Tag Archives: Alexis Parker

Are the UTSA women ready for heightened expectations?

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Alexis Parker made 1-of-2 free throws with 30 seconds left in OT to give UTSA a 71-64 lead. UTSA beat North Texas 75-67 in overtime in American Conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Alexis Parker produced six points and four rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench in UTSA’s win over North Texas on Wednesday. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

When the UTSA women romped to a 9-4 finish to last season, the novelty of the team’s success came as a pleasant surprise to their fans. Close followers of the Roadrunners’ program knew that Coach Karen Aston had a chance to turn around a program that had been mired in losing records for years.

But, to do it in Year 2 of the rebuild? It was a sweet feeling, no doubt. Now that the Roadrunners have continued on their upward trajectory in Aston’s third season, the team might be approaching an inflection point.

As the Roadrunners (11-9, 5-4 in the American Athletic Conference) prepare to host the Tulane Green Wave, it’s possible that their own fans might be congregating at the Convocation Center at 2 p.m. today fully expecting to win. Call it happy expectations, or whatever.

At the same time, it’s probably also true that opposing teams like the Green Wave (9-11, 2-7) have also received the same message. A few years ago, teams that arrived in San Antonio in February expected to play a leisurely game and leave with a road victory. Now, they’re aware that winning at UTSA will take an all-out effort.

Roadrunners guard Alexis Parker said she thinks her teammates are prepared to face heightened intensity from opponents looking for an upset victory on the road.

“For sure,” Parker said Friday. “Coach just told us in the locker room the other day, teams would tell her (last year) that, ‘Hey, your team plays really hard.’ Now, they’re saying, ‘You’re team is really good.’ That’s a big compliment, and we’ve got to own up to that.”

Parker grew up just a few miles from UTSA. Her neighborhood, she said, is about 10 minutes away from the Convocation Center. Brandeis High School, where she made a name for herself, is closer than that. She said she saw her first UTSA home game when she was 15 years old.

In that regard, she said it’s a special feeling to be on sort of the ground floor of the program’s rebuild. Parker recalled the conversation she had with Aston during recruiting. The coach told her that coaches were committed to “moving the needle,” and then she was challenged.

“Do you want to be a part of that?” Aston asked, in so many words.

“Yeah, for sure,” Parker replied.

At that, she signed on to become part of a 2022 recruiting that included Sidney Love, Madison Cockrell, Siena Guttadauro and Maya Linton, all of them out of high school. Also, transfers that year included Jordyn Jenkins and Kyra White, two impact players from Southern Cal.

In a little more than one season with the Roadrunners, Parker has played in 38 games, averaging 11.3 minutes, primarily off the bench. She enjoyed perhaps her biggest moment as a UTSA athlete earlier this week. On Wednesday night, the Roadrunners toppled the North Texas Mean Green 75-67 in overtime.

Parker played 17 minutes, including a couple of minutes in the extra period, during which UTSA outplayed the first-place team in the American.

“I honestly think she’s been practicing really well, leading into that game,” UTSA assistant coach Jamie Carey said. “She was very locked in to the game plan. Obviously, she provides some great length and athleticism, in particular on the defensive end. I thought she came in and did a tremendous job defending their hard-to-guard guards.”

For the past two months, Parker had not played much for the Roadrunners. She logged single-digit minutes in six games and did not play in six others. But against North Texas, UTSA needed a defensive presence with length on the perimeter, so coaches went to her in all four quarters in regulation and in overtime.

“Again, her length is really special,” Carey said. “Combine that with her athleticism. Then you start locking in in practice and things start clicking a little bit. (We’re) just really proud of her. She’s been putting in a lot of extra work. She’s been in the gym. It’s nice to see it pay off, when somebody spends (so much) time in the gym.”

Parker said she tried to stay focused on the little things on and off the floor during the past few months.

“Really just putting in work every day,” she said. “You never know when you’re jersey’s going to be called. Just getting into the books, paying attention to scout, the other team’s tendencies, it’s just really important. So, I took that serious.”

In that regard, Parker said it was a special feeling for her to the team to contribute to the win.

“I felt great,” Parker said. “That was a big win for us. North Texas is at the top. We knocked ’em off. Just felt like, ‘This is not it for for us. There’s still more.’ We’re still hungry. We’re going to keep working, because, that’s what we do.”

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Records

Tulane 9-11, 2-7
UTSA 11-9, 5-4

Notable

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins, who has yet to play this season, continues to work out in full-contact practices. She participated in a five-on-five segment of Friday afternoon’s workout. It’s a noticeable increase in her activity from the fall, when she would be seen engaged only in light running and individual shooting drills. No word yet on whether she’ll try to play this season. But if she does, her return would yield a significant boost in talent for the Roadrunners. Jenkins averaged 20.6 points last season and earned Conference USA Player of the Year honors.

Women’s basketball: UTSA leads D-I programs with four players from the S.A. area

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Aysia Proctor at UTSA women's basketball practice on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Aysia Proctor is a UTSA freshman from Clemens High School. The Roadrunners open the season on the road tonight against the Arizona State Sun Devils. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With NCAA Division I women’s basketball programs starting play today, it’s time to take a look at players from the San Antonio area.

Notably, I see that Carleigh Wenzel from O’Connor will be active at Virginia Tech this season after sitting out as a redshirt last year. Virginia Tech is one of the strongest programs in the nation, coming off a run to the Final Four. In addition, Deja Kelly, formerly of Johnson High School, is playing as a senior at North Carolina. Other SA-area players in so-called power conference programs include Texas A&M’s Sahara Jones, from Veterans Memorial, and TCU’s Aaliyah Roberson, from Clark. UTSA has assembled a strong contingent of four local players in Kyra White (Judson), Sidney Love (Steele), Alexis Parker (Brandeis) and Aysia Proctor (Clemens).

As usual, we’ll close by noting that this likely isn’t a list of every San Antonio female athlete playing at the highest level. But it’s gleaned partially from lists that I’ve published for a few years now, so, take it for what it’s worth. Naturally, I’ll update when new information comes to light.

San Antonio area athletes in NCAA Division I women’s basketball:

Hailey Adams, Rice, 6-1 guard, redshirt freshman from Clark HS

Myra Bell, UIW, 5-10 guard, senior from Taft HS

Layla Conley, Rice, 5-8 guard, freshman from Harlan HS

Jaylin Foster, Texas State, 6-0 forward, from Steele HS, transfer from Western Kentucky

Sahara Jones, Texas A&M, 6-0 guard, senior from Veterans Memorial

Sidney Love, UTSA, 5-8 guard, a sophomore from Steele HS

Ja’Shelle Johnson, UT Rio Grande Valley, a freshman from Johnson HS

Deja Kelly, North Carolina, 5-8 guard, a senior from San Antonio Johnson HS and Duncanville HS

Amira Mabry, Tulane, 6-0 forward, a sophomore from Judson HS

Aaliyah McMillan, UT Rio Grande Valley, 5-8 guard, RS sophomore from Steele HS; transfer from UT Arlington

Brenna Perez, UIW, 6-0 forward, senior from Veterans Memorial HS

Alexis Parker, UTSA, 5-9 guard, sophomore from Brandeis

Aysia Proctor, UTSA, 5-8 guard, freshman from Clemens

Tiffany Tullis, Texas State, 5-11 forward, junior from Cornerstone and Blinn College

Aaliyah Roberson, TCU, 6-2 forward, sophomore from Clark

Sammie Wagner, Oregon, 6-1 forward, redshirt freshman from Reagan

Carleigh Wenzel, Virginia Tech, 6-0 guard, redshirt freshman from O’Connor and Antonian

Kyra White, UTSA, 5-9 guard, a senior from Judson; transfer from USC

S. A. area athletes in NCAA Division I women’s basketball

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NCAA Division I women’s basketball

Athletes from the San Antonio area

Editor’s note: With practices in NCAA Division I basketball starting this week and next, The JB Replay is taking a look at women from the San Antonio area and where they will play this season. This list likely does not include everyone from the area in Division I. It’ll be updated when any additions come to light. — Thanks, Jerry

Hailey Adams, Rice, 6-1 guard, freshman from Clark HS

Myra Bell, UIW, 5-10 guard, a junior from Taft HS

Aja Holmes, Southern Illinois, 5-8 guard, sophomore from Steele, transfer from TCU

Sahara Jones, Texas A&M, 6-0 guard, junior from Veterans Memorial

Sidney Love, UTSA, 5-8 guard, a freshman from Steele HS

Deja Kelly, North Carolina, 5-8 guard, a junior from San Antonio Johnson HS and Duncanville HS

Amira Mabry, Tulane, 6-0 forward, a freshman from Judson HS

Aaliyah McMillan, UT Rio Grande Valley, a 5-8 guard, RS freshman from Steele; transfer from UT Arlington

Tiffany McGarity, UT Rio Grande Valley, 5-9 guard, junior from Judson HS

Bria McClure, College of Charleston, 5-5 sophomore from Steele HS

Brenna Perez, UIW, 6-0 forward, a junior from Veterans Memorial HS

Alexis Parker, UTSA, 5-9 guard, freshman from Brandeis

Zaya Price, UIW, 5-10 guard, junior from Steele

Aaliyah Roberson, TCU, 6-2 forward, freshman from Clark

Kierra Sanderlin, Houston, 5-7 guard, sophomore from Judson; transfer from Rutgers

Carleigh Wenzel, Virginia Tech, 6-0 guard, freshman from O’Connor and Antonian

Kyra White, UTSA, 5-9 guard, a junior from Judson; transfer from USC

UTSA women pass a test of physical fitness and toughness

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The end of an hour-long UTSA women’s basketball workout on Thursday morning wasn’t always a pretty sight. Mixed with the male practice players, the women were pressed into a physical, five-on-five session.

Sometimes, the offensive possessions went awry. But occasionally, as shown in the video above, the Roadrunners showed signs of coming together.

One play in particular was emblematic of the workout. After the offense worked the ball inside and out and a shot was fired from the perimeter, it caromed off to the side, where freshman Alexis Parker retrieved it.

Parker tossed it outside, where freshman point guard Sidney Love hit a shot from the top of the three-point circle. Two kids from the San Antonio area, making it happen at the end of a long morning, with nobody around to watch except for the coaches.

“Any time we step on the floor we expect a lot of energy, a lot of communication between our players and our best effort,” UTSA assistant coach Jamie Carey said. “So no matter if it’s a good day or a bad day we do expect that every day.”

Carey said she liked the team’s defensive effort.

“From a positional standpoint, we’re getting a lot better,” she said. “We’re learning how to communicate with each other.”

In addition, Carey applauded the competitive spirit.

“I thought the last five minutes with the guys was good today,” she said. “Just learning how to compete together (with) a lot of new faces (on the team). Just trying to develop some chemistry.”