Category Archives: College basketball

UTSA newcomer Jayda Holiman: ‘Let’s get rolling’

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Jayda Holiman. UTSA women's basketball beat Texas State 64-41 on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Jayda Holiman reached double figures in scoring twice last week leading into tonight’s test at home against the UNLV Lady Rebels. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA junior Jayda Holiman has emerged as a dangerous three-point shooting threat going into the second month of the season.

Along with Damara Allen, the 5-foot-7 newcomer is a player that the UTSA women are counting on to loosen up zone defenses and take pressure off forwards Cheyenne Rowe and Idara Udo.

As a transfer from UT Rio Grande Valley who initially struggled with the transition to a new program, Holiman is catching on fast.

Last week, she scored in double figures in both games at the Hoopfest Women’s Basketball Challenge in Frisco.

She had 14 points off the bench in a loss to Auburn and 12 in a stirring, one-point victory over Grand Canyon (Ariz.)

In the two games, she hit five of 12 from beyond the arc, including a three that sparked UTSA’s rally to a 65-64 victory over the Lopes.

Her inspired play has come to the forefront at just the right time as the Roadrunners prepare for two challenges this week.

The first is a home game tonight against the UNLV Lady Rebels, followed by a road test Sunday at 14th-ranked Baylor

Fifth-year UTSA coach Karen Aston said she has always admired Holiman’s work ethic.

“You’re talking about a transfer that’s on a fast track,” the coach said. “You know, she only has a couple of years left (in college).

“Her buy in has been really important because she came here learning a new system and a new way of doing things and, quite honestly, was frustrated in the beginning because it was hard, and it was something different for her.

“She just rolled her sleeves up. She’s gone to work. She daily has gotten better and better, and she’s being rewarded right now for that.”

In the victory over Grand Canyon, Holiman started for the first time as a Roadrunner and had 12 points and eight rebounds.

She knocked down four threes, including one that started the late rally. Also during the late stretch, the 5-7 guard had a steal and an offensive rebound.

Holiman acknowledged Tuesday that it was a big moment for her.

“It was wanting to win and having that effort and wanting to see a success,” she said. “You know, we came back from a loss to Auburn, and we wanted to win that game.

“It was more like, (I) did it for the team and … like, ‘Let’s get rolling. It’s time to win.’ ”

Aston said Holiman’s best is yet to come.

“I think there’s a lot that’s in front of her now,” the coach said. “We talk about it all the time, how you just have to keep buying into the process and, she may not really see the light until next year. But I like where she is right now and I’m really proud of her progress.”

Records

UNLV 4-3
UTSA 3-3

Coming up

UNLV at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at Baylor, Sunday, 2 p.m.

UTSA women carry momentum into a Wednesday night home game against UNLV

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Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA women's basketball beat Texas State 64-41 on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Cheyenne Rowe leads the Roadrunners with 13.7 points and also averages 7.5 rebounds. After a stirring comeback victory against Grand Canyon (Ariz.) last week, UTSA plays a home game Wednesday night against the four-time defending Mountain West champion UNLV Lady Rebels. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Six days have passed since the UTSA women registered a stunning comeback victory against the Arizona-based Grand Canyon Lopes in Frisco, and players are still talking about it.

Especially about how Roadrunners forward Cheyenne Rowe took over the game in the final minutes.

“Honestly, it wasn’t a shocker to me,” UTSA guard Jayda Holiman said Tuesday, on the eve of a Wednesday night home game against the UNLV Lady Rebels. “You know, Cheyenne, she’s a big-time player. She does those things. She does it in practice all the time.”

Trailing by 10, UTSA outscored Grand Canyon 18-7 in the final 3:35 to win by one. Rowe scored 10 of her career-high 20 points in the final 2:03 to punctuate the Roadrunners’ 65-64 victory.

“We know, when it’s time, it’s time for Cheyenne Rowe to go,” Holiman said. “I really trust Chey as a player. She works hard. Always. Has a great attitude as well. I really respect her.

“Honestly, it was just Chey being Chey.”

The defending American Conference champion Roadrunners will need another big effort to beat the Lady Rebels, who have won four straight Mountain West regular-season titles.

UNLV (4-3) has won two straight games, beating Creighton and Northern Iowa off campus last week in Las Vegas.

The Rebels opened the season with victories at home over Washington State and DePaul, before losing three straight against Baylor, Montana State and Arizona State. UNLV lost to nationally-ranked Baylor at home and the other two on the road.

UTSA (3-3) has played fairly consistently on the defensive end lately while struggling at times to put up points on offense.

At Frisco, in the Hoopfest Women’s Basketball Challenge, the Roadrunners turned it over 30 times in losing their opener to Auburn, 59-42.

After a 48-hour break, they defeated Grand Canyon, 65-64, winning on Rowe’s two free throws with seven seconds left and a defensive stop in the paint just before time expired.

Records

UNLV 4-3
UTSA 3-3

Coming up

UNLV at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at Baylor, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

Both UTSA and UNLV are in transition from last year’s championship seasons.

Of the nine UTSA players in the rotation now, only Idara Udo was a starter for the team that won a school-record 26 games a year ago and advanced to the WBIT.

Returners in expanded roles this season include forwards Rowe and Emilia Dannebauer and guards Damara Allen and Mia Hammonds.

UNLV also reached last year’s WBIT, and only two Lady Rebels who played in the second-round loss to Florida were on the floor in their most recent game against Northern Iowa — 6-2 forward Meadow Roland and guard Aaliyah Alexander.

Roland, who scored 25 against Creighton and 17 against Northern Iowa, leads the Lady Rebels with 16.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Guards Jasmin Lott (13.3) and Aaliyah Alexander (12.0) are also double-figures scorers.

South Alabama romps to an 82-58 victory over the UTSA men

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South Alabama coach Richie Riley. UTSA men's basketball lost to South Alabama 82-58 on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Richie Riley on Sunday came into San Antonio and led the South Alabama Jaguars to a lopsided win against his one-time assistant coach, UTSA’s Austin Claunch. Both worked together for two seasons at Nicholls State from 2016-18. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The zone-defense oriented South Alabama Jaguars kept antagonizing the UTSA men with their unorthodox style.

They stayed with it all day until the Roadrunners completely broke down.

After turning a close game into a 13-point intermission lead, the defending regular-season champions in the Sun Belt Conference sank their first eight shots from the field in the second half en route to an easy 82-58 victory at the Convocation Center.

“Obviously that was a tough one for us today, at home,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch said. “You know, you got to credit South Alabama. They obviously play a really unique style (and) they’re really well-coached.”

Austin Claunch. UTSA men's basketball lost to South Alabama 82-58 on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Austin Claunch’s UTSA Roadrunners play their next three games on the road against high-major programs, at Alabama, Colorado and USC. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Adam Olsen led the Richie Riley-coached Jaguars to their seventh win in eight games with 20 points. Olsen made five three-pointers on the day. Guards Chaze Harris scored 16 and Jayden Cooper 11.

For the Roadrunners, who suffered their most lopsided loss of the season and fell to 4-4, Jamir Simpson scored 17 and Dorian Hayes 15.

UTSA had trouble all day against the South Alabama zone. Facing a defense that cut off the driving lanes, the Roadrunners were tempted to shoot from the 3-point arc. Mostly, they misfired on those attempts, and the game slowly slipped away.

At one point early on, it appeared that a crowd announced at 960 might see a competitive game.

Winners in three of their last four coming in, UTSA drew within two points with 6:15 left in the half when Hayes hit a three from the top of the arc.

From there, the Jaguars went on 45-18 romp over the next 16 minutes.

At the end of that remarkable spree, Cooper hit a three, and South Alabama was up by 29 points. It was 72-43 with 10:31 remaining in the game.

“Sometimes when a team plays … a zone or whatever the case may be, a unique defense, it kind of makes every shot heavier than the last,” Claunch said. “I think that’s what happened a little bit. You could see it snowball like that.”

The Roadrunners shot a meager 27 percent from the field and 25 percent from the three-point line. All told, UTSA hit 14 of 56 shots from beyond the arc. They also got beat on the boards, with the Jaguars owning a 53-39 advantage.

“It was all about our defense today — and it always is,” Riley said in comments posted to the South Alabama website. “That’s how we win and what we hang our hat on. Defense is the culture of our team and our identity.”

Vasean Allette. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Austin Claunch said Sunday that he hopes to be able to play guard Vasean Allette “sometime before Christmas.” Allette, a transfer from TCU, participated in front of fans in the preseason but has yet to play in the regular season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Through the first 26 minutes, the Jaguars also were good on the other end of the floor, as well, hitting at a 58-percent clip from the field with 14:19 remaining in the game.

“I also thought we did some really good things offensively,” Riley said. “We did a great job attacking and getting consistent paint touches. Forty points in the paint is a great number, and 16 assists are even better.”

South Alabama shot 44 percent for the game, its accuracy tailing off at the end when the score reached blowout proportions.

“We got really good contributions from a lot of people, and that’s always encouraging when you win,” he said. “Our guys did a great job executing and playing with a ton of force and passion.”

The Roadrunners will have a week to practice before playing at the University of Alabama on Dec. 7.

It’s the first of a three-game, road odyssey against high-major programs, including stops at Colorado and USC.

“It’s the best non-conference schedule we’ve played in a long time,” Claunch said. “We played a team that won a championship last year in South Alabama, and they showed some championship fiber.

“Now we’ve got three really good teams in Alabama, Colorado and USC. Then we’ve got Seattle coming in, who’s really good. So it’s not getting any easier. (We) can’t sit here and feel sorry for ourselves.

“This is what we want. This is the kind of challenge we signed up for.”

Another challenge for the Roadrunners is getting talented guard Vasean Allette into a game.

Allette, considered the team’s top pickup out of the transfer portal, hasn’t played yet.

Claunch said he hopes the TCU transfer can play sometime before Christmas.

Dorian Hayes. UTSA men's basketball lost to South Alabama 82-58 on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Dorian Hayes, a UTSA freshman from Houston, kept his team in the game early by scoring all of his 15 points in the first half. – Photo by Joe Alexander


“Vasean is continuing to work through things, you know, personally, and we’re with him 100 percent,” Claunch said. “He’ll be at practice this week.

“You know, he can help,” the coach said. “Obviously, he’s a really good player that can pass. He’s a true point (guard). Continuing to get him back is going to be a major plus.”

Records

South Alabama 7-1
UTSA 4-4

Coming up

UTSA at Alabama, Dec. 7, 1 p.m.

First half

South Alabama raced to a 44-31 lead at intermission after hitting UTSA with a 17-6 run in the final six minutes.

During the late streak, the Jaguars flummoxed the Roadrunners with a tricky zone defense that forced them to shoot over the top for any chance to score.

UTSA couldn’t hit those shots, misfiring on six of eight from beyond the arc down the stretch.

The Jaguars also produced some easy baskets, making two steals and converting them into field goals in the last two minutes.

Jayden Cooper did the honors just inside the two-minute mark, swiping a Macaleab Rich inbounds and hitting a layup.

At the end of the half, forward Adam Olsen pressured UTSA’s Austin Nunez into a turnover near midcourt, leading to a driving dunk by Harris.

Notable

UTSA guard Jamir Simpson scored eight points in the first half and nine after intermission. For the game, the team’s leading scorer went six of 16 from the floor and five of 12 from three.

Guard Dorian Hayes scored all of his 15 points before intermission. He also passed for six assists. Freshman forward Matheo Coffi pulled down 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.

UTSA set the school record for three-point attempts at 56. Hayes set the school’s individual record for attempts at 20. He finished five of 20 from behind the arc.

Matheo Coffi. UTSA men's basketball lost to South Alabama 82-58 on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Matheo Coffi, a 6-8 freshman from Strasbourg, France, produced 10 rebounds, two blocked shots and two points against the South Alabama Jaguars. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Men’s basketball: UTSA hosts defending Sun Belt champion South Alabama

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The defending Sun Belt Conference champion South Alabama Jaguars will challenge the UTSA Roadrunners today at 1 p.m. in the Convocation Center.

South Alabama won its first conference title in 17 years under Coach Richie Riley.

The Jaguars are off to a fast start this season at 6-1. They opened 6-0 and then lost for the first time on Nov. 21 at UAB.

The Roadrunners are 4-3 after splitting two games last week at the Jacksonville Classic.

After losing to Abilene Christian 61-50 on Nov. 24, they bounced back the next day by rallying to beat Georgia Southern 77-64.

Records

South Alabama 6-1
UTSA 4-3

Coming up

UTSA at Alabama, Dec. 7, 1 p.m.

Notable

South Alabama coach Richie Riley and UTSA coach Austin Claunch worked together for two years at Nicholls State University, with Riley as a head coach and Claunch as an assistant from 2016-18. Claunch took over as the Nicholls head coach when Riley took the South Alabama job.

Rowe-led UTSA women rally late to stun Grand Canyon, 65-64

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Showcasing equal parts effort, poise and skill in the clutch, the UTSA women erased a 10-point deficit in the final 3:32 Wednesday afternoon to stun the Grand Canyon (Ariz.) Lopes, 65-64, in the Hoopfest Women’s Basketball Challenge.

“Oh, man,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said later. “That was crazy.”

Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA women's basketball beat Texas State 64-41 on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Cheyenne Rowe scored 10 of her career-high 20 points in the final two minutes as the UTSA Roadrunners came from behind to beat the Grand Canyon Lopes. – File photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA senior forward Cheyenne Rowe scored 10 of her team- and career-high 20 points in the last 2:06 as the Roadrunners came back on the Lopes and left Frisco’s Comerica Center with a split of two games in the multi-team event.

She knocked down two free throws with seven seconds left to account for the final score. On the other end, Grand Canyon forward Anisa Jeffries missed a shot from the paint as time expired.

On Monday, the Roadrunners played poorly in the opener, shot 29 percent from the field and turned it over 30 times, as the Auburn Tigers beat them easily, 59-42. Against Grand Canyon, they started fast and led the Lopes for most of the first three quarters.

In the fourth, the Lopes made a charge. Down by two to start the quarter, they hit three three-pointers and outscored the Roadrunners 19-7 in the first seven minutes. A triple by Julia LaMendola splashed with 3:32 remaining and boosted Grand Canyon into a 57-47 lead.

Undeterred, the Roadrunners made play after play in the clutch to pull it out. “I thought we established some leadership tonight,” Aston told Neal Raphael on the team’s postgame radio broadcast. “For the first time, I thought we rose up and kind of carried our young guys.

“Cheyenne and Ereauna Hardaway, they rose to the top as far as leadership, and we needed that. We needed to see who could do that. This was really good for us.”

Faced with the 10-point deficit, UTSA called on junior transfer Jayda Holiman, who was making her first start of the season. The younger sister of former UTSA men’s team guard Adante’ Holiman initiated the late uprising with a three.

After a Lopes turnover, the Roadrunners rebounded three of their own misses on one possession and turned it into two Rowe free throws. When Rowe hit two with 2:06 remaining, Grand Canyon’s lead had been trimmed to five.

Grand Canyon guard Chloe Mann made it a seven-point game at 59-52 when she drew a foul and hit two free throws. On the next possession, the Lopes had a chance to boost the spread back to 10, but LaMendola misfired on a three.

Jayda Holiman. UTSA women's basketball beat Incarnate Word 74-57 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at UIW. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jayda Holiman earned her first start of the season and responded with 12 points and eight rebounds. – File photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA scored the next five points on a banked-in three by Rowe and two free throws by sophomore Emilia Dannebauer. In response, LaMendola dialed up another shot from long distance, and this one hit to put the Lopes up 62-57 with 49 seconds left.

Undaunted, the Roadrunners pushed it the other way and answered with a Damara Allen three, off an assist from Ereauna Hardaway.

Trailing by only two at that point, the Roadrunners didn’t need to foul, but they did, putting Ale’jah Douglas on the line. She hit two, boosting the Lopes into a 64-60 advantage with 36 seconds remaining.

UTSA answered again with – who else? – Rowe, who buried a three to bring UTSA to within one. After a couple of timeouts with 31 seconds left, the Lopes made their last costly mistake, as Jeffries turned it over on an errant pass.

The Roadrunners gained possession, put the ball in Rowe’s hands, and the 6-foot-2 native of Canada drew a foul from Holly Griffiths. Rowe sank both freebies with seven seconds left to give the Roadrunners the lead and, ultimately, their most satisfying victory of the season.

UTSA pulled off the comeback despite standout center Idara Udo fouling out with 6:49 remaining.

“It was kind of a chess match for awhile with Idara being in foul trouble,” Aston said. “And, just fatigue. You know, we’re not a very deep bunch. We kind of have to mix and match sometimes. You know, I thought they hung in there with it, and we went to the press late.

“Obviously we can’t do that the whole game. I told them when we do it, they got to sell out on it, and they did that.”

Records

Grand Canyon 1-6
UTSA 3-3

Coming up

UNLV at UTSA, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Shuffling the starting lineup after a loss on Monday to the Auburn Tigers, the UTSA Roadrunners bounced out to a 28-23 lead at intermission against the Grand Canyon (Ariz.) Lopes at the Hoopfest Women’s Basketball Challenge.

On the last day of the multi-team event in Frisco, in the DFW area, the Roadrunners installed guard Jayda Holiman into the starting lineup, and Holiman responded with 12 points and eight rebounds. She knocked down four three pointers for her second straight game in double figures.

Damara Allen also contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Allen, a sophomore from Aurora, Colo., made two of UTSA’s season-high nine triples. In all, the Roadrunners made nine of 15 from beyond the arc to offset 10 threes by the Lopes.

In many ways, point guard Ereauna Hardaway was the glue, producing seven points, four assists and three rebounds in 32 minutes.

Once again, though, Cheyenne Rowe led the Roadrunners with an all-around performance.

She had seven rebounds, a block and a steal in 38 minutes. Hitting five of 12 from the field and two of three from distance, she also sank all eight of her free throws. Notably, she was only nine of 17 at the line coming into the game.

Julia LaMendola connected on five triples and led the Lopes with 21 points. Anisa Jeffries scored 12 and Chloe Mann and Ale’jah Douglas had 11 apiece.

The loss was the Lopes’ sixth of the season, but their 1-6 record is deceiving, in that they’ve dropped games to powers South Carolina and Oregon on the road and to Atlantic Coast Conference entry Cal on a neutral site. South Carolina is the No. 2 team in the nation.

Last year, Grand Canyon finished 32-3 and lost to Baylor in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Records

Grand Canyon 1-6
UTSA 3-3

Coming up

UNLV at UTSA, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m.

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UTSA men rally to topple Georgia Southern at Jacksonville

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jamir Simpson scored 22 points and Brent Moss added 19 off the bench Tuesday night as the UTSA Roadrunners rallied for a 77-64 victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles to close out play in the Jacksonville Classic.

After losing to Abilene Christian 61-50 on Monday, UTSA fell behind early against Georgia Southern, trailing by 13 midway through the first half.

The Roadrunners continued to struggle and found themselves down by 11 after intermission. Down the stretch, UTSA kept playing hard, and the bench — led by Moss, a guard, and forwards Daniel Akitoby and Macaleab Rich — spearheaded the comeback.

Simpson, a 6-foot-6 lefthander from Lima, Ohio, scored at least 20 for the fourth time in his last five games.

“We have a young team,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch told Andy Everett on the team’s postgame radio broadcast. “We’re still growing and getting a lot better. But this is a huge win coming off last night and responding quick. Really, really proud.”

Moss, a native of the Bahamas, enjoyed a solid all around game with 19 points and eight rebounds. He had 15 of his points in the second half.

Rich, from East St. Louis, Ill., had 11 points and eight boards. In addition, Akitoby, from Fairfax, Va., supplied nine points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

As a result, UTSA came away from the two-day event in Florida with a split and a 4-3 record for the season.

Georgia Southern, meanwhile, lost its second straight in Jacksonville and fell to 3-5. Forward Alden Applewhite led the Eagles with 18 points, followed by guards Tyren Moore with 16 and Taverus Webb with 14.

First half

For the second straight night at the Jacksonville Classic, the Roadrunners suffered through a poor start to the game, falling behind the Eagles by 13 points with eight minutes left in the half.

With some of their reserves leading the way, they battled back to tie the game late, only to watch as the Eagles made a few more plays in the last few minutes to take a 33-29 lead into intermission.

Records

UTSA 4-3
Georgia Southern 3-5

Coming up

South Alabama at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

In keeping with their Jekyll and Hyde persona on offense, the Roadrunners shot 25.8 percent from the field in the first half and 51.7 percent after intermission. Defensively, they proved much more consistent by holding the Eagles to 35 percent in the first half and 25 percent in the second.

The Roadrunners are 2-0 this season against sub-NCAA programs, meaning that their record against NCAA Division I opponents stands at 2-3.

Strength of schedule notwithstanding, UTSA’s confidence seems to be growing with its gritty play away from San Antonio. UTSA owns Division I wins against the Denver Pioneers (on the road) and now against the Georgia Southern Eagles (on the neutral site court at Jacksonville).

Jamir Simpson, in his last five games, has scored 22 points at Texas State, 20 at Denver, 21 at home against Southwestern Christian, 18 in the opener of the Jacksonville Classic against Abilene Christian and 22 against Georgia Southern.

South Alabama coach Richie Riley and UTSA coach Austin Claunch worked together for two years at Nicholls State University, with Riley as a head coach and Claunch as an assistant from 2016-18. Claunch took over as the Nicholls head coach when Riley took the South Alabama job.

Riley’s South Alabama team is 6-1 after starting the season with six straight wins. The Jaguars finally lost last Friday at UAB, falling 80-72, on the road in Birmingham.

Abilene Christian men down UTSA 61-50 in Jacksonville

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Burly guard Bradyn Hubbard produced 21 points and eight rebounds Monday night as the Abilene Christian University Wildcats opened the Jacksonville Classic in Florida with a 61-50 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

Trailing by 13 at halftime, the Roadrunners pulled to within four a few times in the second half before the Wildcats took control down the stretch.

At one point, the Roadrunners went scoreless for more than five minutes.

The Wildcats (4-2) snapped a two-game losing streak while also putting a stop to a two-game winning streak by the Roadrunners (3-3).

UTSA did some things well, holding ACU to 34 percent shooting and forcing 15 turnovers.

But, in the end, ACU won the game on the boards, outrebounding UTSA by a 44-32 margin, including 19-9 on the offensive glass.

UTSA also hurt itself with sub-par shooting from the field (36.4 percent) and from the free-throw line (55.6 percent). The Roadrunners hit only 15 of 27 on free throws.

Jamir Simpson had 18 points and five rebounds to lead UTSA, which will close out its stay in Florida when it takes on Georgia Southern Tuesday night.

First half

Opening play on Day One in the Jacksonville Classic, the Wildcats out-rebounded the Roadrunners in the first half en route to a 39-26 lead at intermission.

ACU constructed a 22-12 lead on the boards, including 10-2 on the offensive end.

In the first few minutes of the game, the Wildcats built a 14-2 lead. In the last one minute and nine seconds of the half, the Wildcats did it again, outscoring the Roadrunners 9-1.

Christian Alston kicked off the closing surge when he knocked down a three pointer.

After UTSA’s Austin Nunez made one of two free throws, Bradyn Hubbard took it to the rim, hit the shot and drew a foul. He made the freebie with 28 seconds left to boost ACU into a 10-point advantage.

After Joseph Venzant made a steal off UTSA’s Baboucarr Njie, Yaniel Rivera followed with a three pointer with three seconds left for the final points.

ACU knocked down six of 12 from behind the three-point arc in the half.

Records

UTSA 3-3
Abilene Christian 4-2

Coming up

UTSA vs. Georgia Southern, at Jacksonville, Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Notable

The loss dropped UTSA’s record to 1-3 against NCAA Division I programs.

While the Roadrunners have registered victories against the sub-NCAA College of Biblical Studies (Tx.) and Southwestern Christian (Okla.), they’ve registered their only D-I victory over Denver. They’ve lost D-I games to SIU Edwardsville, Texas State and now to ACU.

UTSA played annually against Georgia Southern when the two schools were a part of the Trans America Athletic Conference in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

In 1988, the Roadrunners qualified for their first NCAA tournament when they beat the Eagles 76-69 in overtime at Daytona Beach, Fla., to win the TAAC postseason title.

UTSA teams preparing for holiday week hoops on neutral sites

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UTSA women’s and men’s basketball will open play in multi-team events on Monday at neutral sites, with the women in Frisco against the Auburn Tigers and the men in Jacksonville, Fla., against the Abilene Christian University Wildcats.

UTSA women (2-2)
At Frisco
Monday — Vs. Auburn (6-0), 4 p.m.
Wednesday — Vs. Grand Canyon, Ariz. (1-4), 4 p.m.

UTSA men (3-2)
At Jacksonville, Fla.
Monday – Vs. Abilene Christian (3-2), 8 p.m.
Tuesday – Vs. Georgia Southern (3-3), 8 p.m.

UTSA women block out the noise and roll past Incarnate Word

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Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA women's basketball beat Incarnate Word 74-57 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at UIW. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Cheyenne Rowe reached a career-high in scoring for the second straight game, producing 17 points in a 74-57 victory over Incarnate Word. She hit seven for 11 from the field, hiking her shooting percentage to a team-leading 54 percent. — Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For the players and coaches on both benches, and for all the late-arriving fans walking into the McDermott Convocation Center on Wednesday night, the first thing that came to mind was the noise.

The University of the Incarnate Word band, rocking and rolling in the north west corner of the gymnasium, was loud. On top of that, the piped-in sound booming through the speakers hiked the decibel level a few more notches.

Then, when the 1,138 fans started to feel the emotion of a fast start by the home-team Cardinals, their voices only added to the cacophony.

Idara Udo. UTSA women's basketball beat Incarnate Word 74-57 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at UIW. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Junior center Idara Udo, wearing jersey No. 25, finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds. She grabbed six boards off the offensive glass. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The visiting UTSA Roadrunners, to their credit, kept their cool.

Steadying themselves after the Cardinals drained three 3-point baskets in the first three minutes, the Roadrunners gradually imposed their will on the proceedings and rolled to a 74-57 victory.

“I was really proud of our players,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought it was a great atmosphere. I thought they did a great job of getting people in the stands. The band was good. It was a really good basketball atmosphere.”

For the Roadrunners, it was their second straight lopsided victory after winning at home last week by 64-41 against the I-35 rival Texas State Bobcats.

“Our players are learning kind of on the job right now,” Aston said. “I thought they handled it really well. Really well. I thought we played hard. We’ve got lots to work on, but that’s what we’re doing this week.”

Amped with emotion to play the defending champions in the American Conference, the Cardinals (1-3) kept the game close for one quarter until the Roadrunners (2-2) started to play with a little more aggression on the defensive end.

UTSA led 21-20 going into the second period and then blitzed UIW 20-9 in the next 10 minutes behind a scoring and rebounding binge from starting frontcourt players Cheyenne Rowe and Idara Udo.

Up by 12 at halftime, the Roadrunners never allowed the Cardinals to get closer than nine the rest of the way.

Jhasmin Player. UTSA women's basketball beat Incarnate Word 74-57 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at UIW. - Photo by Joe Alexander

First-year UIW coach Jhasmin Player said it was an “incredible’ feeling to work against one of her long-time confidants, veteran UTSA head coach Karen Aston. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First-year UIW coach Jhasmin Player was still emotional after the game, talking about how it felt “incredible” to go up against one of her long-time basketball mentors.

As a high school standout in Bay City some 20 years ago, Player met Aston as a University of Texas assistant who was trying to recruit her to play for the Longhorns.

Though Player eventually signed with Baylor, their paths crossed a few years later when Aston joined head coach Kim Mulkey’s staff in Waco for one season.

The Lady Bears went 26-9 and reached the NCAA tournament that year. Player said it was incredible to work her fourth game as a college head coach against Aston, who has won 351 games in a little more than 17 seasons.

“Coaching against Karen was just one of the most incredible things,” Player said. “She is one of my favorite coaches ever. She was one of my favorite assistants (when I played). Now, as a head coach, she’s one I follow really closely because I always had such a high respect for her.

“I thought the atmosphere in here was great tonight. I think this is exactly what it needs to be all the time. I’m glad our kids at least gave us one really great quarter of competitive basketball. That first quarter was fun.”

A number of UTSA players made it extremely tough for UIW to sustain any momentum.

Adriana Robles. UTSA women's basketball beat Incarnate Word 74-57 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at UIW. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Adriana Robles scored 11 points off the bench on four of five shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Rowe, who along with Udo was playing with foul trouble much of the second half, led the Roadrunners with a career-high 17 points. The ball often found her as the shot clock was winding down, but she almost always answered, hitting seven of 11 from the field.

Udo, for her part, produced 11 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Ereauna Hardaway, a UTSA newcomer, had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in her best performance for the Roadrunners.

Not to be outdone, freshman guard Adriana Robles had 11 points and four assists. She hit four of five from the field.

Hardaway said it felt great to get a win.

“I felt like it was a great atmosphere,” she said. “It reminded me of when I was in high school. It’s not a big gym but the fans made it seem like there were a lot of people here. So it was a great atmosphere, a cross-town rivalry.”

In winning decisively, the Roadrunners reached their season-high in points. They out-rebounded the Cardinals 43-22 and pounded the ball into a zone defense to draw contact, which yielded 19 points at the line in 26 attempts.

“We’re building our chemistry,” Hardaway said. “As we continue to play, we’re learning to play with each other, building chemistry and gaining confidence in each other.”

Further underscoring the improvement of the offense, UTSA shot a season-high 52.1 percent from the field. If the Roadrunners could have cut down on a few of their 18 turnovers, they could have easily scored in the 80s.

“It’s practice translating into games,” Hardaway said. “It’s putting the work in, in practice and executing on the offensive end and trusting in our teammates to know what to do.”

Guard Destiny Whitaker led the Cardinals with 18 points and six rebounds. She hit three 3-pointers, all in the first quarter, including one from halfcourt at the first period buzzer. Jorja Elliott had 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Records

UTSA 2-2
UIW 1-3

Coming up

UTSA vs. Auburn, Monday, at Frisco, 4 p.m.
UTSA vs. Grand Canyon, Wednesday, at Frisco, 4 p.m.

Notable

Cardinals guard Madison Cockrell, a former player with the Roadrunners, did not dress out. She sat out with an injury after starting for UIW in its first three games.

UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe has hit career highs in scoring in each of her last two games. She scored 16 against Texas State and added 17 against UIW. In her third season with the Roadrunners, Rowe is shooting 54 percent from the field.

Roadrunners coach Karen Aston said earlier this week that Rowe’s work in the summer always pays dividends

“One of my favorite things to talk about is … the time that they use in the summer, it all comes to light in the winter time,” Aston said, “and I think she’s a reflection of that. She always takes advantage of summer to make sure that her shooting is consistent, and her confidence is consistent with that.”

Recruiting

UTSA on Wednesday announced the signing guard Rihyana Kinsey from Waco La Vega. Previously, the Roadrunners signed forward-center Amaya McDonald from Braswell High School in Aubrey. McDonald’s hometown is Shreveport, La. Both are expected to join the team for the 2026-27 season.

Ereauna Hardaway. UTSA women's basketball beat Incarnate Word 74-57 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at UIW. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Newcomer Ereauna Hardaway, a transfer from North Texas, played her best game for the Roadrunners with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA women will see a few familiar faces tonight at UIW

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Six days after the UTSA women’s basketball team defeated one regional rival, it’ll play another tonight, traveling into the central sector of San Antonio to face the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Florida Atlantic 60-52 on Senior Day to clinch the American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center.

Fifth-year UTSA coach Karen Aston says it’s important to schedule against UIW, the only other NCAA Division I women’s program in the city. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners and the Cardinals (both 1-2) will play at the McDermott Convocation Center on the UIW campus. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Coming off last week’s 64-41 victory at home over the San Marcos-based Texas State Bobcats, the Roadrunners will see a few familiar faces when they face the Cardinals for the sixth time in the series between San Antonio’s two NCAA Division I women’s programs.

Cardinals guard Madison Cockrell played two years at UTSA to start her college career before entering the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season. After playing 27 games at UIW last year, the Dallas native has started all three games this season as a senior for first-year Cardinals head coach Jhasmin Player.

Player was a four-year standout at Baylor University, where she played as a sophomore in 2006-07 under a Kim Mulkey-led coaching staff that included Karen Aston, who is now the head coach in her fifth year with the Roadrunners.

“It’s crazy,” Aston said on her Monday teleconference call. “I’ve kind of forgot about that. She seems like such a (coaching) peer to me. You know, she’s been in the profession for quite some time. And she handles her coaching abilities just like she did when she was a player.

“I recruited her (as an assistant at Texas) and then had the privilege … to coach her for one year (at Baylor). She was a delight. She was a delight to coach. A delight to be around. A very positive light on our profession. And someone I think has a very, very bright future as a head coach.”

The Roadrunners and Cardinals started women’s basketball programs in the early 1980s.

While UIW opened in 1980 in the NAIA, the Roadrunners debuted in 1981 as an NCAA Division I independent. In their 45th season, they’ve established themselves as one of the top teams in the American Conference, having played in two straight national postseason tournaments.

They won the American’s regular-season title last season.

UIW, meanwhile, played initially in the NAIA before moving up to NCAA Division II in the 1990s. In 2012, the Cardinals accepted an invitation to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference, becoming eligible for national and SLC tournaments in 2017-18.

Head to head, the Cardinals and the Roadrunners have played five times, with UTSA winning three and UIW two.

Both are undefeated at home against the other. In December of 2022, Aston’s Roadrunners led by 11 points in the third quarter and by eight entering the fourth on the home floor of the Cardinals, only to get beat, 56-53.

Madison Cockrell. Texas State beat UTSA 65-57 in overtime in women's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Dallas native Madison Cockrell, formerly of UTSA, is now a starter for the UIW Cardinals. Cockrell played two seasons at UTSA before entering the transfer portal in 2024. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“I know that it’s going to be a very challenging game at UIW,” Aston said. “It’s a rivalry-type game … We’ve experienced not so good things on the road (at UIW) before. So we’ll try to jog our players’ memory if they were there. If they weren’t, we’ll try to let ‘em know, it’s not an easy place to play. And then we’ll take another deep breath and get ready for the two games in Dallas.”

The Roadrunners will play in DFW-area Frisco next week. They’ll take on Auburn on Monday and Grand Canyon (Ariz.) on Wednesday at the Hoopfest Women’s Basketball Challenge. As for the matchup against UIW, Aston said it’s important to play the only other Division I program in the city.

“I think the (games) are natural, for us to play each other and benefit from high attendance … from community support,” Aston said. “I think that both Jhasmin and I are both trying to gain community support for our programs and really, to be honest with you, to gain support for women’s basketball in the city.”

Records

UTSA 1-2
UIW 1-2

Coming up

UTSA vs. Auburn, Monday, at Frisco, 4 p.m.
UTSA vs. Grand Canyon, Wednesday, at Frisco, 4 p.m.