Two freshmen from San Antonio area high schools make a play at the end of an intense practice at UTSA. Alexis Parker (Brandeis) digs out an offensive rebound. Sidney Love (Steele) catches the ensuing pitch out and drains a three. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/4LuypMmBUl
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) September 22, 2022
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.”