By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Even before the American Conference women’s basketball season tipped off Tuesday afternoon, the defending champion UTSA Roadrunners took the lead in one statistical category — most players on the inactive list (seven).

Among the missing was injured all-conference forward Idara Udo, a third-year veteran leader, who came out to watch warmups in a walking boot.

To make it even more challenging, the Roadrunners lost another veteran just before halftime against the Tulane Green Wave when guard Damara Allen took a blow to the face while playing on the defensive end.

She sat out the second half with an ice bag on her forehead, leaving UTSA with only eight active players. As it turned out, eight was enough, as the Roadrunners made a defensive stop in the last two seconds to hold off the Green Wave in a tense, 65-63 victory.

Afterward, UTSA coach Karen Aston was joined in the postgame news conference by two of her most dynamic players, guard Ereauna Hardaway and forward Cheyenne Rowe. Both were instrumental as the Roadrunners won their 10th straight, and their 12th straight at home, in the American.

“I thought this was just an extremely gutty performance by our team,” Aston said. “We’ve had kind of blow after blow of injuries and setbacks, (like) losing Damara during the middle of the game.

“I just thought we plugged along, and these two beside me I think were the solid rocks for the team.

“Again, (we had) lots of contributions from the young guys and a game that was extremely gritty on our part. Really, really, really proud of this team.”

Extending to five a string of outstanding individual performances, Hardaway finished with a team-high 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. She led four UTSA players in double figures, including Rowe with 13, freshman Adriana Robles with 11 and junior transfer Jayda Holiman with 10.

Rowe also pulled down 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, for her second double double of the season.

Tulane had a chance to tie it at the end, but Jayda Brown misfired on a 16-foot turnaround at the buzzer. Kanisha Daniel led the visitors with 12 points and Mecailin Marshall added 11.

In the final analysis, the Green Wave made two more field goals (25-23) than UTSA, but the Roadrunners made up the difference with one more three-pointer (9-8) and with five more free throws. At the line, UTSA hit 10 of 12 to five of eight for Tulane.

Free throws were critical at the end as Daniel knocked down two to bring the Green Wave to within one point with 10 seconds left. On the other end, Mia Hammonds made the second of two for the Roadrunners with two seconds remaining for the final point of the game.

On the last play, coming out of a timeout, Tulane inbounded from the side, in front of its own bench. The pass went to Brown, who turned and missed off the rim as time expired.

Hardaway said the emphasis in a tight fourth quarter centered on playing soundly on the defensive end. “At one point in the game, we were trading buckets,” she said. “Stops matter the most down the stretch, especially when it’s a close game.”

In the closing seconds, Rowe said it was important “for everyone to put everything out on the court” and that winning “was very important to all of us.”

Rowe acknowledged that she was indeed thinking about the team’s legacy of winning at home during the hectic fourth quarter, in which she produced six points and four rebounds. “This is our house,” she said. “We don’t want to get beat here.”

Records

Tulane 5-8, 0-1
UTSA 6-6, 1-0

Coming up

UTSA at Temple, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

First half

With UTSA scrambling to get off a shot in the waning seconds, Robles caught a pass from forward Emilia Dannebauer and knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer, lifting the Roadrunners into a 31-26 halftime lead.

Hardaway and Robles, two natural point guards, started the game together and ended up combining for 17 points in the half. Hardaway produced nine points and also three rebounds and two assists.

Robles, a freshman from Puerto Rico, scored eight on three of six shooting. She made two of three from long distance.

Tulane, one of the highest-scoring offenses in the American Conference, led for a few minutes in the first quarter until UTSA’s defense started to clamp down.

The Roadrunners led for most of the rest of the way, holding the Green Wave to 15 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second.

The game turned at the end when Marshall drove for a layup with 1:47 remaining to tie the score, 26-26.
Marshall was called for a flagrant foul on the move as she apparently hit Allen in the face.

As a result, UTSA was awarded two free throws and possession. Hardaway made both free throws to boost UTSA into a 28-26 lead.

UTSA held Tulane scoreless the rest of the way, with Robles making the last shot on a high-arc jumper from the left wing.

Notable

UTSA finished 17-1 in conference last season, with its only loss on Jan. 29, 2025 at South Florida. Its last conference loss at home came the previous season on Feb. 22, 2024 against Temple. UTSA has won four out of five on its home court this season and 20 of its last 21.

Pregame

Starting in 2025-26, the American has elected to make public on game days lists of athletes who will be held out. The conference started the practice during the football season, and it will continue with women’s and men’s basketball.

As a result, UTSA’s list of inactive players was posted on the conference’s website a few hours before tipoff. The Roadrunners’ seven inactive included starting forward Idara Udo, who would not play in the league opener against the Green Wave.

Udo was on the floor in warmups wearing a walking boot on her right foot. Her absence from the lineup for the second straight game meant that sophomore Emilia Dannebauer would start in the frontcourt along with Cheyenne Rowe.

Players listed as out for the season included forwards Nyayongah Gony, Taylor Ross and Sema Udo, according to the American’s new player availability notes.

Players listed as out for the game included Idara Udo, Maya Linton, Saher Alizada and Siena Guttadauro.

Idara Udo is the only one of the seven on the inactive list who has played this season. The 6-foot junior from Plano last suited up on Nov. 15 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. She is averaging 8.1 points and 7.2 rebounds.

Of the UTSA players on the list who haven’t played, Guttadauro was the only one of them on the floor during pre-game warmups. Her activity was a first for her at home games this season, indicating that it’s possible she is readying herself to play in the last few months.

Guttadauro gave birth to a son, Dante, on July 24. In the days leading into the regular season, UTSA on its own announced that Sema Udo and Taylor Ross would be out for the season with injuries. The others on the inactive list are also presumed to be injured.

Gony, a 6-foot-4 forward, has not been in attendance at home games this season but has attended other sporting events on campus.

As for Tulane, the Green Wave announced that guards Jaylee Womack and Sadie Shores were out for the season.