Category Archives: College basketball

UTSA men just needed to ‘exhale’ before ending their six-game skid

Posted on by
Reply
Austin Claunch. UTSA beat Rice 84-56 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Austin Claunch exhorts senior Primo Spears during Sunday night’s blowout victory over the Rice Owls. Spears and sophomore Marcus Millender scored 25 points apiece and combined for nine three pointers. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For the past few weeks, UTSA coach Austin Claunch has tried to find the key to unlocking his players’ potential as a team. Just how, during a six-game losing streak, could he get them to finish games that they often started so well and then frittered away at the end?

Following a loss in overtime last Sunday at East Carolina after they led by nine with 13 minutes left in regulation, they came home and, basically, did nothing for three days. They rested and recharged. Then they returned to work on Thursday to open a stretch of three straight days of practices.

Back together again, they preached composure. Talked about keeping a cool head while playing their frenetic style. The strategy worked well on Sunday night as they blew out the Rice Owls in the second half of an 84-56 victory at the Convocation Center.

Marcus Millender celebrates after hitting a second-half 3-pointer. UTSA beat Rice 84-56 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Marcus Millender made nine of 10 shots from the field en route to 25 points against Rice. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Afterward, guards Marcus Millender and Primo Spears flanked Claunch in the post-game press conference, and the coach talked with some passion about how the team managed to climb out of its funk to start the last week of its run through the American Athletic Conference schedule.

“I’ve been through a similar stretch,” Claunch said. “Listen, at the end of the day, these two guys (Millender and Spears) are every day guys. They’re going to play basketball for a long time. There’s going to be other years that maybe it doesn’t go exactly as it’s planned and what’s been frustrating about this stretch is, you don’t even feel like you’re close. You feel like you’re there.

“You just got to make one more play. But, again, it says a lot about these guys’ character, and how they were raised and who they are. You guys see all the close games, but you don’t see, like, we’re having great practices. And that is why we’re in these games even when we’re losing.

“That’s why we had three incredible days of practices (leading into the Rice game). Obviously we’re the last team with the bye (into the upcoming AAC tournament), and we had three days off. We didn’t do anything Monday through Wednesday, and, you know, these guys just need to exhale a little bit.

“Tonight was just a product of three really good days (of practice) and then just trust and leadership, starting with these two, but everyone. Damari (Monsanto), it’s not always about shooting threes, he’s plus 19 out there. He was the Texas Tough winner.

“And I thought Tai’Reon Joseph, Jo (Smith), the bench, just came in and provided incredible energy.

“It’s about time Bab (freshman Baboucarr Njie) dunked one. I’ve been giving him a hard time. So, again, it’s just a total team effort, and it’s fun. You know, that was complementary basketball (tonight). Defense to offense. Offense to defense. And we’re going to need more if we’re going to make a push for this thing.”

Baboucarr Njie. UTSA beat Rice 84-56 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Emblematic of solid bench play for UTSA, freshman Baboucarr Njie dunks in the second half of UTSA’s 84-56 blowout victory over Rice. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Spears and Millender scored 25 points each, and the Roadrunners exploded past the Owls 53-33 in the second half. With the win, UTSA gained a confidence boost leading into a Tuesday night home game against the 18th-ranked Memphis Tigers.

For the second time this season, Spears and Millender confounded the Owls. Spears had 26 points and Millender 25 on Jan. 14 in a 90-84 win at Houston.

The two heated up again in the re-match against their in-state rivals. Millender hit nine of 10 shots from the field, including three of four from three-point territory. He also passed for seven assists.

Spears was nine of 16 afield and six of nine from deep. The senior from Hartford, Conn., one of the day’s honorees on Senior Day, scored 19 of his points in a sizzling second half.

So, with 174 points scored against the Owls in two games, the opening question in the post-game news conference centered on why the Roadrunners’ offense seems to flow so well against their AAC friends from Houston.

“Our offense has been like that all season,” Millender said. “In practice, we go hard every day. We know where our spots are going to be at all times, especially me and Pri — the dynamic duo. The past two times we’ve seen Rice, we both combined for 50 plus. So, we just went out there and played hard.”

Spears, whose parents made the trip to San Antonio for Senior Day, said it felt good to snap the losing streak.

Jonnivius Smith. UTSA beat Rice 84-56 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jonnivius Smith produced 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks off the bench. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“(It means) everything, especially going into Tuesday, giving us a little confidence,” he said. “I thought we’ve just been playing really well. Even with the win column not looking as good as it is, I think we’ve played really well for 35 minutes of game time.

“So in this week off, we stressed being composed in the last five minutes of the game. I thought me and No. 4 (Millender) did a great job.”

Caden Powell scored 12 points to lead the Owls.

Records

Rice 13-17, 4-13
UTSA 11-17, 5-11

Coming up

Memphis at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.

First half

Millender scored on a drive and then hit a three to spark a 9-2 run late in the first half as the UTSA Roadrunners broke open a close game and moved into a 31-23 lead at intermission.

Two UTSA seniors went down and limped off late in the half. First, Spears came off with less than five minutes left, appearing to favor his left leg or foot. He returned a few minutes later and scored on a driving layup.

In the last few seconds of the half, Monsanto leaped to make a play on the defensive end and came down hard, hitting the floor in front of the UTSA bench. He, too, was helped off as the team walked toward the dressing room at intermission.

UTSA’s defense kept Rice from getting much momentum started, as the Roadrunners held the Owls to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor. UTSA, in shooting 37.5 percent, made three from beyond the 3-point arc.

Monsanto hit two of the triples and Millender stroked the other. Meanwhile, the Owls hit only one of 11 shots from outside the arc, some of them uncontested that must missed.

Notable

In the pregame, UTSA honored Primo Spears, Damari Monsanto and Raekwon Horton on Senior Day. Monsanto had six points and three rebounds, but was, as Claunch mentioned, a robust plus 19 on the plus-minus chart. Horton had two points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.

PJ Haggerty scored 25 points, including 17 in the final 12 minutes, as Memphis came back from an 11-point deficit to beat UAB 88-81 on Sunday in Birmingham.

With the win, the Tigers (24-5, 14-2) moved closer to an AAC regular-season title. Memphis leads North Texas (21-6, 12-3) by one game in the loss column. UAB (19-10, 12-4) fell two games back.

Tuesday’s game will mark the return of former UTSA guard P.J. Carter, a key reserve for the Tigers. Carter played for the Roadrunners last season. He is averaging 5.4 points in 14.1 minutes for Coach Penny Hardaway in Memphis.

Primo Spears. UTSA beat Rice 84-56 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Connecticut native Primo Spears hit six three-point baskets and scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half for UTSA. He said he was inspired by the presence of his parents, who attended on Senior Day. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA set to honor Horton, Monsanto and Spears on Senior Day

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Raekwon Horton, Damari Monsanto and Primo Spears will be honored today on Senior Day as the UTSA Roadrunners host the Rice Owls at 5 p.m. in American Athletic Conference men’s basketball.

A spokesman said the ceremony will be held on the court at the Convocation Center before the game.

The Roadrunners also will try to snap out of a six-game losing streak as they move into the final week in the regular season.

During the skid, UTSA has lost three of the games at home and three on the road. Two of the losses have been by one point, two more by four and one by five.

The Roadrunners, in their last outing a week ago today, took a one-point lead at the intermission and built it to nine with 13:30 left in the second half but couldn’t hold on, dropping a 96-89 overtime decision to the East Carolina Pirates.

In today’s matchup, UTSA and Rice are battling for favorable seeding going into the AAC tournament, which is scheduled March 12-16.

The first day of the tournament is set to be played Denton between the 12th and 13th-place teams in the final standings. The remainder of the tournament is scheduled to be held in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena.

Right now, UTSA is in 11th in the AAC standings with three to play, including two at home, today against Rice and Tuesday night against the first-place Memphis Tigers. They’ll close out the regular season next Sunday at last-place Charlotte.

Rice is currently 12th.

Records

Rice 13-16, 4-12
UTSA 10-17, 4-11

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, today, 5 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners beat the Owls 90-84 on the road Jan. 14 as Primo Spears scored 26, Marcus Millender 25 and Raekwon Horton 20. It was one of the better games of the season for Millender, a Houston native, as he knocked down five of six from three-point range. He also had four assists and three steals. UTSA leads 14-11 in the series.

Raekwon Horton, from Santee, S.C., has been an all-purpose standout for the Roadrunners, averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.7 assists. He’s played previously for NCAA tournament teams at the College of Charleston and James Madison.

Damari Monsanto is from Pembroke Pines, Fla. He came to UTSA this season from Wake Forest University. With averages of 11 points, four rebounds and 1.2 steals, Monsanto is known as one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the American, hitting 42 percent from behind the arc.

Former Hartford, Conn., prep standout Primo Spears has averaged 36 minutes and a team-leading 19.8 points per game, which is 21st in the nation. Previously, Spears has played in college at Duquesne, Georgetown and Florida State. In four seasons, he’s scored 1,662 points.

UTSA women clinch an AAC regular-season title and a No. 1 tournament seed

Posted on by
Reply


Jordyn Jenkins. The UTSA women's basketball teams celebrates at the Convocation Center after winning the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday, March 1, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins finishes cutting down the net at the Convocation Center after UTSA clinched the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forget about all those losing seasons in years past. Turn down all the negative vibes. As of about 2 p.m. Saturday, the UTSA Roadrunners became champions. Undisputed champs. For real. They donned championship hats, danced in sprays of confetti and then cut down the nets at the Convocation Center.

Led by a subtle tour-de-force showing from star forward Jordyn Jenkins on Senior Day, the Roadrunners downed the FAU Owls 60-42 to win the American Athletic Conference women’s basketball title outright, establishing school records for wins in a season (25) and single-game attendance (2,250) in the process.

With only a Tuesday night road game at East Carolina remaining before the AAC tournament, the Roadrunners improved to an eye-popping 25-3 overall and to 16-1 in the conference. In addition, the team added to its burgeoning legacy in the program’s history by finishing the home schedule undefeated (13-0) for the first time since 1984-85.

“I think we all want to take a deep breath right now,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “It’s been a long journey, for sure. A lot of pressure, to be honest with you. Three quarters of the way through (the schedule) I think we knew we had a shot at this thing. I know the players have felt pressure.

“It’s been a pretty wonderful journey — and we’re not done yet. This is a pretty unbelievable experience for all of us.”

Next week, UTSA will enter the AAC tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Roadrunners have earned a double bye and will open play in the quarterfinals on Monday, March 10, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

In Fort Worth, they likely will need to win three games in three days to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament, which has always been the team’s ultimate goal. But for now, the Roadrunners will savor the present. And, by all measure, they have earned that luxury after winning eight games in a row and 18 of their last 19.

“I think this has been a goal of ours from the very beginning,” Jenkins said, “so finally tasting it is, like, surreal. I mean, like, confetti. What? But, no, it’s cool. Cutting the net down? All that. We kind of manifested this and have been working toward this goal. We’re now just living it.”

The festivities started early in the morning at the Convocation Center, with fans sitting in the parking lot, cooking food and listening to country music. A blow-up house in which kids could enter and bounce up and down on a sunny morning was part of the scene.

Inside the building, there was a distinctive bounce to the atmosphere, as well. By the time officials saluted seniors Jenkins and Nina De Leon Negron in a pre-game ceremony, fans had jammed the seats in the lower section.

Some were even watching from the upper section of seating, which has been unheard of at UTSA women’s basketball until this season, when the Roadrunners have suddenly become a talking point on social media.

Marketing has also been in overdrive, promoting the regular-season home finale as “The Last Dance,” with an image of Jenkins and De Leon Negron on a poster.

“I mean, I just feel like just celebrating this moment,” De Leon Negron said. “And, like, every single emotion I’ve been feeling, I feel like I never felt ’em before. It just feels like everything’s worth it. I’m just happy. I’m just really happy.”

Watching her teammates rolling on the floor in the confetti and all the fans mingling, shaking hands and making cell-phone photos, UTSA junior Sidney Love had a wide grin on her face, saying the championship had a spiritual meaning for her.

“It feels amazing,” Love said. “All our hard work just paid off. This is just a testament to that. We give all our glory to God, though. We got God first. It’s just an amazing feeling. He led us all the way here, and we’re going to keep going.”

For the Roadrunners, winning 89.3 percent of their games this season hasn’t always been as stress-free as Saturday’s clincher against the AAC’s last-place Owls, who never led. In fact, UTSA has won three in conference by two points.

In another, on the road against the second-tier Memphis Tigers, they trailed by 11 with 3:44 remaining, started a furious rally and ended up winning by nine. Reporters have asked the Roadrunners a compelling question in the wake of these gut-it-out victories. What makes them so tough?

“I don’t know,” Love said. “I just think we all have our eyes on the prize, and we’re all really determined to get to that goal.”

In the 68-team NCAA tournament, teams have two avenues into the field — either with an automatic bid as a reward for winning a conference tournament, or with an at-large bid.

In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings published Saturday morning, UTSA was ranked 73rd in the nation, with 20 non-power conference programs ranked higher, so it might be a long shot to think that the Roadrunners would have a realistic chance of getting an at-large bid.

Aston said UTSA and other top teams in the AAC should get consideration if they come up short of winning it all Fort Worth.

“I think the American is too good for a one-bid league,” she said. “I’m sorry. I can’t buy that, and I hope we get some recognition somewhere along the way.”

Regardless, the coach of the Roadrunners said she believes her team will be ready after being ousted in the semifinals last year. Aston’s best player said she is ready.

“I’m excited,” Jenkins said. “I know it’s going to be tough. Three games in three days. But, I played two games in two days twice this year. I feel like my body’s ready to get a third one in there.”

Records

Florida Atlantic 10-20, 2-15
UTSA 25-3, 16-1

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)
UTSA at AAC tournament, in Fort Worth, March 10-12

Notable

The Roadrunners flexed their muscle as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation statistically, out-boarding the Owls 43-28, including 21-9 on the offensive glass. Because of the rebounding disparity, and also because of 19 FAU turnovers, UTSA took 20 more shots than the visitors. The Roadrunners were a modest 23 of 63 from the field. But the Owls were even more modest, 15 of 43.

Individuals

FAU – Guard Stefanie Ingram led the Owls with 17 points on six of 11 shooting. She hit four of six from three. The rest of the team couldn’t find the mark from behind the arc, shooting just two of 16. The Owls had only 10 players warming up before the game and all played

UTSA – Forward Jordyn Jenkins finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. She also had two steals and two blocked shots. With Jenkins drawing attention from the defense, small forward Maya Linton hit three of the team’s seven three-point baskets and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Linton pulled down five boards on the offensive end. Sidney Love scored 10, all in the third quarter. Nina De Leon Negron, heralded in Senior Day ceremonies, finished with three points, six rebounds and three assists. Idara Udo and Cheyenne Rowe, key members of UTSA’s powerful frontcourt, each scored nine. Rowe hit three for five from the field, boosting her field goals to 12 for 20 over the last four.

First half

The Roadrunners hit four of their last six shots from the field to open up a 29-18 lead at halftime. Included in the spree were three three-point shots, one each by Maya Linton, Cheyenne Rowe and Jordyn Jenkins.

After Senior Day a Senior Day ceremony in the pre-game, one of the seniors, Jenkins, produced nine points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the half. The other, Nina De Leon Negron, had three points, four rebounds and three assists.

UTSA celebrates women’s basketball regular-season title: photo gallery

Posted on by
Reply

Jordyn Jenkins and the UTSA women's basketball teams celebrates at the Convocation Center after winning the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday, March 1, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins and the UTSA women’s basketball teams celebrates at the Convocation Center after winning the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday.

The UTSA women’s basketball team danced in the confetti and cut down the net on Saturday at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners are the American Athletic Conference regular-season champions.

UTSA women hope to clinch AAC title outright on Saturday

Posted on by
Reply
Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Tulsa 64-53 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Jordyn Jenkins is averaging an AAC-leading 18.7 points for the Roadrunners, who have forged a 24-3 record with two games remaining in the regular season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

In a pre-game ceremony set for 11:40 a.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center, the UTSA Roadrunners will honor forward Jordyn Jenkins and guard Nina De Leon on a Senior Day spiced with championship implications.

Afterward, the UTSA women will tip off at noon against the Florida Atlantic University Owls, hoping to win and clinch sole ownership of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament.

If they beat the Owls, they could lose in the regular-season finale on Tuesday at East Carolina and still finish ahead of both the South Florida Bulls and the North Texas Mean Green in the standings.

Nina De Leon Negron. UTSA women's basketball beat Sam Houston State 79-36 on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Point guard Nina De Leon Negron has contributed 9.6 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds for the Roadrunners, who have already clinched at least a share of the AAC regular-season title. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Earlier this week, the Roadrunners claimed at least a share of the championship, and now they want it all in front of a crowd that school officials hope will eclipse the school record attendance of 2,000.

Jenkins, who is making a strong bid for AAC Player of the Year honors, ever-so-cautiously declined to speculate on how it would feel to clinch at home.

“I would always say I’m trying to stay grounded and stay in the present, because it’s easy to get ahead of myself and already see confetti and already (see myself holding) the trophy above my head,” she said Friday afternoon. “So, I just try to think about what I’m going to have for dinner tonight.”

The AAC women’s tournament opens in Denton at the Super Pit on March 8. It will shift to Fort Worth and Dickies Arena on March 9. UTSA, with a double bye through the first two rounds, will open in the quarterfinals on March 10.

What the Roadrunners have accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. Picked in the preseason to finish fifth in the AAC, they have won 17 of their last 18 games for a 24-3 record. Their record in conference is a robust 15-1. Moreover, they’re 12-0 at home going into their final regular-season home game.

Still, they won’t be assured of an NCAA tournament berth unless they can win three in a row in Fort Worth for the automatic bid. It’s a thought that is troubling to coach UTSA coach Karen Aston.

“After going through this, I think it is tragic that conference (regular-season) champions don’t get automatic bids,” she said. “I mean, I’ve been processing all of this. Like, how do you keep us out of the tournament, if we don’t win the conference tournament?

“This is a team that has sustained excellence for a really long period of time, which is how you win a conference. You (probably need) some luck somewhere along the way. Which, we probably did at Memphis. But you also have something in you, to get through this whole 18-game process.

“I think that’s what I appreciate the most (about the Roadrunners). I want for them to win the (AAC) tournament. I want them to go to the NCAA tournament so bad, for them. But I am more proud of this. Because it’s so difficult … It takes a really special group to do what we’re doing.”

Aston said she doesn’t even want to start thinking about what it will be like once the season is over and Jenkins and De Leon Negron have moved on in their careers.

While Jenkins bounced back from a knee injury that caused her to sit out all but the final 17 games last year, De Leon Negron traveled a hard road, moving from her native Puerto Rico to the United States as a teenager, speaking mainly Spanish at the time, and then forging her college career at three schools.

Last summer, De Leon Negron joined the UTSA program as a transfer from the University of the Incarnate Word, from one San Antonio-based NCAA Division I program to another.

“I’m just trying to enjoy the journey with this group,” Aston said. “It’s one of those teams you’re going to look back on and, like, they don’t make ‘em like this very often. This is a group that I told (them) a month or two ago that they better enjoy this, because it just doesn’t come around like this very often.

“What I will appreciate most (about Jenkins and De Leon Negron) is their leadership, and it’s been constant,” the coach added. “It’s been Nina coming in and getting her feet wet and understanding what the team needed and Jordyn becoming Jordyn again, really, after what she went through (last year).

“They almost like met in the middle. In the middle of the summer, and they realized that we could be special and that they were going to take the reins of that. I mean, it’s their leadership Their numbers are great. Their performances are great, and all of that. But what I will appreciate most are the efforts they’ve made off the court to make this team really special.”

De Leon Negron lauded Aston, describing her as a caring mentor for everyone on the team.

“I want to shout out coach,” De Leon Negron said. “And I know Jordy feels the same way. Because we talk about this all the time. But with transfers … and experiencing different coaches, I always tell the girls, like, we get (to have) a good year.

“We have a coach that just cares about everybody.”

Speaking directly to the coach in the news conference, De Leon Negron told Aston, “It’s kind of like I want to tell you, I really appreciate you and every time I feel like I’m not good mentally and I come into your office, you always make me feel better. So, just never change . So always keep being that person for everybody.”

Blushing at her lead guard’s comments, Aston said, “I’m too old to change.”

Records

FAU 10-19, 2-14
UTSA 24-3, 15-1

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)
UTSA in AAC tournament quarterfinals, at Fort Worth, Monday, March 10, opponent and time, TBA

Former UTSA standout Isaiah Wyatt gets his first pro opportunity in Seville, Spain

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Former UTSA basketball player Isaiah Wyatt is expected to join a professional team in Europe next week.

Isaiah Wyatt. Temple beat UTSA 84-82 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the men's basketball season on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Isaiah Wyatt, a three-point shooting specialist, played one season at UTSA for one season in 2023-24. He is expected to play in Spain starting next week in a league that runs through the end of May. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Wyatt, who played his one and only season with the Roadrunners in 2023-24, said he would be playing for CAHA 87 in Seville, Spain.

A few months ago, he joined South Sudan’s Fox Basketball Club and played out of Nairobi, Kenya, but Wyatt says the deal in Spain is his first official opportunity to play professional basketball.

Two days ago, his agent texted to tell him that CAHA 87 wanted to sign him. “I was so excited,” Wyatt said Friday. “They wanted to see if I was in shape. I had to tape a workout video and sent it to them, and they sent me my contract right away.”

Wyatt said he has been living in San Antonio since the end of last season. He had shoulder surgery last April and then went into rehabilitation.

“UTSA helped me get back,” he said. “I’ve been rehabbing all this time. Now I’m 100 percent.”

Excitement reigned when when UTSA clinched an AAC title

Posted on by
Reply
Karen Aston. UTSA beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-43 in non-conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Karen Aston’s Roadrunners have clinched at least a share of the AAC regular-season title. They’ll try to win it outright Saturday at home against Florida Atlantic. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Just about the same time that the UTSA basketball radio show ended Wednesday night at the Chicken N Pickle restaurant, the fourth quarter of the South Florida at Tulsa women’s game had just begun.

Most of the UTSA boosters and even assistant coaches for the Roadrunners’ women’s program had left the premises.

But UTSA head coach Karen Aston, a few administrators and some of the program’s most ardent supporters decided to stay and watch, sensing the possibility that they might get to share in a special moment in each other’s company.

“We were just talking, and the game got close and I was like, ‘Let’s just sit here and finish it,'” Aston said.

It was a good call by the coach, as Tulsa defeated South Florida, and UTSA clinched at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

An emotional moment, to be sure. Because in 2020-21, UTSA women’s basketball was in dire straits, finishing 2-18.

And now, in Aston’s fourth season, the UTSA women have romped to a 24-3 record, including 15-1 in the AAC, with two more to play in the regular season.

So, given all that has transpired, were there any tears shed at the Chicken N Pickle on the night that the Roadrunners could call themselves champions?

In a telephone interview Thursday afternoon, Aston sidestepped the question.

“Oh, just excited, more than anything,” the coach said. “Just wanted to relay (the news) to the (players) and congratulate everybody. It was obviously an unexpected surprise. Not surprised necessarily that Tulsa won. But it was unexpected.”

Moving forward, UTSA has a home game set for Saturday at noon against Florida Atlantic and a Tuesday night road test against East Carolina.

A victory in either game would clinch the regular-season title outright and also the No. 1 seed in the upcoming AAC tournament.

Aston noted that the Nos. 1, 2 and 3-ranked teams all lost their first games in quarterfinals matchups last year, so it’s hard to say that seeding provides that much of a competitive advantage.

The importance of winning the regular season, the coach said, is just in winning it, period. And now with the opportunity to clinch outright at home on Saturday on Senior Day? In front of what could be a record crowd at the Convocation Center?

“That’s pretty special,” she said.

Aston, in her 17th year as an NCAA Division I head coach, is regarded as one of the best in the business.

The former head coach of the Texas Longhorns has won 347 games, has achieved a winning percentage of about 63 percent in her career and has led her teams to seven NCAA tournaments, including four trips to the Sweet 16 and one to the Elite Eight.

This year’s regular-season title is her first.

Asked what it meant to get it done with her current group, she acknowledged that it’ been “extremely rewarding.”

“This has been a wonderful group to work with,” she said. “I couldn’t have scripted a better group to really go on this experience with. It’s been quite a journey. I’ve really, really enjoyed it, and (I’m) enormously grateful to everyone involved.”

UTSA women clinch share of AAC regular-season title

Posted on by
Reply

Update: The UTSA women’s basketball team has clinched at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title. The Roadrunners can finish no worse than a tie for first after Tulsa won at home and beat second-place South Florida 66-58 Wednesday night. UTSA can clinch the title outright, along with the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament, with a victory Saturday at home against the Florida Atlantic University Owls.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jordyn Jenkins made three steals in the last two minutes, and Sidney Love knocked down four straight free throws in the last 24 seconds Tuesday night as the record-setting UTSA Roadrunners rallied to defeat the Tulane Green Wave, 77-73, in New Orleans.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Tulane. She also had two blocks and four steals.

With the victory, UTSA (24-3 overall, 15-1 in the American Athletic Conference) tied a 16-year-old school record for victories in a season and moved to within one win or a South Florida loss of clinching at least a tie for the league’s regular-season title.

The Roadrunners would clinch a tie if South Florida (20-8, 13-2) loses Wednesday night at Tulsa. But if South Florida wins — and the Bulls have won nine in a row — then UTSA can clinch a share on Saturday in their last home game against the FAU Owls.

UTSA’s momentum is undeniable at this juncture of the season. Not only are the Roadrunners on a seven-game winning streak, they’ve also recorded a 17-1 record in their last 18. On top of that, they are undefeated at home at 12-0.

The 2008-09 UTSA team finished 24-9. That year, the Roadrunners tied for first in the Southland Conference West Division with UT Arlington at 14-2, won the SLC’s postseason title and then lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Baylor.

In terms of regular-season championships, UTSA tied for first in its division in both 2011 and 2009 in the SLC. The 2011 team posted a record of 16-15 overall and 11-5 in conference to claim a share of the SLC West before dropping a second-round game in the tournament to McNeese State.

Records

UTSA 24-3, 15-1
Tulane 16-11, 9-7

Coming up

FAU at UTSA, Saturday, noon
UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, March 4, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)

How it happened

For much of the game Tuesday night, the Green Wave played loose and free and kept making three-point shots, holding leads of five over the Roadrunners at halftime and by four at the end of the third quarter.

The Owls continued to play well deep into the fourth, opening a 65-62 advantage at the 3:29 mark on a driving layup by Dyllan Hanna. From there, the Roadrunners’ veteran presence emerged to turn the game in their favor.

After an Aysia Proctor miss, Jenkins scored on a put back to pull the Roadrunners to within one.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Wichita State 76-60 in American Conference women's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston has led her team to the brink of a regular-season title and also a possible No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Then, when the Green Wave bobbled the ball out of bounds on one end, UTSA attacked on the other with Love on a driving layup that missed. Continuing the possession, forward Idara Udo rebounded the ball, put it back and converted a three-point play.

The sequence lifted UTSA into a 67-65 lead, and the Roadrunners would not trail again. Afterward, UTSA coach Karen Aston acknowledged the effort of the Tulane players, who put up a battle, knocking down 12 three-point shots.

“You don’t want to just nit-pick your own team,” Aston told the team’s radio broadcast. “You want to give a lot of credit to the opponent, and I thought Tulane played really well today. Shot the ball great. We just found a way to win.”

Jenkins, who played one of her better games of the season, led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Three of the steals came in the last two minutes to blunt Tulane possessions. Love also had a major impact with 14 points and seven assists.

The junior guard from San Antonio-area Steele High School also had four steals and four rebounds. Love had eight points in the fourth quarter, making two free throws twice in the last 24.4 seconds to keep it a two-possession game.

As Aston detailed her thoughts to team radio voice Neal Raphael in the postgame, she made it clear that she wasn’t happy with the team’s first-half performance.

“We were very, a little uncharacteristic of ourselves in the first half,” Aston said. “But I thought we rebounded well, rebounded back into who we are. We were better (after intermission). We withstood a lot of adversity, and that’s what this team is about.”

In their last two games, both on the road, the Roadrunners had to battle into the final minutes to pull out victories. On Saturday in Houston, they went scoreless for more than five minutes and 45 seconds before making a late free throw to Rice, 57-55.

On Tuesday, they had to come from behind in a faster-paced, higher-scoring game, and emerged with the victory, just the same. Aston was upset with what she saw from her players in the first half against the Green Wave, who effectively switched defenses to cause confusion.

Aysia Proctor. UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Aysia Proctor scored 16 points off the bench, including five in the fourth quarter. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Then, when the Roadrunners did get the ball to an open shooter, they couldn’t convert. On the other end, they gave the Green Wave too many open looks at the basket. When Tulane forward Amira Mabry made a three at the buzzer, the home team had momentum going into the dressing room, leading 37-32.

Aston said she told her players in the dressing room that she didn’t like what she had just seen. “You know, I haven’t been hard on these guys at all,” she said. “I think they have given me everything that they possibly have, but I didn’t like who we were in the first half.

“I thought we were disconnected. Didn’t look like ourselves at all. We had a little attitude about us. I don’t know if it was the pressure, or, I don’t know. But we talked about that. I said, ‘If we’re going to get beat, let’s get beat with who we are. Let’s not turn into something we’re not.’

“And I thought they responded to that.”

At the end, Jenkins quieted the crowd with three standout defensive plays. For the redshirt senior known most for her offensive prowess, the best may have been the last steal when she stole a pass near midcourt and raced uncontested for a layup and a six-point lead with 33.4 seconds left.

True to form, the Green Wave answered with a quick three by Victoria Keenan to make it a three-point game with 29 seconds left. Love answered the call at the end by getting to the free-throw line twice and making all four to seal it.

“Jordyn was solid the whole game,” Aston said. “Idara came in and gave us some big buckets late, but I thought Sidney Love was the difference in the game.”

Tulane’s ball handling against UTSA’s defense was another major factor. The Roadrunners forced the Green Wave into 25 turnovers and scored 35 points off those miscues. Tulane forced UTSA into 17 turnovers but converted them into only 15 points.

Individuals

UTSA – Jordyn Jenkins had 26 points, without shooting a free throw, and 10 rebounds for her seventh double double. On one end, she hit 11 of 19 field goals. On the other, she had four steals and two blocks. Guard Aysia Proctor made seven of 12 shots from the floor and scored 16 points off the bench. Starter Sidney Love contributed 14 points and seven assists. Also, four rebounds and four steals. Forward Idara Udo finished with 10 points and eight rebounds after missing her first seven shots from the field.

Idara Udo. UTSA beat UT-Rio Grande Valley 74-69 in non-conference women's basketball on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Idara Udo missed her first seven shots from the field, but she finished strong, totaling 10 points and eight rebounds. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Tulane – Forward Kyren Whittington led the Green Wave with 22 points. She knocked down nine of 14 from the field and four of six from three. Sherese Pittman and Victoria Keenan both contributed 13 points while hitting three three-point baskets. Freshman point guard Kendall had nine points and six assists but turned it over nine times.

First half

The Tulane Green Wave picked up the pace in the second quarter and started running on UTSA. Down by one after the first quarter, they built a seven-point lead with 2:18 remaining.

UTSA retaliated with five straight points, but Tulane responded at the end. Amira Mabry, a Green Wave junior from San Antonio-area Judson High School, hit a three at the halftime buzzer for a 37-32 advantage.

Handling switching defenses that went from man-to-man looks, to zone and back again seemed to fluster the Roadrunners in the first half.

Jenkins shot five for nine from the field, and Proctor hit four for six. But other UTSA players struggled to make shots, some of them with open looks. The rest of the UTSA players were a combined five for 20.

Tulane had a more balanced attack with Whittington leading the scoring with nine. The Green Wave hit 40 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. Pittman hit a couple of threes for the Green Wave.

UTSA women play at Tulane hoping to tie school record for victories in a season

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women will attempt to tie a 16-year-old program record for victories in a season tonight in New Orleans when they face the Tulane Green Wave. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. at Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.

With three games remaining in the regular season, the Roadrunners (23-3, 14-1) need one more win to tie the UTSA record of 24 set by the Rae Rippetoe-Blair-coached team from 2008-09.

The ’08-09 team forged a 24-9 record and played in the NCAA tournament. It was also the last one in school history to win a regular-season championship, as it finished 14-2 in the Southland Conference and tied for first with UT Arlington.

Coach Karen Aston’s Roadrunners (14-1) have a chance to win the American Athletic Conference title within the next week, and it would be the first regular-season title in Aston’s 17 years as an NCAA Division I head coach.

The Roadrunners lead the South Florida Bulls (13-2) and the North Texas Mean Green (12-3) in the AAC standings, with each having three to play.

Both of the Roadrunners’ nearest pursuers play next on Wednesday night. The Bulls, who have won nine in a row, take to the road to play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, while the Mean Green will host the Charlotte 49ers.

A chance exists for a two-way or three-way tie for first place, and in either case, the teams tied for the lead at the end of the regular season would be considered co- or tri-champions, according to the AAC.

If there is a two-way tie for first between UTSA and South Florida, the Bulls would be the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament, and the Roadrunners would be No. 2, based on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

If there is a three-way tie between UTSA, South Florida and North Texas, the Bulls would be seeded first, followed by the Roadrunners in second and the Mean Green third, an AAC spokesman said.

Records

UTSA 23-3, 14-1
Tulane 16-10, 9-6

Coming up

UTSA at Tulane, tonight, 6:30
FAU at UTSA, Saturday, noon
UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, March 4, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)

Notable

The Green Wave, in their last game, defeated the Wichita State Shockers to snap a three-game losing streak. The Wave won 68-64 at home on Saturday to keep hope alive for a top-four finish in the standings.

Amira Mabry, a Tulane junior from Judson, starts and averages 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. She is a 52 percent shooter from the field but has slumped lately, hitting only nine of 29 shots in her last four games.

East Carolina men survive hot-shooting UTSA to win 96-89 in overtime

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The East Carolina Pirates made four straight defensive stops, leading to eight points in a row, as they broke open a hotly-contested tie game and defeated the UTSA Roadrunners 96-89 in overtime Sunday at Greenville, N.C.

It was the sixth straight loss for UTSA going down the stretch of the regular season in the American Athletic Conference.

Records

UTSA 10-17, 4-11
East Carolina 16-12, 8-7

How it happened

The Roadrunners played and shot the ball well for most of the night. They built a nine-point lead with 13:34 left in regulation. But they couldn’t make a few plays on the offensive end to close the second half, and the game went to overtime.

Once there, the Roadrunners continued to carry the fight to the Pirates, who were playing in their home at Minges Coliseum. UTSA’s Damari Monsanto quieted the crowd by knocking down a three-point shot with 3:08 remaining, tying the score, 86-86.

From there, East Carolina ratcheted up its defense behind Jayshayne Woodard, turning away UTSA without points on four possessions in a row.

On the other end, the Pirates converted with RJ Felton scoring on a drive to start a decisive 8-0 run. After Cam Hayes hit two free throws, Jordan Riley sank a 12 foot jumper.

Woodard, who made a steal and blocked a shot on the defensive end to kick start the rally, added a dunk with 39 seconds left to make it 94-86 with 39 seconds left.

UTSA couldn’t get any closer than five the rest of the way.

Another heartbreaker

For the Roadrunners, it was another heartbreaker in a late-season swoon that’s been marked by lost leads and lost games. This one was at least their fifth conference loss after leading by nine or more points in the second half. In their previous five setbacks, all came by five points or less.

East Carolina was responsible for one of them in an 80-79 victory at UTSA on Feb. 8. Now, the Pirates have swept the two-game series in contests that came down to only a few possessions each time.

On the offensive end, the Roadrunners played well, shooting 47 percent from the field and hitting at a 48 percent clip from three (13 of 27).

Guard Primo Spears contributed 24 points and seven assists. Marcus Millender scored 21 with five rebounds and four assists.

Monsanto and Tai’Reon Joseph both reached double figures, as well. Monsanto scored 14 and Joseph, who came out of the game momentarily in the first half with a cut near his eye, added 11.

Raekwon Horton returned after sitting out a game with an injury and worked hard at the end to slow down Felton, who led all scorers with 30 points. Riley had 17 points and Hayes 16.

For the Pirates, Felton hit 10 of 15 from the field and made all five of his attempts from the three-point line.

As a team, East Carolina shot 53 percent from the field and 56 percent from three against a UTSA defense that ranks near the bottom of the AAC in both of those categories.

For the season, the Roadrunners were allowing 46 percent field goal shooting and 35.8 percent from three leading into Sunday’s games.

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Sunday, March 2, 5 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Tuesday, March 4, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.

First half

The Roadrunners shot 59 percent from the field and withstood a scoring binge by guard RJ Felton to take a 39-38 lead on the Pirates.

In the opening 20 minutes of the game played at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, N.C., the momentum flowed back and forth with 11 lead changes and seven ties.

The Roadrunners trailed by as many as five at one juncture but always stayed competitive with a sweet flow on offense. They made 16 of 27 shots from the field and six of 11 from three.