UTSA forward Idara Udo came off the bench for eight points and four rebounds Wednesday in a two-point victory over North Texas. Udo had been out since Dec. 15 with a lower-leg injury. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Boosted by the return of forward Idara Udo, the UTSA Roadrunners women will host the Rice Owls on Saturday afternoon, hoping to take down the leaders in the American Conference title race.

On Wednesday, Udo played for the first time since Dec. 15 and provided a steadying influence on the team in holding off the North Texas Mean Green, 66-64.

The 6-foot-1 junior from Plano, who had been sidelined with a lower leg injury, scored eight points and pulled down four rebounds in nine minutes.

“The biggest thing is, she has experience,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “Even in those last timeouts, she’s a voice that’s been there and done it before. So I think (it’s) just the confidence that we have in her, because she’s experienced and she understands those moments.”

Another factor is that Udo’s return to active status gives the team 10 scholarship players and the strategic flexibility that another post player provides.

Rice is 18-3 and 8-0 in conference play under Coach Lindsay Edmonds. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Also, it might take some pressure off Cheyenne Rowe, who has led the team all season in scoring and rebounding but has probably had to play more minutes than coaches would like.

“It’s been a challenge rotationally for us,” Aston said. “Having her back allows everybody to sort of stay in their position. It allows Cheyenne to get some breaths.

“But, I also think that in the midst of that, our two young players (Emilia Dannebauer and Sanaa Bean) have gotten better.

“That’s exciting, because if we can get everybody in a rotation and stay healthy, then we have a chance to have an inside game that can be effective. I mean, (Cheyenne) was huge tonight but we just can’t depend on her every night.”

For the Roadrunners, defeating the Owls won’t be easy, even with Udo back in the lineup. Rice has won 13 games in a row and has forged a 16-1 record in its last 17 games.

But in the UTSA camp, players who have been in the program over the past few seasons may have a little more motivation than usual.

In 2024, the Owls entered the American’s postseason event in Frisco as an underdog. The Roadrunners, with forward Jordyn Jenkins returning from injury, were hopeful of winning it after beating the Owls in San Antonio on the last day of the regular season.

As it turned out, fourth-seeded UTSA was ousted in the semifinals by East Carolina, while 10th-seeded Rice was on its way to four straight wins, the conference postseason title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Last season, UTSA swept Rice in two games in the regular season en route to a 17-1 record and the American’s regular season championship.

In the tournament, however, the ninth-seeded Owls ended the No. 1 Roadrunners’ NCAA dreams with a 62-58 victory in the quarterfinals.

Even though Rice reached the finals and lost to the South Florida Bulls, the team’s re-formation over the spring and summer proved to be successful.

Rice brought back veterans Dominique Ennis, San Antonio’s Hailey Adams, Aniah Alexis, Victoria Flores and Shelby Hayes.

Ennis, Alexis, Flores and Hayes average double figures in scoring. Adams, a junior from Clark, ranks as one of the nation’s best rebounders. She also leads the Owls in assists.

Adams is coming off a 10-point, 15-rebound effort in a 65-56 win over Temple. She averages 8.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 34 minutes.

Records

Rice 18-3, 8-0
UTSA 10-9, 5-3

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Saturday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Notable

UTSA had won five straight in the series against its in-state rival before falling to the Owls in last season’s American quarterfinals. In the tournament game at Frisco, Alexis had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Ennis had 13 points and six boards. Flores hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help Rice hold on to win. The all-time series is tied 16-16.

UTSA guard Ereauna Hardaway produced a season-high 19 points for her seventh straight game in double figures Saturday against Charlotte. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Senior guard Ereauna Hardaway scored five of her season-high 19 points and forced two turnovers in the final 1:25 of the game Saturday as the UTSA women stayed undefeated in the American Conference with a 69-63 victory over the Charlotte 49ers.

With the win, the Roadrunners (8-6, 3-0) claimed their third straight conference victory by single digits to open defense of their regular-season title.

Guard Princess Anderson scored 20 points as Charlotte (8-9, 2-2) dropped its second straight on a road trip to Texas.

The fourth quarter was a battle. For the entire 10 minutes, both teams stayed within one or two possessions of one another.

Led by Hardaway, a transfer from North Texas, UTSA pulled it out at the end.

Mia Hammonds produced 17 points and six rebounds and finished a plus 15 on the plus-minus metrics. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First, she hit a 17 footer off the wing to break a tie, putting her team in the lead by two with 1:25 remaining.

Two possessions later, she drew a charge, stepping in front of a driving Tanajah Hayes. The play stirred her teammates to jump up and scream along with the rest of the crowd.

In retaliation, the 49ers forced the Roadrunners into a turnover, when Asianae Nicholson stole an inbounds pass and raced the other way.

Drawing a foul, she made the first of two free throws, leaving Charlotte down by one at 64-63 with 22 seconds left.

Fouling on the inbounds, Charlotte put UTSA’s Damara Allen on the free throw line. Allen hit both for a three point lead. The exchange prompted the 49ers to call time again.

Their play nearly worked, as the 49ers hit a three off the wing, only to have the tying basket waved off on an offensive foul under the basket. The Niners asked for a review, and the call was upheld.

In the last 15 seconds, Hardaway hit three of four free throws and stole a pass to seal UTSA’s 12 straight victory in conference play dating back to last season.

UTSA pulled out the win after falling behind 9-0 to start the game and then after losing point guard Adriana Robles to an apparent ankle sprain late in the first half.

Robles, a starter, played only one minute after intermission following her injury at the end of the first half.

Forward Cheyenne Rowe had another big day with 16 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Again, I continue to be super proud of this team, just the resiliency that they’ve shown,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “It’s just one of those things where it seems there’s always something, as far as having kids out.

“This one (Hardaway) was out most of the week. Had a couple more kids out, and then Adriana goes down. It’s just a testament, first of all, to our leadership. Cheyenne (Rowe) and (Hardaway) are really leading the way.

“And the young guys are just doing what we’re asking them to do.”

One of the “young guys,” sophomore guard/forward Mia Hammonds, had one of her better games with her defensive effort and with 17 points on six of 10 shooting. Rowe hit eight of 13 from the floor and finished with 16.

For Charlotte, Anderson and Zoe Best did the most offensively. Anderson scored her 20 on nine of 19 shooting. Best knocked down eight of 12 and scored 19. Guard Asianae Nicholson produced seven points and 18 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.

Janavia Gage also pulled down 12 as the 49ers won the rebounding battle, 47-34.

Records

Charlotte 8-9, 2-2
UTSA 8-6, 3-0

Coming up

UTSA at South Florida, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Florida Atlantic, Friday, 6 p.m.

Notable

Injured UTSA forward Idara Udo did not play, but in a positive sign, she arrived at the arena without a walking boot that she had been wearing.

The Charlotte 49ers, under coach Tomekia Reed, came ready to play. They scored the first nine points of the game, took a 14-10 lead into the second quarter and held a one-point advantage with 3:39 to play. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The 6-1 junior from Plano sat out her fourth straight game against Charlotte. Also not playing and listed as out for the game were Maya Linton and Saher Alizada. Players listed out for the season were Taylor Ross, Sema Udo and Nyayongah Gony.

Of those six players, only Udo has played this season, which makes it all the more remarkable that the Roadrunners are 3-0 in conference. Last week, UTSA started league play with a 65-63 victory at home against Tulane and followed it with a 50-47 win on the road against Temple.

First half

Rowe turned and fired a 15-footer that swished at the halftime buzzer, lifting the UTSA Roadrunners into a 22-21 lead on the Charlotte 49ers.

The 49ers started fast, racing to a 9-0 lead on the Roadrunners, with guard Zoe Best scoring five of the points.

Charlotte went on to take a 14-10 advantage after one quarter as it held the home team to four of 17 shooting from the field.

UTSA retaliated in the second quarter with a defensive stand of its own. The Roadrunners held the 49ers to seven points on five of 18 shooting.

Mia Hammonds scored seven and Ereauna Hardaway six in the first half for the Roadrunners. Cheyenne Rowe, who didn’t have a shot attempt in the first quarter, scored four points in the second.

Rowe limped to the bench and had to come out for a minute in the first quarter.

Guard Adriana Robles, who helped fuel UTSA’s comeback, had to be helped off the floor in the last minute of the half. She was favoring an ankle.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Short-handed in the front court with an injury to Idara Udo and others, the UTSA Roadrunners found a way on Saturday.

They held on at the end of a tense struggle in Philadelphia to beat the Temple Owls, 50-47, behind a 14-point, 18-rebound performance from senior forward Cheyenne Rowe.

It was Rowe’s third double-double of the season and her second in two close American Conference victories.

“I thought she was a monster,” UTSA coach Karen Aston told the ESPN broadcast team. “She was very determined, on the boards, in particular. We’re obviously short-handed, and she was a beast.”

UTSA (7-6, 2-0) has won its first two games in American without Udo, who has been out for the past three games, and without three other power forwards who are out for the season.

The Roadrunners escaped the Liacouras Center victorious with a strong defense, holding the Owls (6-7, 0-1) to 27 points on 9 for 44 shooting through three quarters.

UTSA, the defending conference champions, built a 14-point lead late in the third and then fended off a charge at the end to claim its 11th straight regular-season conference victory dating back to last season.

Last year’s team won the conference with a 17-1 record.

“I thought we played really (resiliently) today,” Aston told the ESPN broadcasters. “We’ve had a lot of adversity this year. We’ve got kids out. You know, this group is growing up. We’re really super young. A lot of them haven’t been in this moment before.

“…I can’t say enough about how great my staff is doing with the preparation and how locked in the kids are. I mean, they’re really trying. They really want to be good.”

UTSA won in spite of some poor offensive execution. The Roadrunners shot only 34 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from the three-point line. From three, they hit only two out of 14.

At the end, in the final nine seconds, the Roadrunners missed three out of four free throws, leaving the door open for the Owls to send the game into overtime.

With Temple down by the eventual final score, the Owls failed to capitalize. Coming out of a timeout, they got the ball to guard Tristen Taylor, who missed a long three-pointer at the buzzer.

Rowe was the difference for the Roadrunners, as the senior from Canada made four of 13 from the field and six of six at the free throw line. On the boards, she pulled down four offensive and 10 defensive boards for her career high.

Damara Allen finished with 12 points, and Mia Hammonds and Ereauna Hardaway added 10 apiece.

For the Owls, Taylor scored 18 points and Drew Alexander added 11, including nine in the fourth quarter on three 3-pointers.

Kaylah Turner, the leading scorer in the conference, averaging 17 points per game, couldn’t get going. She was held to seven points on 3 for 18 shooting. One of the most prolific three-point shooters in the nation, Turner hit only one of seven from beyond the arc.

Records

UTSA 7-6, 2-0
Temple 6-7, 0-1

Coming up

Charlotte at UTSA, Saturday, Jan. 10, noon.

First half

Rowe asserted herself with six points and four rebounds in the second quarter, leading the Roadrunners into the dressing room with a 25-18 lead at intermission.

With UTSA outscoring Temple 18-10 in the second, Damara Allen, Mia Hammonds and Adriana Robles also played key roles.

Allen scored four points on a couple of strong moves to the rim with left-handed layups. Hammonds also had four points in the period, one on a drive through traffic for a layup.

On another play, Robles and Hammonds trapped Temple star Kayla Turner and forced a turnover. Robles picked up the loose ball and tossed ahead to Hammonds for a layup.

The Owls made a play at the end to stem the Roadrunners’ momentum, with Turner getting a steal off Ereauna Hardaway and driving for a layup with one second left.

For Turner, the leading scorer in the American Conference, it was only her second field goal. The Roadrunners held her four points on two of 10 shooting.

Neither team could execute in a first quarter that ended with the Owls holding an 8-7 lead. Temple shot 4 of 19 in the period to UTSA’s 3 of 15.

Notable

Once again, the Roadrunners started the game with a two point-guard lineup, with both Ereauna Hardaway and Adriana Robles on the floor, along with Damara Allen on the wing.

Starting forwards were Cheyenne Rowe and Emilia Dannebauer.

Cleared to play for the first time this season, UTSA guard Siena Guttadauro played seven minutes off the bench and misfired on all three field goal attempts, including two 3-pointers. She sat out the team’s first 12 games. Guttadauro gave birth to a son, Dante, on July 24.

With Guttadauro in the lineup again, it left the Roadrunners with six scholarship athletes on the inactive list. Besides Udo, power forwards who are out for the season include Nyayongah Gony, Taylor Ross and Sema Udo.

Sema Udo is Idara Udo’s younger sister.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Gavin Griffiths scored 23 points and San Antonio’s Jordan Mason produced a double double Saturday afternoon as the Temple Owls turned back the UTSA men, 76-57, handing the Roadrunners their seventh straight loss.

The Owls, playing at home in the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, produced runs of 15-2 in the first half and 10-0 after intermission to remain undefeated in the American Conference. It was their sixth straight victory.

Coming out on top in a duel of point guards from San Antonio, Mason (from Clark High School) finished with 15 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. Mason hit five for 10 from the field.

UTSA’s Austin Nunez (from Wagner) had 12 points, three assists and a steal. Nunez shot four for five from the floor and four for four at the free throw line.

Jamir Simpson, Kaidon Rayfield and Dorian Hayes each scored 11 for the Roadrunners, who shot 32 percent from the field.

Records

UTSA 4-10, 0-2
Temple 10-5, 2-0

Coming up

Charlotte at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

First half

Mason produced 10 points and five assists as the Owls built a 39-30 halftime lead on the Roadrunners.

Temple surged on a 15-2 run late in the half to break the game open. Forward Babatunde Durodola sparked the burst with two three-point plays.

He spun past UTSA forward Mo Njie, got fouled and hit a free throw with 5:14 remaining to push the Owls into a 32-18 advantage.

UTSA retaliated by scoring eight of the next 11 points, with seven of them coming from freshman guard Dorian Hayes.

Later on, with less than a minute remaining, Nunez executed a cross-over dribble to free himself for a driving layup, and UTSA had pulled to within 37-30.

On the other end, Mason finished the scoring for the half on a drive to the bucket and a layup.

Hayes led the Roadrunners in the half with nine points on two of five shooting. With the performance he broke out of a slump in which he shot three of 24 from the field in his last three games.

Notable

Temple played without Derrion Ford, the team’s leading scorer. UTSA was without forward Macaleab Rich, who suffered a groin injury in a loss at Florida Atlantic on New Year’s Eve.

UTSA has lost seven in a row, the longest skid in Austin Claunch’s two years as coach. The Roadrunners haven’t won since it defeated Georgia Southern on Nov. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Two of the losses have been by 40 points more more, including 97-55 at Alabama and 110-70 at Florida Atlantic on Wednesday. UTSA’s opponents in the skid were 75-24 coming into the weekend.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions erased a six-point deficit in the final three minutes and defeated the UTSA Roadrunners 70-65 on Saturday afternoon in New York City.

In a women’s college basketball game that was hotly contested from the opening tip, the Lions outscored the Roadrunners 11-0 in the last three minutes to win on their home court.

The emotions boiled over in the final seconds as UTSA coach Karen Aston was hit with a technical foul for having words with one of the referees.

“I thought we played really hard,” Aston said on the team’s radio broadcast. “We probably had some fatigue mistakes there late in the game, and there’s nothing we can do about that.

“You know, the turnovers we had late were probably from fatigue, to be honest with you. They’re just going to have to learn how to handle that.”

The game seemed to turn inexorably in the Lions’ favor with less than 40 seconds remaining when UTSA guard Ereauna Hardaway drove to the basket, trying break to a tie score.

Columbia guard Fliss Henderson blocked the shot and sent the action the other way.

On the attack, Columbia’s Perri Page passed to Henderson, who sank a layup, giving the Lions a two-point advantage at 67-65 with five seconds left.

During the ensuing timeout, Aston was hit with a technical foul.

Columbia was awarded free throws, and Riley Weiss made one of two for a three point spread.

The Lions were also awarded possession, which resulted in Weiss going to the line again to make both for the game’s final points.

Guard Marija Avlijas scored 21 to lead five Columbia players in double figures. Weiss added 16 for the Lions, who improved to 8-4 on the season.

The Roadrunners had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-6. For UTSA, the loss was a heartbreaker.

Playing without starting forward Idara Udo, the Roadrunners built an eight-point halftime lead and had a chance to beat a team that has played in the last two NCAA tournaments.

They had a chance to record a signature victory against a team listed at No. 70 in the NET rankings. But, in the end, they couldn’t hold on.

Guard Ereauna Hardaway led the Roadrunners with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. It was her fourth straight game in double figures.

Forward Cheyenne Rowe hit seven of 11 from the field and scored 15 among four players in double figures. Guards Damara Allen scored 12 and Jayda Holiman 10.

Records

UTSA 5-6
Columbia 8-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Dec. 30, 1 p.m.
(American Conference opener)

First half

Playing without injured starting forward Idara Udo, the UTSA Roadrunners fell behind by nine points early and then rallied at the end for a 30-23 lead at halftime.

UTSA won the first 20 minutes with a defensive effort that resulted in 29 percent shooting and 14 turnovers by Columbia.

On the other end, senior guard Ereauna Hardaway led the way with eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 8-0 run in the final one minute and 30 seconds.

The Roadrunners shot 40 percent from the field and 28 percent from three, knocking down four of 14 shots from behind the arc.

Notable

Idara Udo‘s absence from the lineup was announced prior to tipoff when starting lineups were posted.

Emilia Dannebauer started on the front line for UTSA along with Cheyenne Rowe. The starting guards were Ereauna Hardaway, Damara Allen and Jayda Holiman.

Broadcasters on ESPN+ said the nature of Udo’s injury was undisclosed, but the television broadcast showed her on the bench with a walking boot.

The 6-foot junior from Plano was wearing the boot on Dec. 15 after she played in a home game against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Without Udo, UTSA showed up at Columbia’s Levien Gym with nine players, and with only eight on scholarship.

UTSA coach Karen Aston took over a team in 2021 that had just won two games. Last spring, in her fourth season on campus, the Roadrunners won a school-record 26 and the American Conference regular-season title. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coming off a season that illuminated meteoric growth in UTSA women’s basketball, university officials over the summer awarded Coach Karen Aston with a five-year contract extension that will run through 2029-30.

It was an easy decision to make.

In 2020-21, the year before the coach arrived at UTSA, the Roadrunners were way down with a 2-18 record. Under Aston’s guidance, they won seven games in her first season and 13 more the next year.

The Roadrunners won 18 in 2023-24 and a school-record 26 last year, to go along with an American Conference regular-season title. Obviously, the next big hurdle to clear will be an NCAA tournament berth.

But after what the Roadrunners have accomplished lately, that doesn’t seem like a bridge too far.

Talking with the media on Monday, a few days before her teams opens Thursday night in Lubbock against Texas Tech, Aston outlined areas in which she’d like to see UTSA women’s basketball continue to grow.

The first thing she mentioned was a new competition arena.

“One area, and this is a giant, big-picture item, but obviously I would love to see a new arena one day, or some type of renovation to the Convocation Center, just because I think it would make a considerable difference down the road,” she said.

“However,” the coach added, “short term, we’re going to open up a new practice facility (next year) and I think that’s going to be a huge stride for both basketball programs, not just women. I mean, volleyball included.”

While there aren’t any concrete plans for a new competition arena, the practice facility is scheduled to open next November.

“It’s a game changer for us to have places to practice at any point (in the day) and not have accommodation problems like we do have right now, so I’m thankful that that’s going to open up,” she said. “I think it’s going to enhance our program.”

After setting records for attendance last season, Aston wants her team to remain one that fans continue to embrace.

“Big picture, I think there’s a lot to that,” she said. “You want to stay consistent with how your product looks. Our team is going to look a lot different (this season) as far as the people that are in the spots — the starting spots, the people that come off the bench.

“Our team’s going to look dramatically different because the players are different. But you hope that the style and product … stays the same. (That) people enjoy watching the team play and watching our young ladies compete.”

Over the offseason, Aston lost some key players to the transfer portal, including Sidney Love and Aysia Proctor.

She said she’d like to see renewed emphasis on fundraising to grow the team’s capacity to compensate athletes.

“We talk about culture, and that’s an easy word to talk about, but but it’s hard to sustain sometimes. You know, especially with the portal and having new teams just about every year.

“I didn’t even anticipate our team being as new as it is this year. We had some injuries. We had unexpected transfers that I didn’t anticipate. So our team looks a little different.

“You have to maintain a culture that goes along with that. A playing style. A way of doing things. So I hope we can stay consistent with that and stay competitive.”

Aston’s comments on fundraising echoed those offered last weekend by football coach Jeff Traylor.

“I think the last piece of being able to (remain competitive) is continual fundraising. You know, Jeff talks about it. And I think every coach that sits down in the chair that I’m in right now is going to talk about that.

“It’s the landscape that we live in. So I think that for us to stay competitive in the league that we’re in, we have to be competitive with rev share (revenue sharing), and that’s fundraising on everybody’s part, including mine.

“I mean, we have to do whatever the job pertains to, to bring the players in here, or retain players that make big leaps (in performance). You know, I anticipate a couple of (our) players this year making really big leaps.

“For us to stay competitive, we need to retain ’em. So I think that stays in the forefront until something changes in the landscape.”