Jenkins scores 27 as UTSA beats New Mexico State, 75-61

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jordyn Jenkins on Thursday night produced her second double double of the season, exploding for 27 points and 11 rebounds, as the UTSA Roadrunners downed the New Mexico State Aggies, 75-61.

Nina De Leon Negron had 14 points and three assists for the Roadrunners, who won their first road game of the year and improved to 2-1. Despite a shaky start because of foul trouble, center Idara Udo scored 11 on four of five shooting for UTSA.

Nina De Leon Negron. The UTSA women's basketball team beat St. Mary's 90-38 in an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Nina De Leon Negron hit four of UTSA’s nine 3-point field goals. . The Roadrunners made nine of 18 for the game, improving the team to 38.8 percent accuracy on the season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Not known as a three-point shooting team, the Roadrunners knocked down nine of 18 from outside the arc. De Leon Negron, who sat out UTSA’s last game with a heel injury, made four treys on five attempts.

Guard Molly Kaiser had 23 points, four assists and four steals for the Aggies, who fell to 2-1. Forward Fanta Gassama, who was averaging 18 points and 15 rebounds entering the game, was held to 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Roadrunners played tough defense down the stretch, holding New Mexico State to one field goal in the final 7 minutes and 58 seconds.

A wild sequence ensued just after the start of the fourth quarter. The teams combined to hit four straight three-point shots in the first 1:13.

First, De Leon Negron hit for UTSA. Next, Emma Desovich answered for New Mexico State. On the next trip, Udo — UTSA’s starting center — set her feet at the top of the circle and knocked one down. Undeterred, Desovich made another one for the Aggies.

New Mexico State had some momentum at that point, and Kaiser hit a shot to bring the home team to within four points. In retaliation, UTSA pulled away with a 13-3 run to the buzzer.

Jenkins started the spree with a three, and then she broke away for a fast break layup to open the lead to 67-58. New Mexico State never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Records

UTSA 2-1
New Mexico State 2-1

Coming up

UTSA at UTEP, Saturday, noon

Notable

Through only three games, UTSA’s 3-point field goal accuracy is a robust 38.8 percent. The Roadrunners have made 19 of 49 on the season. In their last two games, wins over UT Rio Grande Valley and New Mexico State, they have hit a combined 16 of 33 for 48.4 percent. Last year, the Roadrunners ranked near the bottom of the American Athletic Conference in shooting from distance, making 162 of 554 for 29.2 percent.

Quotable

“This is a good road win. I thought they would be tough to beat, and they were.” — UTSA coach Karen Aston, on the team’s radio broadcast.

First half

Holding off a surge by the New Mexico State Aggies in the second quarter, the UTSA Roadrunners hit a couple of three-pointers in the last six minutes to take a 39-33 lead into intermission.

Jordyn Jenkins had 12 points early in the game and the Roadrunners knocked down three threes in the first quarter to go ahead 25-16 after one period.

In response, the Aggies picked up their defense, started to play the passing lanes and forced turnovers to fuel an offense that brought them to within one.

A steal and fast break layup by Anna Czenyi trimmed UTSA’s lead to 34-33 with 2:57 remaining.

New Mexico State continued to scrap, getting a couple of offensive rebounds on an ensuing possession. But in the end, the Aggies turned it over themselves.

UTSA capitalized on its next two possessions. First, Sidney Love drove the left side for a layup with 1:08 remaining. Next, De Leon Negron buried a three for a 39-33 lead.

UTSA women open two-game road trip at New Mexico State

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women will start a two-game road trip at undefeated New Mexico State tonight, with tipoff at 6 p.m. at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces.

The Roadrunners (1-1) suffered shooting woes and lost their opener on the road at Texas A&M last Thursday, falling 55-51. They bounced back behind Sidney Love’s 21 points and 11 assists Saturday at home with a 74-69 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley.

Jordyn Jenkins leads the Roadrunners, averaging 18.5 points, and Love is next at 15.5. But those two may need help on the home court of the Aggies (2-0).

After rolling to a lopsided victory at home in an exhibition game against Division II Cameron, Okla., New Mexico State opened the regular season on the road on Nov. 4 and defeated UC Irvine, 57-49.

Six-foot-one forward Fanta Gassama led the way with 22 points and 16 rebounds to open her second season with the Aggies after two years in junior college. Gassama, from Mataro, Spain, is averaging 15 boards for the season.

Playing at home in their second game last Thursday, the Aggies rolled past Utah Tech 85-63 behind guard Molly Kaiser’s career-high 35 points. Kaiser has 50 points and 11 rebounds in two games.

Records

UTSA 1-1
New Mexico State 2-0

Coming up

UTSA at New Mexico State, tonight at 6 p.m.
UTSA at UTEP, Saturday at noon.

Notable

UTSA beat New Mexico State 58-55 last year in San Antonio. In recruiting, the Roadrunners on Wednesday signed three players for the class of 2025, including 5-5 guard Adriana Robles from Fort Worth Fossil Ridge HS, 6-0 forward Sema Udo from Plano East HS and 6-3 forward Sanaa Bean from Edna Karr HS in New Orleans, La.

Quotable

UTSA coach Karen Aston on starting the season, “I thought it was good to get it kicked off. We played hard and sometimes really, really well at A&M. Fell short. But I think we learned some lessons in that game. And then I thought Saturday against UTRGV was just a well-played game, by both teams. I didn’t think we made a ton of mistakes. I thought it was just two teams that shot the ball pretty well. We were lucky to come out on top on Saturday but I’m pleased to be moving forward, and we have a big week ahead.”

On Sidney Love’s performance against UTRGV: “I thought she was just in control. Sid has been here for three years and has been a three-year starter and someone that we definitely rely upon. But I think also you see the growth in a young lady that has sort of been in the fire and understands the sort of roller coaster you ride in a game. I thought she had some really, really good moments.

“But I thought where she was so impressive was just in her ability to stay connected with our team and to stay focused on … the task at hand … It was probably one of her best performances in what I call keeping the blinders on, and just have tunnel vision in what it was going to take for our team to win the game.”

Asked about junior Alexis Parker getting her fourth career start and freshman Damara Allen her first, “I think it goes back to the summer grind and the offseason grind. As you get ready for season, right now, from a coaching standpoint, you’re looking at who’s been the most consistent from Day One. And who has sort of put their shoes on and laced ’em up and worked every single day.

“I think those two have really shown a level of consistency with how they’re approaching practice every day. I mean, there’s others that have, too. And right now it’s a level of uncertainty, really, with our wing players. Who’s going to be who’s going to be ready to play and who understands the scout. Who understands what we expect, how to get the ball to the right person at the right time. Just a lot of things that go into playing at this level.

“I think it’ll still be kind of a week-by-week situation, just because there are some other players that I think deserve some playing time, too. Emma (Lucio) had some really good minutes and hasn’t played hardly at all. But when you go back to the question … about Lex and Damara, it’s been their level of consistency from Day One.”

Aston made her remarks on Monday on her weekly zoom conference.

Freshman duo leads UTSA past New Mexico State, 58-55

Idara Udo (No. 25) had a key blocked shot with 7 seconds left. UTSA beat New Mexico State 58-55 in women's basketball on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Idara Udo (at right) blocked a shot and controlled it with seven seconds left in UTSA’s 58-55 victory over New Mexico State on Friday night at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special to The JB Replay

A women’s college basketball duel between scrappy defenses unfolded Friday night at the Convocation Center, and in the end, the UTSA Roadrunners out-scrapped the New Mexico State Aggies, 58-55.

The Roadrunners willed themselves out of a five-point halftime deficit and into the euphoric realm of their first victory of the season by holding the Aggies to a combined 24 points over the course of the third and fourth quarters.

Idara Udo (No. 25) had a key blocked shot with 7 seconds left. UTSA beat New Mexico State 58-55 in women's basketball on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Idara Udo screams in celebration after she blocks what could have been a game-tying field goal attempt by New Mexico State’s Molly Kaiser in the final seconds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Another highlight of the team’s home opener centered around the play of two freshmen, guard Aysia Proctor and forward Idara Udo.

Proctor, who played in high school last season at Clemens in the San Antonio area, hit eight of nine shots from the field and scored a team-high 19 points.

Udo, from Plano East in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, contributed a steal and a blocked shot in the final minute to help fend off the Aggies.

The last 2:34 of the game was definitely a “how-about-that” type of moment for 712 fans who were watching to see what would happen down the stretch without injured Roadrunners star forward Jordyn Jenkins.

The two freshmen didn’t flinch, and UTSA ended up celebrating a significant victory against a team that won 18 games last season.

“I loved it,” UTSA senior Kyra White said. “I believe they both played well. Aysia, I’ve seen it first hand, how she can score the basketball. So, just having that element out there, it really takes a lot of pressure off me, Sid (Love) and Elyssa (Coleman).

“And Idara just being a big physical presence down there, it allows us guards to know that we can get up and pressure the ball, knowing we have somebody at the back, behind us, protecting the rim.”

With the crowd on edge near the end of the game, Proctor circled the defense, caught a looping pass from White and hit a layup for five-point UTSA lead with 2:34 remaining.

Udo saved her dramatics for the final 31 seconds. First, she made a steal and then she blocked Molly Kaiser’s shot with seven seconds left.

After the block against a driving Kaiser, the crowd erupted, with Udo and teammate Hailey Atwood jumping up for an emphatic chest-bump.

“When she got that block, I was super excited for her,” said Proctor, who sank one of two free throws with three seconds left for the game’s final point. “That’s my girl, Idara.”

Aysia Proctor. UTSA beat New Mexico State 58-55 in women's basketball on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Aysia Proctor scored 19 points on eight-of-nine shooting in her UTSA home debut. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA opened the season on Monday on the road at Arizona State. Playing without Jenkins, who is recovering from a knee injury, it was not a positive experience for the Roadrunners, who fell behind by as many as 27 points before losing 70-55.

Against New Mexico State, UTSA shot it poorly in the first half but didn’t collapse.

“It’s been a long time since we played (at home),” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “So I think it was exciting for everyone to get back in the Convo. It’s been a good place for us. Our crowds have grown. Our players get excited to play at home. We looked like a different team tonight than we did in Arizona.”

Aston said maybe the Roadrunners “took a growth step” in Arizona in learning how to deal with pressure. At Tempe, Aston said it looked like her players “played with fear.”

“Tonight I thought we stayed calm,” she said. “We didn’t look rattled by anything. It’s hard to describe how much we improved in 48 hours defensively, so I’m super proud of that. I think we’ll shoot the ball better than we shot tonight. I’m not worried about that. These kids are in the gym all the time. I know that improvement will happen.”

Records

New Mexico State 0-2
UTSA 1-1

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Wednesday, at 7 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners played extended portions of the game with an all-San Antonio area backcourt of Kyra White (Judson High School), Sidney Love (Steele) and Proctor (Clemens).

The second quarter opened with the game tied, but New Mexico State surged late in the period behind forward Tylie Jones to take a 31-26 lead.

Down by five at the break, the Roadrunners turned it on in the third period, outscoring the Aggies 19-9 to take a 45-40 advantage. Proctor and White had five points each in the run and Maya Linton, hustling on both ends of the floor, scored four.

Individuals

New Mexico State — Six-foot forward Tylie Jones scored 17 points and stepped out to hit four of five from the three-point arc. Guards Molly Kaiser and Sabou Gueye had 13 points apiece. Gueye was busy in many facets of the game, gathering seven rebounds (four on the offensive glass) and making four steals. Ene Adams led the Aggies with nine boards.

UTSAAysia Proctor scored 19 points and pulled down five rebounds in a little more than 22 minutes off the bench. She scored on drives, from the mid range and at the three-point line, where she knocked down two of three. Kyra White was all over the place on the box score, including scoring (13 points), rebounding (eight), assists (three) and steals (three). Idara Udo snared a team-high 11 rebounds, blocked two shots and scored two points. Elyssa Coleman, who was held scoreless before fouling out at Arizona State, bounced back with a seven-point, seven-rebound and four-block showing against New Mexico State.

Idara Udo (No. 25) had a key blocked shot with 7 seconds left. UTSA beat New Mexico State 58-55 in women's basketball on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

A moment to celebrate came late in the fourth quarter as UTSA players held on for their first victory of the season. – Photo by Joe Alexander