By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
If the UTSA Roadrunners want to prove a point that they deserved to play at home in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, they will get the opportunity to do so tonight when they take the floor in Spokane, Wash., against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
But as far as Roadrunners guard Sidney Love is concerned, she just wants to win to extend the time she can spend with her teammates.
“We want to keep winning for ourselves,” the former Steele High School standout said. “We’re not really worried about anybody else. Winning is a good feeling, especially with this group that we’ve got.
“We’ve got seniors we want to play for. We’ve got coaches that we want to play for. Everybody’s bought into each other. So, that’s the motivation.”
The Roadrunners (26-4) have experienced an emotional whirlwind in the past 20 days.
On the first day of March, they clinched the American Athletic Conference regular season championship outright, securing the title by beating Florida Atlantic at home and then celebrating it by cutting down the nets at the Convocation Center.
In their regular-season finale on March 4, they journeyed on the road and walloped the East Carolina Pirates, 67-48, putting an exclamation mark on a 17-1 run through the AAC schedule.
UTSA then opened in the AAC tournament on March 10 in Fort Worth against the Rice Owls. The Owls, seeded ninth in the tournament, stunned the top-seeded Roadrunners, 62-58, throwing their postseason destiny into question.
Last Saturday, they held a practice, and then did so again on Sunday as they prepared to watch the postseason bracket announcements. Deep down, the Roadrunners knew they weren’t likely to get the NCAA tournament invitation, realizing that the second-tier WBIT was their most likely destination.
That is how it played out, though they didn’t get the seeding and the home game that they thought they deserved from officials running the WBIT. Instead, they watched as teams such as Florida (16-17) and Villanova (18-14) were seeded in the bracket and were granted home dates to open the tournament.
In the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool rankings, Florida (50) and Villanova (70) were both ranked higher than UTSA (71). But the Roadrunners finished with a far superior win-loss record.
Moreover, UTSA was ranked higher in the NET than Wyoming (80), and yet Wyoming (at 22-11) is seeded fourth in one of the WBIT bracket quadrants and is hosting tonight against Texas Tech.
In the bracket quadrant that includes UTSA, Colorado (20-12) was the top seed, followed by Minnesota (20-11) at No. 2, Missouri State (25-8) at No. 3 and Gonzaga (22-10) at No. 4. With Gonzaga seeded, it earned the right to host in the first round and drew UTSA, one of four unseeded teams in its quadrant and one of 16 in the 32-team bracket at large.
Fourth-year UTSA coach Karen Aston continued to question earlier this week how the Roadrunners did not get the right to host. She mentioned it Monday and again on Tuesday. At the same time, she said that the opportunity to play in a postseason event for the second straight year is “huge” for her program.
Last year, the Roadrunners played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and went 1-1 to finish the season 18-15. This year, they advanced themselves to the WBIT, with an opportunity to record a 30-win season if they can win four games. If they can win five, they’d win their second title this spring.
“Four years into this, we are two years in a row in the postseason,” Aston said. “I’ve used the word remarkable several times this year, and it truly is. We felt like it was a big step to go to the NIT last year, and we’ve taken another one. This is a very respectable tournament. I’ve talked to several coaches that were in this tournament last year and they said it was fantastic. It was competitive.”
Added the coach: “They felt really privileged to be in it. They were treated with respect. I’m excited for our kids to feel that.”
Sophomore forward Idara Udo said in interviews on campus Tuesday afternoon that the Roadrunners are just hungry to play again.
“Usually when teams get disappointed in their (conference) tournament and stuff like that, some people check out,” Udo said. “Some people have a shift in mentality. But I think one thing that I’m very proud of with this team is just us staying positive and keeping our heads up. Just coming in here hungry and ready to work.”
Should the Roadrunners win on Thursday night, they’d play again on Sunday. They’d play the winner between Colorado or Southeastern Louisiana (26-5). If Colorado wins at home Tuesday night, CU likely would be at home again in Boulder for the second round.
Records
UTSA 26-4
Gonzaga 22-10
WBIT today
First round
Upper left quadrant
North Carolina A&T at (1) Virginia Tech, 5 p.m.
Texas Tech at (4) Wyoming, 7:30 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Northern Illinois at (3) Florida, 6 p.m.
Hawaii at (2) UNLV, 8:30 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Lower left quadrant
UTSA at (4) Gonzaga, 8 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana at (1) Colorado, tonight at 8 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Oral Roberts at (3) Missouri State, 6:30 p.m.
(2) Minnesota at Toledo, 6 p.m., (Minnesota unable to host)
(Winners play Sunday)
Upper right quadrant
Davidson at (1) James Madison, 6 p.m.
Marquette at (2) Drake, 4 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Middle Tennessee at (3) Belmont, 6:30 p.m.
Northern Arizona at (2) Arizona, 8 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Lower right quadrant
Albany at (1) St. Joseph’s (Pa.), 6 p.m.
Boston College at (4) Villanova, 6 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Quinnipiac at (3) Seton Hall, 6 p.m.
Portland at (2) Stanford, 9 p.m.
(Winners play Sunday)
Notable
If Colorado wins tonight, it’s likely that Sunday’s second-round game will be held in Boulder. If UTSA and Southeastern Louisiana both win, then the second round could be played in San Antonio.
UTSA sophomore guard Aysia Proctor did not attend Tuesday’s open workout in San Antonio. A spokesman said after the workout that he wasn’t sure about her status to play against Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs struggled early in the season, losing eight of their first 14 games. Powered by forward Yvonne Ejim, they finished on a 16-1 run to the end of the regular season to tie for first in the West Coast Conference standings with Portland. Both teams had a 17-3 WCC record. Gonzaga, slotted into the WCC tournament semifinals, then lost 63-61 to Oregon State.
For the season, Ejim, a 6-1 forward from Canada who was named as the WCC Player of the Year, averaged 20.6 points ad 8.9 rebounds. Six-foot-three forward Maud Huijbens from The Netherlands is another strong post player for the Bulldogs. She averaged 9.3 points and 7.0 boards.
When teams try to collapse on the Gonzaga posts, guards Allie Turner, Claire O’Connor and Portugal native Ines Bettencourt take advantage with their perimeter shooting. Turner hits 45.7 percent from three, while O’Connor (43.4 percent) and Bettencourt (36.6) can also fill it up from behind the arc. Turner is a playmaker, averaging 13.4 points, while passing for 116 assists.