By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forward Jordyn Jenkins played as hard as she could for as long as she could, and her return to basketball on Sunday afternoon following 10 months of knee rehabilitation seemed to inspire the UTSA Roadrunners to a 76-58 victory over the first-place UAB Blazers.

With the victory, UTSA improved to 3-0 at home this season against teams coming into the Convocation Center in first place in the American Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners have beaten the Charlotte 49ers, the North Texas Mean Green and now the Blazers at home in AAC play.

Jenkins, the 2022-23 Conference USA Player of the Year, scored 11 points in 12 minutes off the bench.

More than just the raw statistics, it was a joyful afternoon for Jenkins, who could be seen smiling and laughing even during pre-game stretching. On her first shot attempt, she swished a three. After the victory was complete, the native of Kent, Wash., was bear-hugged and hoisted off the floor by freshman Idara Udo.

During the second quarter, Coach Karen Aston utilized Jenkins creatively, at intervals, using her on set offensive possessions and then bringing her back to the bench on defense. The coach managed the situation deftly, as the Roadrunners started to take control of the game with a second-quarter outburst.

UTSA played the game without rebounding and shot blocking leader Elyssa Coleman. Asked about Coleman’s status for a scheduled Wednesday night road contest at Tulsa, Aston said, “I think she’ll be fine. We were making sure that we’ve got her down the stretch (of the season). It really was precautionary today. I wasn’t happy about it, but it’s what’s best for our team.”

For the Roadrunners, the last three games seem to have underscored the up-and-down nature of their season.

First, they defeated the Mean Green at home by eight points in overtime on Jan. 31. Four days later, the Tulane Green Wave came into San Antonio winless in AAC road games and walloped the Roadrunners, leading by more than 20 in the second half and eventually winning by 11. Now, UTSA is riding high again after demolishing the Blazers.

“I hope that we understand that every game is a big game,” Aston said. “I think that the league really has a lot of parity. I said this last week. You see a team (that is) second or third in the league, getting beat by somebody that’s in the bottom half … I just think that there’s a lot of parity. If you don’t play the way we did today, then you’re setting yourself up for failure.”

With Aysia Proctor, Jenkins, Kyra White and Sidney Love all scoring in double figures, the Roadrunners also did a number on the Blazers defensively, holding them down to 37 percent shooting. From three-point range, UAB started off well but finished eight of 26 from behind the arc for 31 percent.

UTSA also dominated the boards, as usual, winning the battle 46-33, including 18-9 on the offensive end.

In the AAC, with so many teams roughly equal in talent, Aston said it’s all a matter of playing with urgency. The Roadrunners definitely had it going against the Blazers as they kept pounding the glass and building the lead to as many as 24 points with three minutes left. Clearly, the effort was the difference.

“I’m not saying that’s easy,” Aston said. “I think it’s easier said than done to bring the type of energy and attention to detail that we did. But when we do that, I really think we can compete with anybody.”

It was a big moment for the team when Jenkins checked into the game with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter. After a few possessions, she made her presence known, swishing a three-point shot from the left wing. Her teammates stood and cheered the moment, as the fans joined in.

“I’m just excited,” said Jenkins, a USC transfer who averaged 20.6 points at UTSA last year. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve been on the court, you know … I don’t know, it was just exciting. I worked out earlier today and was getting a whole bunch of shots up on that play specifically. As soon as coach ran that play, I kind of already had it set … I said, OK, let me come off this (screen) hard and make the shot.”

Records

UAB 17-7, 8-4
UTSA 12-10, 6-5

Coming up

UTSA at Tulsa, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at North Texas, Feb. 18, 2 p.m.

Individuals

UAB – Kylee Schneringer scored 12 points to lead the Blazers. Guard Mia Moore had 11 points and six rebounds. Also, guard Denim DeShields, the team’s offensive catalyst, produced seven points and three assists. Together Moore and DeShields shot a combined 6 for 21 from the field. Moore left the game in the second half with a lower leg injury. Ashton Elley came off the bench to score nine points. She hit three from three-point range.

UTSA – Aysia Proctor scored a team-high 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Kyra White had 12 points and five boards. Jenkins and Sidney Love both scored 11 points apiece. Jenkins hit three of 12 shots from the field and one of three from long distance. She added four-for-four at the free-throw line. Idara Udo scored nine points and tied Proctor for the team-high with seven boards.

After three quarters

Playing for the first time this season with Jenkins on the floor, the Roadrunners recovered from a shaky start to build a 51-38 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Roadrunners ran an effective offense and outscored the Blazers 38-20 in the middle two periods.

By the end of the third, Proctor had 12 points, Jenkins had nine and Udo and Love six apiece.

In the second quarter, UTSA blew out UAB by a 19-6 count to take an eight-point lead at intermission. After intermission, the Roadrunners took control of the game. They outscored the first-place team in the AAC 19-14 in the third period.

Notable

UTSA promoted the game for cancer awareness. “I think it’s a reminder to all of us that there is a bigger battle going on for a lot of people across the world,” Aston said.

As she was leaving the interview room, UTSA’s Jordyn Jenkins announced her favorite in the Super Bowl. “Go Usher,” she said, referring to the singer/entertainer extraordinaire who was scheduled to serve as the halftime entertainment at the NFL championship game in Las Vegas.