Sophomore Damara Allen hits a go-ahead jumper in traffic with 13 seconds remaining, giving UTSA a lead it would not relinquish. Just before she made the winning play, she rebounded her own miss and followed it in from 12 feet. Allen finished with six points and five assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The UTSA Roadrunners women gave up a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead Wednesday and then pulled out a 66-64 victory over the North Texas Mean Green at the Convocation Center.
On an inbounds play under the basket, Damara Allen followed her own miss and hit a 12-foot jumper with 13.2 seconds left to lift UTSA into a 65-64 lead.
After a timeout, North Texas nearly turned the ball over at midcourt but recovered possession. Andi Schissler missed a 12-footer from the side, and UTSA’s Cheyenne Rowe rebounded.
Rowe hit the second of two free throws with 2.9 seconds left for the final point of the game. North Texas missed a halfcourt heave at the buzzer to end the game, a shot that did not count in the final statistics.
Rowe led the Roadrunners with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe is rewarded with gold ‘cash in’ chain after a 27-point, 11-rebound performance. – Photo by Joe Alexander
“I’m really proud of the team, just from the standpoint that we’ve had a couple of disappointing losses,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “Part of those have been rebounding and execution offensively, things we’ve really been working on, trying to get better at.
“For three quarters, we were really, really good at it, and then we obviously fell asleep in the fourth (quarter). Credit to North Texas. They changed some schemes offensively and started attacking on the dribble a little bit more. Started shooting threes.
“We didn’t make any adjustments at all, and that’s on me.”
Records
North Texas 11-10, 5-4
UTSA 10-9, 5-3
Coming up
Rice at UTSA, 1 p.m.
Notable
The Roadrunners dominated the middle quarters, outscoring the Mean Green 41-17 to take a 46-28 lead into the final period. In the fourth, the teams traded baskets until Rowe hit a layup with 7:57 remaining, boosting UTSA’s advantage to 53-34. From there, it was all North Texas over the next seven minutes. The Mean Green went on a 30-10 run, capped by Mekhia Chase’s three-pointer with 21.5 seconds left. When Chase’s shot splashed, North Texas had a 64-63 advantage.
Individuals
North Texas – Guard Mekhia Chase led the Mean Green with 20 points on seven of nine shooting. Chase scored 13 in the fourth quarter. Andi Schissler added 12 points. Schissler, too, was hot in the fourth quarter when she scored six on two three pointers. Forward Megan Nestor added 11 points and 14 rebounds. Nestor entered as the leading rebounder in the nation. Former UTSA standout Aysia Proctor was held to four points on one for eight shooting.
UTSA – Forward Cheyenne Rowe had a monster game with 27 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes. Rowe scored nine points in the second period and eight in the third when UTSA built its big lead. Ereauna Hardaway finished with nine points and five assists. Allen scored six points. She was one for five from the field when she hit the go-ahead bucket at the end. Forward Idara Udo, playing her first game since Dec. 15, contributed eight points and four rebounds in nine minutes. One of UTSA’s major contributors to last year’s championship season, Udo has been sidelined with a lower leg injury.
First half
Shaking off poor shooting early, the Roadrunners dominated the second quarter and rallied into a 26-19 lead.
Rowe led the Roadrunners with nine points, all during a 21-8 burst by her team in the second period.
The Roadrunners suffered through a shaky start, stumbling through the first eight minutes of the game without a field goal. The Mean Green took advantage by assuming an 11-5 lead after the first quarter.
Coming off two straight losses, UTSA finally warmed up by hitting seven of 15 from the field in the second period. Rowe was four for seven during that stretch, sinking two mid-range jumpers with the shot clock winding down.