By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
On the second day of the Puerto Rico Clasico, the UTSA Roadrunners on Friday scored the first 10 points and then cruised to a 71-40 victory over the winless Towson Tigers. After the dominant performance, the UTSA women will leave with a 2-0 record in Puerto Rico, a six-game winning streak overall and loads of confidence going into the month of December.
UTSA, on the defensive end, forced 25 turnovers and held Towson to 30.4 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Roadrunners flowed with 18 assists on 29 field goals. Shooting much better than they did on Thursday, they hit 46.8 percent from the field.
From the outset, the Roadrunners seemed to have all the energy. Jordyn Jenkins started the game with an 18-foot jumper and followed it with a 3-point basket. Maya Linton pitched in with a steal and then went coast to coast for a layup. After a Towson timeout, UTSA’s Nina De Leon Negron followed with a three, boosting the Roadrunners into a 10-0 lead.
Jenkins led the Roadrunners with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. De Leon Negron, a Puerto Rico native, had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The 5-foot-6 UTSA grad senior also punctuated her homecoming with three steals. Cheyenne Rowe led the UTSA reserves with 10 points on five of nine shooting.
For Towson, India Johnston knocked down five 3-point baskets and scored 19.
Records
UTSA 6-1
Towson 0-7
Coming up
Sam Houston State at UTSA, Saturday, Dec, 7, 1 p.m.
Third quarter
Players off the UTSA bench combined to score the last nine points during a 13-0 run to end the third period, vaulting UTSA into a commanding 58-29 advantage. Cheyenne Rowe hit a couple of baskets. Damara Allen contributed one basket and Taylor Ross hit a three.
First half
The Roadrunners kick-started a fast-paced transition game and surged into a 39-22 lead at halftime. They dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 19-8.
Notable
Coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, the Towson Tigers entered this year with high hopes. Now they’re 0-7 and reeling. The schedule has been tough on the Tigers as they played their first five games on the road, including two against Top 25 teams in West Virginia and Maryland. On Sunday, in their first home game, they dropped a 64-57 decision to the Liberty Flames.