
Sidney Love blocks a shot that seals the victory, boosting UTSA to a 19-3 record overall, including 10-1 in the American Athletic Conference. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Playing a game with conference championship implications in front of a rowdy home crowd, the UTSA women rallied from a four-point deficit in the last five minutes Tuesday night to defeat the North Texas Mean Green, 54-52.
With the win, the Roadrunners improved to 12-1 in their last 13 games and held onto first place in the American.

The UTSA Roadrunners shout their approval after making a stop on the last possession to beat the North Texas Mean Green. – Photo by Joe Alexander
North Texas had a chance to tie in the final seconds and send it to overtime, but UTSA guard Sidney Love blocked a runner by Desiree Wooten on the last possession, prompting a roar of approval from an announced crowd of 1,418 fans at the Convocation Center.
In response, UTSA players stomped, waved their hands and shouted back at the crowd, with a few players rushing off the bench to hug Love.
What the game may have lacked in aesthetics — both teams shot less than 33 percent from the field; both combined to commit 44 turnovers, and UTSA misfired on all 18 three-point attempts — it may have made up for it with late-game dramatics.
Trailing 48-44 and with the game clock ticking under five minutes, UTSA came up with big plays down the stretch by the likes of Love, Jordyn Jenkins, Idara Udo and Nina De Leon Negron to claim its 19th win of the season against only three losses.
Jenkins had five of her game-high 26 points in the Roadrunners’ 10-4 closing run, including a couple of contested 12-foot jumpers. Other notable plays down the stretch included:
De Leon Negron tying up North Texas star Tommisha Lampkin to force a held ball, with the extra possession leading to a sweet right-handed scoop shot by Love that gave the Roadrunners momentum. Also, a hustle play by Udo, who rebounded a miss by De Leon Negron and scored for a two-point lead.
After Wooten sank a floater from 10 feet to tie the game with two minutes left, Jenkins responded on the other end with a 12-footer and a 52-50 lead with 1:38 remaining. The Roadrunners never trailed after that.

Jordyn Jenkins, the leading scorer in the American, produced 26 points on seven field goals and 12 free throws on 15 attempts. – Photo by Joe Alexander.
“I thought this was a really, really well-scouted game,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought both teams were well-prepared. It was just a dog fight because of how well both teams were prepared. I told ’em at halftime it was just a defensive battle.
“We felt bad about our mistakes, but we were forcing the same ones on the other end. So, I kind of felt like this was going to boil down to some really small things, and, you know, somebody just decided to grit it out. I actually thought we would make more shots than we did.
“We uncharacteristically, couldn’t hit from three. But, man, tough. Just a tough performance from our team.”
In a matchup of two of the best forwards in the American, UTSA’s Jenkins won the battle, registering a game-high 26 points on seven field goals and 12 of 15 shooting at the free-throw line. Also, eight rebounds. Her North Texas counterpart, Lampkin, played hard and collected 16 rebounds but was held to five points.
Lampkin, averaging 16.7 points on the season at an AAC-best 57 percent from the field, couldn’t get the ball enough against a swarming UTSA defensive presence to do much damage. She finished two for five from the field and committed five turnovers.
In a sense, Jenkins may have adapted a little better to the physicality of the game, making adjustments along the way.
Asked what goes into making the adjustments, the 6-foot UTSA senior said, “Honestly, a lot of maturity. I know a couple of years ago, me, I’d be arguing with the refs or getting into my feelings. But it’s just about moving on to the next play and embracing the physicality and just reading your defender. Just worry about what they’re doing and adapt.”

North Texas forward Tommisha Lampkin, regarded as one of the best players in the American, was held by a swarming UTSA defense to five points. – Photo by Joe Alexander
On the last play, it almost looked like the Roadrunners knew what was coming from the Mean Green. Wooten drove down the right side and may have stumbled a bit when Love reached in and swatted the ball away.
Aston credited her coaching staff for keeping players informed on what the visitors might do. “A lot of credit to our staff,” she said. “They have responsibilities to prepare our team. We talk about this all the time. Just do your job. And I thought they were really well-prepared.
“I thought they knew what we were probably going to see. I thought they did a good job at the timeouts giving us an idea of what they might be looking for. I thought Sid handled that well. We knew they were probably going to isolate Lampkin, and she did a good job of staying loose and getting the block.
“But I thought, down the stretch … we didn’t give up a lot of easy shots in the last five minutes.”
Records
North Texas 16-7, 8-3
UTSA 19-3, 10-1
Coming up
UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Notable
The Mean Green’s championship hopes have taken a hit in the past two games. Last weekend, they lost at South Florida, and after allowing a late lead to slip away at the Convocation Center, they are now two games behind the league-leading Roadrunners in the loss column. The top of the AAC standings now include: UTSA (10-1), South Florida (8-2), North Texas (8-3), Tulane (7-3) and Temple (6-4).

Idara Udo. UTSA beat North Texas 54-52 in American Athletic Conference women’s basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander
First half
The Roadrunners couldn’t handle the North Texas pressure very well. But they did play well defensively themselves, and then they capitalized on 12 points from Jenkins to forge a 28-24 lead at intermission.
UTSA had a strong start to the game, taking an 8-2 lead in the first four minutes and then building it to 14-7 after one quarter. When Love converted a three-point play early in the second, the crowd was getting into it, with the Roadrunners leading 17-7.
At that point, the Roadrunners became extremely careless with the ball and committed five turnovers on five possessions, leading to a 10-0 run by the Mean Green. A fast break layup by Chania Price tied the score 17-17 with 7:07 left.
UTSA held North Texas to three field goals in the last seven minutes to turn the momentum in its favor. Jenkins hit six straight free throws in the final 2:28. Jenkins finished the half two of five from the field and eight of eight at the line.
North Texas star Tommisha Lampkin, facing double- and triple-team pressure, scored one point in the half on zero for one shooting.

Roadrunners point guard Nina De Leon Negron gets a hug from her mother after the Roadrunners beat the North Texas Mean Green. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Maya Linton helped hold the North Texas Mean Green to 31.7 percent shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston said in the postgame that leadership has helped the team recover from fourth-quarter deficits against both Temple and North Texas. – Photo by Joe Alexander