Update: With the American Conference women’s basketball tournament set to open Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala., the UTSA Roadrunners are seeded sixth, with a first-round bye. They will open play in Wednesday’s second round against either the No. 7 Temple Owls or the 10th-seeded Tulane Green Wave.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Crazy things in college basketball tend to happen in March, and so it came to be on a Saturday afternoon in Houston, as the UTSA women built a 25-point lead in the third quarter and then held on, 61-52, snapping the Rice Owls’ 22-game winning streak.

For those following Roadrunners women’s basketball lately, it was a surprising development. Stunning, really.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday night in San Antonio, the Roadrunners walked off the floor at home with their heads down, having lost 52-41 to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

UTSA’s fourth setback in five games left open the troubling question of just how far the team had fallen since it won a school-record 26 games and the 2025 American Conference regular-season title.

In the second quarter against Tulsa, the Roadrunners’ offense bottomed out, scoring only one point, shooting zero for 10 from the field and turning it over seven times.

Their 41 points represented a low for the season in conference.

Taking the floor against Rice in Houston, however, players seemed to put all of the negative thoughts out of their minds and blasted out to a 41-21 intermission lead.

Coming out of halftime, they built their advantage to 48-23 when Mia Hammonds scored on a fast break with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter.

The Owls, who had clinched the American regular-season title on Feb. 25, made a run in the final minutes of the game but ultimately ran out of time against the suddenly rejuvenated Roadrunners.

How did they get it done?

“Honestly, trusting in our coaches, trusting in each other, playing real hard, and just going all out on every possession — loose balls, rebounds, all that,” UTSA forward Idara Udo told an ESPN reporter in the post game. “Just playing together.”

With an offense that averaged only 60 points and 38 percent shooting from the field, the Roadrunners were on pace to score in the 70s until they started to slow the ball down at the end to drain the clock.

They finished the game by hitting 51 percent afield and 55 percent from three (five for nine.) Though the Roadrunners’ 25 turnovers hurt them, the Owls failed to take maximum advantage, scoring only 16 points off the miscues.

“I thought we played our tails off,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I mean, it wasn’t always beautiful, in particular the second half. It was … rough and tumble. They were doing everything they could to turn us over, and they did, a lot.

“But I just thought that we were resilient and we played hard. We played really hard today.”

Hammonds led UTSA in scoring with 14 points.

Inconsistent for much of her second season with the Roadrunners, the 6-foot-3 wing from Cibolo Steele High School showed poise and some finesse in hitting seven of 10 shots from the field.

Udo also played efficiently in making six of nine.

The 6-foot-1 junior from Plano finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Cheyenne Rowe, UTSA’s leader, averaging nearly 14 points, scored only six but battled effectively in the paint for 12 rebounds.

Freshman guard Adriana Robles scored nine, with backcourt mates Ereauna Hardaway and Damara Allen finishing with eight apiece.

The Owls, playing on Senior Day, seemed out of sorts from the beginning. Especially on the defensive end, the Owls didn’t seem to adjust with the Roadrunners moving the ball and getting scoring from multiple sources.

On Jan. 31, the Owls came into San Antonio and emerged with a 65-55 victory, holding UTSA to 29.7 percent shooting.

At the same time, Rice point guard Victoria Flores erupted for 33 points on eight of 10 shooting. She also hit four of six from three and 13 of 14 at the line.

In the rematch, the Roadrunners limited Flores’ touches and held her to eight points. She finished three of 10 from the field and two of six from three.

Dominique Ennis, another one of the Owls’ standouts, had a rough day as well with six points on one for 12 shooting. She misfired on all seven attempts from long range.

Forward Aniyah Alexis led the Owls with 15 points. She was a six of 15 shooter. Flores and forward Shelby Hayes finished with eight points apiece.

San Antonio’s Hailey Adams, helped off the floor in the first half with an apparent leg injury, returned to action after intermission. The Clark High School graduate finished with four points and six rebounds.

Adams, an all-conference candidate, is averaging more than eight points and 10 rebounds per game.

Records

UTSA 14-15, 9-9
Rice 27-4, 17-1

Coming up

American Conference tournament, next Tuesday through Saturday, in Birmingham.

Tournament notes

UTSA will open the American’s postseason tournament in the second round on Wednesday as the No. 6 seed against either No. 7 Temple or 10th-seeded Tulane. The game will tip off at 2 p.m.

If the Roadrunners win on Wednesday, they would advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals, matched against the third-seeded South Florida Bulls. That game would also have a 2 p.m. start.

Rice, as the No. 1 seed, will get a triple bye and will open in the semifinals on Friday.

The American’s postseason champion gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The Roadrunners will need to win four games in four days to reach the NCAA’s 68-team event.

Rice game at a glance

The Roadrunners stunned the Owls in the first half, playing loose and free, shooting 59 percent and racing to a 41-21 lead.

UTSA’s point total matched what the team scored in the entire game Wednesday night in San Antonio, when they lost 53-41 to Tulsa.

Another oddity of the Roadrunners’ explosion in the first two quarters centered on Rowe, the team’s leading scorer. Limited to only eight minutes because of two early fouls, Rowe was scoreless.

As she sat and watched much of the half from the bench, Udo, Mia Hammonds and Allen all scored eight points apiece. Hardaway and Adriana Robles both scored seven.

UTSA coach Austin Claunch continues to exude confidence in the program’s future despite a 10-game losing streak, the second longest in school history. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Mired in the depths of a 10-game losing streak, the UTSA men have not lost their spirit. Buried in last place in the American Conference, the Roadrunners meet with the media after games, and they still express themselves with a spunky attitude.

They’re also in good form with their snark.

For example, a reporter wanted to know if Coach Austin Claunch had talked to his players about a change in format of the conference tournament, with the American inviting only 10 teams to the event this March in Birmingham.

Sophomore forward Baboucarr Njie produced 23 points and nine rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Instead of inviting everyone, the conference is whittling down the field to eliminate three teams after the regular season. All of which means, the Roadrunners are in trouble now with an 0-5 league record and road games looming against Memphis and North Texas.

If the Roadrunners are feeling any pressure or an extra sense of urgency in that regard, it was hard to tell based on what Claunch had to say after his team was beaten on its home floor, 89-73, by the Rice Owls Wednesday night.

“No,” Claunch said, “we want to finish first. Not 10th.”

Expanding on his comment, the coach added, “You know, conference tournament is great and all that, but we want to hang a regular-season banner, and obviously we’re way behind with that right now. But the urgency is the same.

“Of course we want to make conference tournament. But, our goal is not to finish 10th and make the conference tournament. That’s not why (the players) came here and that’s not what we’re working toward.

“I think we’re all aware and that we’re working to keep winning. You know, it’s going to be tight. We’re down right now, but it’s going to be all there. I think we know that. But that’s not … our mentality is to become the best team in the league.

“That’s tomorrow, this year, next year, whatever. These guys are working to put UTSA on a different kind of map besides just making the conference tournament.”

Freshman Dorian Hayes scored 18 and hit four shots from beyond the three-point arc. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Owls started fast and built a 19-point lead late in the first half. The Roadrunners retaliated with a run after halftime, cutting the lead to eight at one point.

Despite the spirited rally, the Roadrunners couldn’t overcome the deficit and extended their losing streak to the second longest in school history.

The 2022-23 UTSA squad, under the direction of former coach Steve Henson, holds the dubious record with 11 straight.

Trae Broadnax scored 20 points to pace the Owls, who have won two straight games on the road in the American. Rice hit 16 three pointers, including 10 in the first half.

Baboucarr Njie, with his best game since November, produced 23 points and nine rebounds for the Roadrunners. Dorian Hayes added 18 and Austin Nunez produced 16 points and five boards.

Records

Rice 2-3, 8-10
UTSA 0-5, 4-13

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 5 p.m.

First half

The Rice Owls shot 62 percent from the field and knocked down 10 three pointers in the first half, taking a 51-40 lead on UTSA into the break at intermission.

UTSA redshirt junior guard Austin Nunez had 16 points and five rebounds against . Rice to continue his inspired play. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Nick Anderson and Trae Broadnax scored 12 each for the Owls and Jalen Smith added 11. Combined, the three of them hit eight shots from behind the arc, over the Roadrunners zone defense.

The Owls led for the entire 20 minutes in the opening period and once kicked the lead up to 19 points. Cam Carroll’s three with 3:41 made it 46-27.

In response, the Roadrunners outscored the Owls 13-5 the rest of the way, with Njie scoring four of the points, including a drive to the rim for a layup at the buzzer.

Notable

After the Owls were beaten by 49 points at Tulsa in their conference opener on New Years Eve, they have fared much better, first returning home to lose by six to the Memphis Tigers.

After that, they traveled to Kansas and beat the Wichita State Shockers by two and then returned home and played Charlotte to the wire, falling by one. Now, after beating the Roadrunners on the road by 16, they’ve improved to 2-3 in conference with their second straight road win.

UTSA center Stanley Borden put on his uniform and went through pre-game warmups, but when the game started, he was on the bench in his sweat suit. Though Borden missed his 14th straight game with a hand injury, he may be getting close to a return based on the pre-game activity level.

His return would be a boost for the Roadrunners, who learned earlier this week that forward Macaleab Rich would be out for the season after surgery on a partially torn groin. Rich and two point guards — Vasean Allette and Pierce Spencer — are all out for the season.

UTSA men’s basketball losing streaks
Seven or more

Year – consecutive losses – streak broken against – UTSA coach
2025-26 – 10 – TBA – Austin Claunch
2023-24 – 7 – North Texas – Steve Henson
2022-23 – 11 – Rice – Steve Henson
2015-16 – 9 – Southern Miss – Brooks Thompson
2012-13 – 7 – Seattle – Brooks Thompson
2006-07 – 7 – UT Arlington – Brooks Thompson
2006-07 – 7 – Sam Houston – Brooks Thompson
1996-97 – 7 – NW State (La.) – Tim Carter
1985-86 – 8 – St. Mary’s – Don Eddy

Rice guard Trae Broadnax had 20 points, seven assists and only one turnover to lead the Owls. Broadnax entered the game as one of only two players in the American leading his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. The other is Tulane guard Rowan Brumbaugh, who scored 23 against UTSA last Saturday. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA men’s basketball team will try to break a nine-game losing streak – tied for the second-longest in school history – when it hosts the Rice Owls tonight at the Convocation Center.

Tipoff for the American Conference matchup between Texas-based schools is at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

(Please see the information below on the program’s longest losing streaks.)

Records

Rice 1-3, 7-10
UTSA 0-4, 4-12

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, tonight, 7 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 5 p.m.

Notable

UTSA forward Stanley Borden was has listed as questionable for the Rice game, an improvement from previous listings in the player availability reports.

In previous reports, starting with the Dec. 31 conference opener, Borden has been ruled out in each of the four games.

Borden, a 7-foot transfer from Duke, hasn’t played since Nov. 12 at Texas State. He has a hand injury and has sat out 13 games.

Borden was in uniform and on the floor warming up an hour before tipoff.

Players out for the season include Macaleab Rich, Vasean Allette and Pierce Spencer.

UTSA men’s basketball losing streaks
Seven or more

Year – consecutive losses – streak broken against – UTSA coach
2025-26 – 9 – TBA – Claunch
2023-24 – 7 – North Texas – Henson
2022-23 – 11 – Rice – Henson
2015-16 – 9 – Southern Miss – Thompson
2012-13 – 7 – Seattle – Thompson
2006-07 – 7 – UT Arlington – Thompson
2006-07 – 7 – Sam Houston – Thompson
1996-97 – 7 – NW State (La.) – Carter
1985-86 – 8 – St. Mary’s – Eddy