I’ll leave the coaching to UTSA’s Karen Aston and Rice’s Lindsay Edmonds. But as I sit in the living room waiting to watch this one on television, here are a few thoughts:

Can Rice stay with UTSA on the boards?

As one of the dominant rebounding teams in the C-USA, the Roadrunners out-muscled the Owls on the glass in both games this season. Even though Rice won 78-76 on its homecourt on Jan. 16, UTSA prevailed on the glass, 43-30. In UTSA’s 66-53 victory in San Antonio on Feb. 16, the Roadrunners won the boards battle again, 45-23. If the Owls plan to hold their seeding and win today, they’ll need to do a better job in this department.

Is UTSA’s turnover issue under control?

The Roadrunners need to be prepared to deal with pressure on the ball. They hurt themselves in both games against the Owls with turnovers. In fact, they turned the ball over 20 times in each game. UTSA had been doing a much better job in that department coming down the stretch of the regular season. But in the Roadrunners’ victory over the FAU Owls Wednesday, the turnover bug reared its head once again. They had eight miscues in the first quarter. UTSA will need to get it under control if they hope to beat the Owls.

Katelyn Crosthwait — Rice’s secret weapon?

Rice guard Katelyn Crosthwait averages only 9.4 points per game, so her name usually doesn’t jump out on the statistics sheet. But in Rice’s first game with UTSA this season, she buried seven 3-pointers and scored a season high 23 points. Don’t look now, but Crosthwait is getting hot again. The 5-10 senior from Purcell, Okla., has scored 11, 17, 6, 22 and 22 in her last five games. In her last two games, she’s hit nine 3-point shots combined. The Roadrunners may need to make her put it on the floor and, ideally, force her to take tough two-point field goals.

C-USA women’s tournament

Thursday’s quarterfinals

Middle Tennessee State beats Charlotte, 84-53
UTEP beats Louisiana Tech, 64-54

Friday’s semifinals

No. 1 Middle Tennessee (26-4) vs. No. 4 UTEP (20-10)

Rice eliminates UTSA in the first round of the C-USA tournament

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA players celebrated for a precious few seconds Wednesday night on one of the two basketball courts set up inside The Star in Frisco.

Japhet Medor. Rice beat UTSA 88-81 in overtime in Conference USA men's basketball at the Convocation Center on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA point guard Japhet Medor, shown here competing against Rice in San Antonio on Jan. 16, led the Roadrunners in the C-USA tournament with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. – File photo by Joe Alexander

They thought they had beaten the Rice Owls in the Conference USA men’s tournament.

But in the end, game officials reviewed the last play and waved off a dramatic, game-winning shot by Japhet Medor because it was released from his hand after the buzzer.

Consequently, the Owls escaped with a 72-71 victory, eliminating the 11th-seeded Roadrunners in the tournament’s first round and bringing an end to a disappointing season.

No. 6 seed Rice will move on to play the third-seeded UAB Blazers in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.

A downcast UTSA coach Steve Henson, talking with radio play-by-play man Andy Everett on the postgame show, praised his players’ resolve to stay together through a tough season.

The toughest part of it, incidentally, being the last play.

“I’ve been a part of a few of those over the years, and it doesn’t get any easier,” Henson said. “We had one at UNLV. We had one in the conference tournament at Oklahoma against West Virginia. Buddy Hield hit a shot and we celebrated, and they went back and waved it off. It’s hard to take.”

In the final analysis, what will hurt the Roadrunners the most about the end of the game is that they executed nearly flawlessly and came up less than a second shy of what would have been a sweet victory.

Guard Quincy Olivari hit a driving bank shot to boost the Owls into a 72-67 lead with 1:19 remaining.

Even though Medor turned it over on UTSA’s next possession, the Roadrunners kept fighting, forcing a missed three by Owls forward Cam Sheffield.

UTSA rushed it up the court and went to center Jacob Germany, who hit a turnaround from six feet with 23 seconds left, bringing the Roadrunners to within 72-69.

After a timeout, Rice inbounded to Mekhi Mason, who was immediately trapped by Roadrunners guards Christian Tucker and D.J. Richards.

Richards got his hands on it for a held ball, which resulted in a Rice turnover and a UTSA possession.

The Roadrunners inbounded and looked for a three, but then Isaiah Addo-Ankrah saw a lane and drove it for a layup with eight seconds left, cutting the lead to the eventual final score.

On the inbound, UTSA fouled immediately, sending Olivari to the line for a one-and-one with 7.2 seconds left.

Olivari missed the free throw. UTSA secured the rebound and dished to Medor, who sped to the other end.

In traffic, he went up for the shot and banked it in, prompting the scoreboard to reflect oh, so briefly a 73-72 victory for the Roadrunners.

But not for long.

As officials started to review the play at the monitor, it became apparent during televised replays that Medor’s shot would not count. The ball clearly was still in his hands when the red lights around the backboard flashed, signaling no time left.

The shot didn’t count, and the Roadrunners’ season was over.

“Our guys are crushed and disappointed,” Henson said.

Records

UTSA 10-22
Rice 18-14

Individuals

Rice — Quincy Olivari, 18 points on seven of 18 shooting from the field. Also, eight rebounds. Mekhi Mason, 12 points and three assists. Cam Sheffield, 11 points and seven rebounds. Max Fiedler, 10 points on five of six shooting, six assists and four rebounds.

UTSA — Japhet Medor, 20 points on seven of 14 shooting. Also, six rebounds and six assists. D.J. Richards, 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Jacob Germany, 11 points on five of 13 from the field, and six rebounds.

Notable

UTSA finished with a 10-22 record for the second straight season. UTSA also has been ousted from the C-USA tournament in the opening game two years in a row. Last year, they were beaten 67-64 by the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

The loss to Rice marked the end of a 10-year run for UTSA men’s basketball in Conference USA. UTSA will move into the American Athletic Conference next season.

Roadrunners center Jacob Germany had one blocked shot against Rice, which tied him with McEverett Powers for third place on the career list with 105. If he has played his last game at UTSA, Germany will finish ninth in scoring with 1,293 points. He would also finish fourth in rebounding with 779.

First half

The Owls hit 50 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and built a 42-33 halftime lead on the Roadrunners.

Striking early in the C-USA tournament opener for both teams, the Owls outscored the Roadrunners 8-0 in the first minute and never trailed. Cam Johnson and Quincy Olivari knocked down three pointers and Max Fiedler added a layup in the opening salvo.

UTSA went to the bench and plugged in a few reserves to turn it around. The Roadrunners had it going momentarily when Christian Tucker’s pullup cut the Rice lead to 10-9.

From there, the Owls went on an 11-1 run which was capped by an Alem Huseinovich three-point basket. Hoisted out of the corner, it gave the Owls 21-10 lead.

The Roadrunners trailed by as many as 12 in the half and never got closer than five before intermission. Richards buoyed the UTSA hopes with 11 points in 17 minutes.

C-USA men’s tournament
At The Star, in Frisco

Wednesday’s results

WKU 73, UTEP 67
Louisiana Tech 81, FIU 76
Rice 72, UTSA 71

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Florida Atlantic (28-3) vs. No. 8 WKU (17-15), 5:30 p.m.
No. 4 Middle Tennessee (18-13) vs No. 5 Charlotte (18-13), 6 p.m.
No. 2 North Texas (25-6) vs. No. 10 Louisiana Tech (15-17), 8 p.m.
No. 3. UAB (23-8) vs. No. 6 Rice (18-14), 8:30 p.m.

UTSA women grind out a 69-68 victory over FAU in postseason tournament opener

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

What the UTSA Roadrunners may have lacked in artistic style, they made up for with gritty determination on Wednesday afternoon at The Star in Frisco.

Freshman Sidney Love hit two free throws with six seconds left, lifting the sixth-seeded Roadrunners to a 69-68 victory over the No. 11 Florida Atlantic University Owls at the Conference USA tournament.

Love produced 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as UTSA won its tournament opener and advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals against the Rice Owls.

“This game was exactly like I thought it would be,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “Two teams that were pretty evenly matched…Really, really super even. Both teams I thought played their hearts out.”

UTSA was off its game early, turning the ball over with unforced errors to allow last-place FAU to stay close.

“There was a little bit of an ebb and flow to it,” Aston said. “As far as turnovers were concerned, maybe the difference in the game might have been us not turning it over in the second half near as much.”

With C-USA Player of the Year Jordyn Jenkins of UTSA in foul trouble, FAU led by one point going into the second quarter.

Just before halftime, Love hit three straight baskets for the Roadrunners, who went into halftime leading 28-24.

In the second half, Jenkins started to find a rhythm and UTSA threatened on a few occasions to run away with it.

Back-to-back threes by Jenkins and Siena Guttadauro lifted the Roadrunners into a 12-point lead midway through the third.

After fending off an FAU push, UTSA answered with its own surge, forging a 10-point advantage in with seven minutes remaining when Kyra White drilled a long three off the wing.

Down the stretch, the Owls would not fold, as guard Alexa Zaph stroked her fifth t of triple of the game.

Another big play for FAU came when Joiya Maddox tied the score on a three-point play.

Then, as the clocked ticked under one minute, the Owls followed with another brazen attack on the basket. Forward Janeta Rosentale drove the right side of the paint for a go-ahead bucket with 15 seconds left.

Trailing by one at that point, the Roadrunners called time, got themselves organized and put the ball in Love’s hands.

The former standout at San Antonio-area Steele High School promptly drove into the paint and was fouled. She made both free throws with 6.2 seconds left to boost the Roadrunners’ winning streak to five games.

Not bad for a player in her first collegiate postseason game.

Love said in a zoom interview that the game is easier for her now than it was back in November and December.

“It’s just ‘play basketball’ and don’t over-think anything,” she said. “Don’t worry about too much. With tournament play, it’s even more thrilling. I just want to do the best for my team.”

For FAU, Zaph was pretty thrilling herself. She scored 19 points and hit five of seven from beyond the arc.

Hubbard, also one of the conference’s top freshmen, scored 17 on five of 15 shooting. In the end, the Owls (12-18) couldn’t close it out against the Roadrunners (12-18) and lost their ninth game in a row.

Jenkins, who led C-USA in scoring with a 21.1-point average, finished with 18 points in only 22 minutes.

As usual, the junior transfer from USC was efficient, as she knocked down seven of 11 shots from the field.

At the end, Jenkins set the table for Love with two big plays, scoring from the low post with two minutes left and then sinking two free throws with 34 seconds remaining.

“We really honestly just played good enough to win,” Aston said. “I told them before the game, when you get into tournament play it doesn’t have to be pretty.

“You know, you’re trying to win. Whatever you have to do, to do that. I thought they took that to heart, and, I’m just super proud.

“We won a game here last year, and you want to build on that and have a chance to win more than one. We’ve given ourselves a chance to do that now.”

C-USA women’s tournament
At The Star, in Frisco

Wednesday’s results

Charlotte 72, FIU 59
UAB 75, North Texas 71
UTSA 69, Florida Atlantic 68

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Middle Tennessee State (25-4) vs. No. 9 Charlotte (12-18), 11 a.m.
No. 4 UTEP (19-10) vs. No. 5 Louisiana Tech (19-11), 11:30 a.m.
No. 2 WKU (17-12) vs. No. 10 UAB (14-16), 1:30 p.m.
No. 3 Rice (22-7) vs. No. 6 UTSA (12-18), 2 p.m.

Surging UTSA women open C-USA tourney today against Florida Atlantic

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Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball beat No. 21 Middle Tennessee 58-53 on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston (right) says junior guard Kyra White has taken ‘complete ownership of our program’ in a 7-3 run to close the team’s 20-game Conference USA schedule. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston says it’s been amazing for her to watch the growth of her team over the last five weeks of the season. She says she’s excited about the “vibe” from the fans on campus.

Starting today in Frisco, Aston hopes to expand the interest even more when her sixth-seeded Roadrunners play the No. 11 Florida Atlantic University Owls in the first round of the Conference USA women’s basketball tournament.

Leading the way will be forward Jordyn Jenkins, who was named Tuesday as UTSA’s first Player of the Year in the C-USA, and former Judson High School standout Kyra White.

Both transferred from Southern Cal in the offseason to join Aston in a rebuild of a team that has been down for years.

“I really do believe word of mouth is getting out and that people are starting to believe in our program,” said Aston, in her second year at UTSA. “When you have a player like Jordyn, in particular, that chose to come here and take a chance on our vision … (and) you see Kyra White come home and take complete ownership of our program, it’s really fun to watch.”

The Roadrunners (11-18, 9-11) and the Owls (12-17, 5-15) will play today at 2 p.m. at The Star, the multi-purpose training site for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

If UTSA wins, it would advance to take on third-seeded Rice (22-7, 13-7) on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Friday night and the finals on Saturday afternoon, with the C-USA postseason champion earning an NCAA tournament berth.

Aston says she wants her players to believe they can win their way into the NCAAs.

“I want ’em to believe,” she said. “Absolutely. I think we’ve played well enough to believe. We’ve got to go out and do it, and we understand that, but I think we’ve played well enough. This isn’t a fluke, as far as how well we’re playing, and I think they need to believe that.”

Confidence built gradually over the past month for the Roadrunners, who posted a 7-3 record in the second half of the 20-game C-USA schedule. During the run, UTSA posted victories over three teams that finished in the top five in the standings, including No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee State.

C-USA tournament
Today’s openers at Frisco

Women — (8) FIU vs. (9) Charlotte, 11 a.m.; (7) North Texas vs. (10) UAB, 1:30 p.m.; (6) UTSA vs. (11) FAU, 2 p.m.

Men — (8) Western Kentucky vs. (9) UTEP, 5:30 p.m.; (7) FIU vs. (10) Louisiana Tech, 8 p.m.; (6) Rice vs. (11) UTSA, 8:30 p.m.

Seedings in parentheses

UTSA stays hot, slugging four homers to win on the road at Texas State

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Antonio Valdez slammed a home run for the third straight game in a four-homer attack Tuesday night as the UTSA Roadrunners defeated the Interstate-35 rival Texas State Bobcats, 11-2.

UTSA's Antonio Valdez scores the go-ahead run on a double-steal in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 2-1 victory over Incarnate Word at Roadrunner Field on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Antonio Valdez leads the team with a .455 batting average, four home runs and 23 RBIs. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In the game played in San Marcos at the Bobcat Ballpark, UTSA won its third straight with a robust offensive showing (16 hits, including seven for extra bases) and solid pitching (15 strikeouts) divided up between four players.

It was an important victory for UTSA, in that the Roadrunners not only prevailed on the road against a team that reached the NCAA tournament last year, but they also won for bragging rights in a series that has stretched to 100 games.

Even with UTSA winning the last two meetings against Texas State in the series, the Bobcats own a 61-39 edge in the head-to-head matchup between programs whose campuses — both populated by more than 30,000 students — are separated by only about 45 miles.

The next game between the two foes is April 18 at Roadrunner Field.

Records

Texas State 7-5
UTSA 11-3

Coming up

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.

Making history: UTSA’s Jenkins wins Conference USA Player of the Year honors

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Junior Jordyn Jenkins has emerged as the first player from the UTSA women’s basketball program to earn Player of the Year honors in Conference USA.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Florida Atlantic 77-61 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins averaged a C-USA best 21.1 points per game. – File photo by Joe Alexander

In announcing postseason honors Tuesday afternoon, the C-USA also listed Jenkins as Newcomer of the Year and all-conference first team. In addition, her teammates Elyssa Coleman made the C-USA’s all defensive team and Sidney Love was named to its all freshman team.

The Roadrunners picked up three awards in men’s basketball, with Jacob Germany and Japhet Medor being named all conference honorable mention, while D.J. Richards made the all freshman team.

Jenkins led the C-USA in scoring (21.1) en route to lifting the team to a sixth seed in the tournament and a 7-3 record in the second half of a 20-game conference schedule.

She also led the conference in field goal percentage (49.4) while ranking second in rebounding (7.5) and fifth in blocked shots (1.2).

It is the third time in conference history that one player has earned both Player and Newcomer of the Year. SMU’s Keena May was the last player to do it in 2013. It’s the first time is the first time a Roadrunner has earned the C-USA Player of the Year since starting play in the conference in 2013-14.

Jenkins joined Loryn Goodwin as UTSA players who have earned Newcomer of the Year. Goodwin, a guard, achieved her honor in 2017.

In an interview with The JB Replay on Monday afternoon, Jenkins said she was happy with the way she played this season in her first at UTSA after transferring from Southern Cal.

Asked if she’d be disappointed if she didn’t win Player of the Year, she answered, “My whole life, I’ve never really been into awards. Probably because most of the time, I haven’t really got any.

“I’ve always been on the back of that,” Jenkins said. “You know, I’m grateful for whatever. It’s just about how you perform.”

During the same interview session, UTSA coach Karen Aston said, “I’ll be real surprised if she doesn’t get it. When you look at her numbers, they’re pretty staggering. Her performances have been worthy of the award.”

Skilled, determined, and fleet afoot, UTSA’s Jordyn Jenkins has made her mark

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Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Florida Atlantic 77-61 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA junior forward Jordyn Jenkins, the leading scorer in Conference USA, has been a defender’s nightmare this season. Here, she takes it to the rim with her off hand to score against Florida Atlantic. UTSA will play FAU Wednesday in the first round of the C-USA tournament. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jordyn Jenkins has always loved it when she could win a foot race on the basketball court, and with her speed, she was doing just that at an early age.

“It’s kind of funny,” she said. “On my old AAU team, in, like, maybe in middle school, I always ran the floor because that was the easiest way to get a layup.”

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Charlotte 60-54 in a Conference USA women's basketball game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston says Jordyn Jenkins deserves consideration for Conference USA Player of the Year. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Jenkins continued to run past people in high school and in her first few years at Southern Cal. Now, the 6-foot forward from Kent, Wash., has turned that speed into an important part of her repertoire with the UTSA Roadrunners.

It’s part of the reason that Jenkins has drawn Conference USA Player of the Year consideration for individual awards that will be announced today.

“Honestly, I like being faster than people,” said Jenkins, who’s in her first year at UTSA. “I like being first at things and being better.”

Combine her determination and natural speed with the ability to finish at the rim with either hand, and you have a player that is leading the C-USA in scoring (21.1) and field goal percentage (49.4) heading into the postseason tournament.

You also have a player that has led a traditionally downtrodden team to four straight wins and a 7-3 record in the second half of the conference’s 20-game schedule.

Though Jenkins’ off-hand skill has been entertaining as she’s befuddled defenders going to her left, it’s been even more eye-opening to see a post player run past guards in transition.

In fact, some of her best games this season — 40 points and 11 rebounds at North Texas, 37 and 11 at UTEP and 35 and 10 at Houston — have been instigated when she would leak out behind the defense and would take a long pass to score on a running layup.

UTSA coach Karen Aston has known Jenkins since high school, and even the coach has been somewhat surprised to see her crank up the speed.

Kyra White and Jordyn Jenkins

Kyra White (left) and Jordyn Jenkins transferred from Southern Cal to UTSA in the offseason. Both have made a significant impact in turning around the fortunes of a Roadrunners program that has won double-digit games (11) for the first time in six seasons. — File photo by Joe Alexander

“You know, her ability to get from one rim to the other is really, really special,” Aston said.

Jenkins laughed when told that Aston wasn’t fully aware of the impact she could have as a scorer in the transition game.

“Maybe I wasn’t running in high school,” she said.

If she wins the Player of the Year honor in the C-USA, it won’t surprise Aston.

“I mean, I’ll be real surprised if she doesn’t get it,” the coach said. “When you look at her numbers, they’re pretty staggering. Her performances have been worthy of the award.”

Jenkins is also second in the conference in rebounding (7.5) and fifth in blocked shots (1.2).

If she’s not Player of the Year, UTSA’s record of 11-18 overall and 9-11 in the conference might be the only reason.

“I don’t think we should take offense if she doesn’t get it,” Aston said. “But I’m not going to be surprised if she does.”

If the award goes to someone else, Jenkins said she won’t necessarily be disappointed.

“My whole life, I’ve never really been into awards,” she said. “Probably because most of the time, I haven’t really got any. I’ve always been on the back of that. You know, I’m grateful for whatever. It’s just about how you perform.”

C-USA tournament
Wednesday’s openers at Frisco

Women — (8) FIU vs. (9) Charlotte, 11 a.m.; (7) North Texas vs. (10) UAB, 1:30 p.m.; (6) UTSA vs. (11) FAU, 2 p.m.

Men — (8) Western Kentucky vs. (9) UTEP, 5:30 p.m.; (7) FIU vs. (10) Louisiana Tech, 8 p.m.; (6) Rice vs. (11) UTSA, 8:30 p.m.

Seedings in parentheses

Sidney Love. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sidney Love, a UTSA freshman from San Antonio-area Steele High School, emerged this season as the team’s third leading scorer at 9.4 points a game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Buggs: ‘We’re stoked as a team’ for the C-USA tournament

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John Buggs III. UTSA beat Charlotte 78-73 in Conference USA men's basketball on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in the final game of the regular season at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Hot-shooting guard John Buggs III will lead the UTSA Roadrunners into their Conference USA tournament opener Wednesday night in Frisco against the Rice Owls. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners were scheduled to hit the highway on Monday afternoon, headed for Frisco.

Destination?

The Conference USA tournament.

Because the tournament opener against the Rice Owls remained a few days away, one of the most pressing questions following a morning practice at the Convocation Center had to do with what was on the menu for lunch on the bus ride.

“Probably Jason’s Deli or Firehouse Subs, something light, like that,” UTSA guard John Buggs III said, smiling.

News flash. The Roadrunners didn’t dine on subs this time. This time, they had chicken sandwiches.

Steve Henson. UTSA beat Charlotte 78-73 in Conference USA men's basketball on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in the final game of the regular season at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Steve Henson hopes to build on his team’s strong finish to the regular season when the Roadrunners open the C-USA tournament Wednesday against the Rice Owls. — File photo by Joe Alexander

“I think it’s Chick-fil-A,” Roadrunners coach Steve Henson said later. “And then we’ll probably stop at Buc-ee’s.”

No matter the delicacy awaiting them, the 11th-seeded Roadrunners hope to spice it up considerably on the opening day of the tournament Wednesday night when they take on the No. 6 Owls at The Star, the multi-use training site for the Dallas Cowboys.

“We’re excited,” Buggs said. “We’re stoked as a team. You know, coach is in good spirits. He’s coaching us harder than ever. Man, we really believe we can do something special.”

To make all the noise that they’d like to make this week, the Roadrunners (10-21, 4-16) will first need to map out a plan to beat the Owls (17-14, 8-12).

UTSA split with Rice during the regular season, losing at home and then winning a few weeks ago on the road.

In both games, the Roadrunners had good success scoring, with the outcome both times coming down to how they fared on the defensive end.

“I feel like Rice is a great match up for us,” Buggs said. “We played them very close both times. With us drawing Rice, we couldn’t have a better first opponent, both in the matchups and what they’re going to do.”

Center Max Fiedler and guards Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee are the Owls’ top players.

Olivari scored 30 points in an 88-81 overtime victory over the Roadrunners at UTSA back in January.

In that same game, Fiedler, a center with a wide array of ball skills, produced a triple double as Rice overcame an 18-point deficit to win in the extra period.

“It’s kind of hard to simulate Fiedler,” Buggs said. “But we know exactly what they’re going to do and who’s going to take the shots at crunch time. So I feel like we’re very prepared for what’s coming up on Wednesday.”

In the rematch between the teams on Feb. 16 in Houston, UTSA pulled off a surprise of sorts, winning 84-79.

The Roadrunners shot 52.5 percent from the field, and Buggs led four UTSA players in double figures with 23 points.

In that game, Buggs, a redshirt sophomore, hit eight of 10 shots from the field. Included in the barrage were five 3-point baskets in only seven attempts.

For the 6-foot-3 Louisiana native, it was the start of a hot streak. Starting with the Rice game, Buggs leads UTSA in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game in the last five coming into the C-USA tournament.

During that stretch, he has hit a sizzling 54.5 percent from the field and 52.9 percent on threes. From three-point distance, Buggs has launched plenty of them (34) and has knocked down plenty (18) to give opponents fits.

Guard Japhet Medor has also played well over the last five, averaging an even 16 points. Not coincidentally, with both backcourt standouts clicking, UTSA has posted a 3-2 record coming into Frisco.

Buggs, who averages 11 points on 39 percent shooting from the field and 40.1 percent from three for the season, said he isn’t doing anything differently from a practice standpoint to account for his higher percentages.

“Nothing has changed,” he said. “Man, I have attacked every day the same way. It’s kind of like, I was putting in a lot of work in the first half of the season and wasn’t necessarily getting the results.

“After awhile, if you keep doing the right things in the dark, it’s going to come to the light. I just trusted in the work that I put in.”

As far as Buggs is concerned, the same can be said for the recent success of the team coming on the heels of a discouraging 11-game losing streak.

“I just felt like we’ve always kind of been right there,” he said. “Two or three plays went bad and it just led into droughts. But, I feel like, we never wavered as a team. We almost had moments of breaking up. But we stayed together throughout the losses.

“I mean, I felt like the basketball gods owe us at this point. So, it’s March, and you know in March anything can happen. So we’re looking forward to that anything.”

C-USA tournament
Wednesday’s openers at Frisco

Women — (8) FIU vs. (9) Charlotte, 11 a.m.; (7) North Texas vs. (10) UAB, 1:30 p.m.; (6) UTSA vs. (11) FAU, 2 p.m.

Men — (8) Western Kentucky vs. (9) UTEP, 5:30 p.m.; (7) FIU vs. (10) Louisiana Tech, 8 p.m.; (6) Rice vs. (11) UTSA, 8:30 p.m.

Seedings in parentheses

Japhet Medor. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA point guard Japhet Medor (No. 1, above) has served as a scorer and facilitator this season. During UTSA’s 3-2 push down the stretch, John Buggs leads the team in scoring at 16.6 per game, while Medor is second at 16.0. — File photo by Joe Alexander

Hoping to dance: McCullar leads a short list from San Antonio with NCAA dreams

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

With Selection Sunday a week away, we’ll take a minute today to review the list of San Antonio-area athletes on Division I men’s basketball rosters and who might have the best chance to play in the NCAA tournament.

Right now, it appears that Kevin McCullar, Jr. and Zach Clemence at Kansas, Langston Love at Baylor and Micah Peavy of TCU will need to find their dancing shoes and get them shined up and ready to go.

How are we so certain? Because Kansas and Baylor are considered locks to make the tournament based on all projections. TCU probably is, as well, though the Frogs likely will be among the lower seeds out of the power conference schools.

McCullar played at Wagner and Love played at Steele as San Antonio-area prep standouts. Clemence and Peavy lived here but moved on to play elsewhere when they reached high school age.

Others from the Alamo City who could make it? Seven-foot-one Vincent Iwuchukwu of Southern Cal and Austin Nunez of Arizona State could be in.

Neither played Saturday night in Los Angeles when USC edged Arizona State, 68-65. According to national college basketball writer Jon Rothstein, Iwuchukwu was out with back issues. Nunez, according to Devils Digest, suffered a concussion recently, and he has sat out ASU’s last three games.

Arizona State opens Pac-12 tournament play Wednesday in Las Vegas against Oregon State. USC has a bye through the first round and will take on the Arizona State-Oregon State winner on Thursday.

If Iwuchukwu can get past the back problem, and he gets to play in the NCAA tournament, it certainly would be a story to follow for fans who once watched him play at Cole High School.

The 7-foot-1 USC freshman suffered a cardiac arrest at a USC offseason practice last July. His status was uncertain for months until he started workouts and gradually began to ramp up for a return to the court.

Then, after six months of uncertainty, he returned, playing his first game for the Trojans on Jan. 12. Iwuchukwu has played in 14 games. He’s averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds off the bench.

With conference tournaments heating up this week, other stories tied to former San Antonio standouts will emerge.

Jalen Jackson starts at point guard for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, who will be the No. 1 seeded team in the Southland Conference tournament. In addition, Jayden Martinez of the University of North Texas Mean Green, out of Conference USA, also plays for a team that has a chance.

Both the Islanders and the Mean Green will need to win their respective tournaments to make the 68-team NCAA field, but both have a decent chance to do just that.

Jordan Mason of Texas State still has an chance, too, with the Bobcats still alive in the Sun Belt tournament.

The Bobcats have won three games at the tournament in Florida and are two wins away from an NCAA bid. They will play the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns tonight in the Sun Belt semifinals.

Editor’s note: This is all I know as of today. Be advised that there will be developments between now and Selection Sunday, which is March 12, a week from today. With that caveat, here’s my list of players from the San Antonio area on Division I men’s basketball rosters:

Marco Anthony, Utah, a 6-6 senior guard from Holmes, formerly of Virginia and Utah State

Adam Benhayoune, LSU, a 6-5 sophomore guard from O’Connor HS

Trey Blackmore, Cal State-Fullerton, a 6-2 freshman guard from Cole HS

Marques Gates, Houston Christian, a 6-0 redshirt freshman guard from Clemens HS

Vincent Iwuchukwu, Southern Cal, a 7-foot freshman center, formerly of Cole HS, La Lumiere, Ind., Montverde Academy, Fla.

Jalen Jackson, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a 5-11 senior guard from Wagner HS

Ja’Sean Jackson, Abilene Christian, a 6-0 sophomore guard from Wagner HS

Ellis Jefferson, Lamar, a 6-0 senior guard from Brandeis HS

Gerald Liddell, Detroit Mercy, a 6-8 senior forward from Steele HS; transfer from Texas, Alabama State

Carlton Linguard Jr., UTSA, a 7-foot junior center from Stevens HS, transfer from Temple JC and Kansas State

Silas Livingston, University of the Incarnate Word, a 5-9 freshman guard from Cole

Langston Love, Baylor, a 6-5 redshirt freshman guard, formerly of Steele HS, Montverde Academy, Fla.

Jayden Martinez, North Texas, a 6-7 senior forward from Steele; transfer from New Hampshire

Jordan Mason, Texas State, a 6-2 freshman guard from Clark

Kevin McCullar, Jr., Kansas, a 6-6 senior guard, formerly of Wagner High School, a transfer from Texas Tech.

Austin Nunez, Arizona State, a 6-2 freshman guard from Wagner HS

Ze’Rik Onyema, UTEP, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Jay HS

Dre Ray, Incarnate Word, a 5-9 freshman guard from Cole HS

Brendan Wenzel, Wyoming, a 6-7 guard from O’Connor HS; a transfer from Utah

Dalen Whitlock, Texas State, a 6-4 sophomore guard from Clark HS

Players with San Antonio roots who attended high school out of the area

Zach Clemence, Kansas, a 6-10 forward from Findlay Prep (Nev.) and Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.)

Micah Peavy, TCU, a 6-7 junior forward from Duncanville, transfer from Texas Tech

Notable

Vincent Iwuchukwu was one of San Antonio’s best a few years ago. In both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, he led the Noe Cantu-coached Cole Cougars to consecutive UIL state tournament appearances.

Carlton Linguard will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the season with the UTSA Roadrunners. Academically ineligible to play when he enrolled last fall, UTSA sought a waiver for the seven-footer but dropped it when the process dragged on into February.