Maya Linton and the UTSA Roadrunners host the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, a 23-win NCAA tournament team from last year, tonight at the Convocation Center. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Maya Linton, one of Coach Karen Aston’s third-year UTSA veterans, said Tuesday that she looks at the program’s new 2024 WNIT banner hanging on the north wall of the Convocation Center as a sign of progress.

A reminder that hard work pays dividends.

But as the Roadrunners prepare to host the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders tonight, she said the banner unfurled earlier this month has become more of a reminder to her that the team still needs to keep grinding away to achieve the ultimate goal.

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins averaged 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two road wins last week to earn mention as a national player of the week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“It’s like, ‘OK, so we can play (in the) postseason,’ ” Linton said. “But, we want to get to where we want to be … and that is in the (NCAA) tournament. We want to go bigger (than the WNIT). We want to go up another level.”

After a season-opening road loss to Texas A&M, the Roadrunners (3-1) have won three in a row to stir their long-range dreams, while the Islanders (also 3-1) have won enough games this season and in the last few to know they can play the role of spoiler.

Last season, the Roadrunners beat the Islanders, 66-59, in overtime in Corpus Christi. It was a game that the Islanders led by 15 points in the third quarter and by 11 entering the fourth, only to see it slip away.

So, tonight’s visitors in San Antonio will have plenty of reasons to play hard.

They also probably have the firepower to win, as well, with the likes of Mireia Aguado and Paige Allen returning from last year’s Southland Conference postseason champions.

Aguado and Allen led an Islanders team that forged a 23-9 record, won the SLC postseason crown and claimed the conference’s coveted NCAA berth.

The two have also sparked early-season victories over Texas A&M and Texas State on the road. The only loss for the Islanders has come in another road test against the 17th-ranked Baylor Bears.

UTSA, behind redshirt senior forward Jordyn Jenkins, is also playing well. After losing by four at A&M, the Roadrunners have knocked off the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros at home, followed last week by road victories against the New Mexico State Aggies and the UTEP Miners.

Jenkins, named as one of five athletes to share national players of the week honors by the U.S Basketball Writers Association, is averaging 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. Her supporting cast is also coming on strong.

On Saturday, the Roadrunners trailed by 11 at halftime and went on a 26-10 run in the third quarter. In the 10-minute period, Jenkins scored 11 points. Also coming alive was Linton, who averaged 3.9 points last season. She had eight in the quarter, including a pair of three-pointers.

Playing small forward this year after working as a post player the past two seasons, she finished the game with 12 points, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Linton hit five of eight from the field, including two of three from outside the 3-point arc.

Saying she is “way more confident than last year,” she has embraced the change in position.

“It’s very different, just because I’m getting more touches,” she said. “It’s just how I capitalize off them. Defensive-wise, I’m guarding more guards, faster people. So, it’s different for me. But it’s fine. I’m gritty. I like playing defense.”

UTSA coaches preached defense and rebounding this week, hoping to shore up a couple of areas of concern. Perimeter defense, in particular, has been a problem as opponents are shooting 46 percent from the 3-point arc against the Roadrunners.

So far, it hasn’t hurt the team too much, just because Jenkins has been so dominant, and because the UTSA offense is hitting high percentages, as well. The point guard play of Sidney Love and Nina De Leon Negron has helped the team shoot 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from three.

De Leon Negron said Jenkins is deserving of the national accolades.

“I feel like not everyone sees how good she can be,” she said. “I know she scores and everyone goes, ‘Whoa, she’s a really good scorer.’ But she does little things that people don’t see, like defensively, when she talks.”

De Leon Negron, a transfer from Incarnate Word, said hearing Jenkins’ calling out keys on the court is important. “Just having that voice as a post player, like, not every team has that,” she said. “We have that. (And) if we keep getting better at it, we can be elite. Playing with her is so good. It makes everyone’s life so much better.”

Records

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-1
UTSA 3-1

Coming up

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA vs. UNC Greensboro, Nov. 28, 10 a.m., at San Juan Puerto Rico
UTSA vs. Towson, Nov. 29, 1 p.m., at San Juan, Puerto Rico

Notable

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a member of the Southland Conference, has won 19, 19 and 23 games over the past three seasons, respectively. Last year, the Islanders finished in a tie for second in the SLC regular season at 14-4 and then won the postseason title to reach the NCAA tournament. Royce Chadwick is in his 13th year as coach.