By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
With SMU leading by only three points at intermission, point guard Tiara Young directed most of the traffic on offense and scored a few buckets down the stretch, as well, leading the Mustangs to a 75-58 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.
Young scored six points and passed for four second-half assists as SMU (10-10 overall, and 4-5 in the American Athletic Conference) won at home, turning back a young and error-prone UTSA squad. For the game, Young finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Pushing out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter, the Roadrunners (10-9, 4-4) couldn’t sustain it later as they hit only 8 of 29 shots from the field in the second half. They also committed 15 turnovers after intermission in losing their second straight in the American after four wins in a row.
It was the second game in a row that UTSA’s youth may have been a factor in allowing a first-half lead to slip away on the road. The Roadrunners also had an early lead in Birmingham last weekend, only to give it up at the end in a 54-53 loss.
SMU entered the game on a high note, having played well last weekend in a close loss at home to kept the East Carolina Pirates and then defeating the Temple Owls. They played with confidence against UTSA, getting several players involved offensively.
Reagan Bradley was 7 of 13 from the field and Chantae Embry 6 of 14 for the Mustangs, and they each scored 18 points. Center Amirah Abdur-Rahim also had a big day, producing a double double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
For UTSA, guard Kyra White had nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Sidney Love, Idara Udo and Elyssa Coleman scored 11 points apiece.
First half
Trailing by eight points late in the first quarter, the SMU Mustangs rallied behind Reagan Bradley for a 40-37 lead on the Roadrunners going into intermission.
Bradley, a fifth-year SMU senior from Little Rock, knocked down four of five shots from the field and scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second period.
The Roadrunners played well from the outset, surging behind guard Kyra White into a 15-7 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, they kept up the pressure, pushing out again to a seven-point advantage. A three from the corner by freshman Emma Lucio made it 30-23.
From there, the Mustangs responded with an 8-0 run to get back into it. In the second quarter, SMU hit 11 of 16 from the field and 5 of 7 from three.
Records
UTSA 10-9, 4-4
SMU 10-10, 4-5
Coming up
North Texas at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.