By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The UTSA women’s basketball team cleaned up with four individual postseason awards Friday a year after they didn’t get any, another sign of growing respect for the Roadrunners in the American Athletic Conference.
Two of the awards were fairly obvious to everyone after the Roadrunners rolled to a 26-3 record, including 17-1 for the AAC regular-season championship, and those included Jordyn Jenkins as player of the year and first-team all conference, and Karen Aston as coach of the year.
Two others honored included point guard Nina De Leon Negron and forward Idara Udo. De Leon Negron, a transfer from the University of the Incarnate Word, was newcomer of the year while both players were all-conference second team.
Jenkins led the AAC in scoring with 18.7 points per game. She also showed off a multi-faceted skill set with 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks. Offensively, she was efficient, hitting 48 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and 82 percent at the free-throw line.
The honor was the second for Jenkins in her UTSA career. In her first season in San Antonio after a transfer from Southern Cal, she was named in player of the year in Conference USA for the 2022-23 season.
In April of 2023, she suffered an offseason knee injury that forced her to miss most of 2023-24 season in rehabilitation.
During the time that she couldn’t play in games, she worked extensively on skill development. It led to her developing a more dependable three-point shot to add to her prowess in the post and the mid-range.
With more versatility, she ended up scoring 20 or more points in eight of 16 conference games this season.
“The only surprise to me was that she wasn’t unanimous,” Aston said.
Aston was a unanimous selection for coach of the year after leading the Roadrunners to a historic season, including their first AAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in tournament. UTSA’s 26 wins are a program record, while their 17 conference victories are the second-most in AAC history.
De Leon Negron was a steadying influence as the team’s primary playmaker, while Udo helped make UTSA the conference’s best in rebounding.
“I told the group a few minutes ago, anytime you get an individual award, it’s based on what the team does,” Aston said. “It’s a team award, and I think that those two feel that way, that everyone’s been a part of these individual awards that are being given, but there’s no question they showed a true reflection of senior leadership this year.
“I mean, they produced and it’s always about production in this business, but their leadership skills were tremendous, along with (guard) Sidney (Love). You know, Sidney’s was tremendous and she didn’t rewarded for that, but again, she got rewarded with a championship.”
Another possible oversight in the awards was the absence of UTSA forward Maya Linton from the all-defensive team.
Notable
UTSA will play in the AAC tournament at Fort Worth as the No. 1 seed, starting Monday at noon in the quarterfinals against either the UAB Blazers or the Rice Owls.
The Roadrunners likely will need to win three games in three days for the conference’s postseason championship to get rewarded with a trip to the NCAA tournament.
In other words, even if they win twice and reach the finals and lose in the title game, it’s uncertain whether they would get an NCAA at-large bid.
If the Roadrunners fail to make the 68-team NCAA field, they are assured of a spot in the 32-team Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
Aston said UTSA has an automatic bid to the WBIT based on its regular-season title, and she confirmed that UTSA would play in that tournament if it is not selected for the NCAA.
Last season, the Roadrunners were ousted in the second round of the AAC tournament and played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), reaching the second round.