By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane held the UTSA women to 29 percent shooting from the field, while also forcing 22 turnovers, as they romped to a 53-41 victory Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the Golden Hurricane (19-10, 11-6) clinched the No. 4 seed and a double bye into the quarterfinals of the American Conference tournament.
Meanwhile, UTSA (13-15, 8-9) is holding the No. 6 seed, which at the moment would yield a single bye through to the tournament’s second round.
The Roadrunners have one game left in the regular season. They play Saturday against the Rice Owls in Houston. The Owls (27-3, 17-0) have already clinched the regular-season title.
The tournament will be held from March 10-14 in Birmingham, Ala.
For the Roadrunners, the final score was not what they wanted, especially in the last home game of the season.
“I wanted to say thanks to all the people that came out today,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought it was a tremendous crowd. A lot of groups came out. A lot of student-athletes were here, supporting our team.
“You know, I’m disappointed that we didn’t play better for probably some first-time people came to see us play,” she added. “I always feel like if someone comes to the gym to watch you play, then you try to give ’em a reason to come back.”
For Tulsa, the victory was meaningful on a number of fronts. First, the Hurricane gained a measure of redemption against the Roadrunners, who beat them 66-47 on Feb. 7 in Tulsa.
Second, they also bounced back from a dispiriting loss Sunday in Houston in which the regular-season champion Rice Owls recorded a 105-65 victory.
But, perhaps most importantly, with the double bye into the tournament, they gave themselves an extra day to rest, practice and prepare before they have to play a game in Birmingham.
“Anytime you get a bye in a tournament, that always helps,” Tulsa coach Angie Nelp said. “We’ve got another game to play this Saturday (at home against East Carolina). It’s not going to be an easy game.
“So we’ve got to prepare well and compete. So, having that double bye may give us an extra day’s rest (the following week).”
First half
The Golden Hurricane held the Roadrunners to a single free throw and one point in the second quarter en route to taking a 19-13 lead at intermission.
UTSA’s offense went completely cold. Not only did the Roadrunners shoot zero for 10 from the field, they also turned it over seven times.
In the meantime, Tulsa forward Dora Toman hit two of her team’s three 3-point shots as the visitors stunned the home team, 11-1, in the period.
The Roadrunners stayed in the game with a strong defensive effort of their own. They held the Golden Hurricane to seven of 16 shooting for 26.9 percent in the half.
UTSA built a 12-8 lead after the first quarter. Ereauna Hardaway sank a three with 1.8 seconds remaining for the final points. The shot was also UTSA’s last field goal of the half.
In the half, the Roadrunners went five for 21 from the floor for 23 percent. They also committed 13 turnovers.
Records
Tulsa 19-10, 11-6
UTSA 13-15, 8-9
Coming up
UTSA at Rice, Saturday at 2 p.m.