Tag Archives: women’s college basketball

UTSA women to face a UAB team ‘feeling good about themselves’

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Fighting through the “dog days” of the American Conference schedule, the UTSA Roadrunners women are looking to find some consistency when they play on the road tonight against the last-place UAB Blazers.

The Roadrunners (10-10, 5-4) tip off against the Blazers (8-13, 1-8) at 6 p.m.

UTSA split two games at home last week, building a double-digit lead against North Texas and then holding on for a 66-64 victory and then playing on even terms for a half against first-place Rice before ultimately falling, 65-55.

“I thought last week was a good week for our team, obviously a good win against North Texas and then kind of equally disappointing against Rice,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “But we’re in the dog days now and we have to turn the page and get to the next game.”

Coach Randy Norton’s Blazers (8-13, 1-8) endured hard times to start their conference schedule with eight straight losses before playing well and winning 83-65 on the road last weekend at Wichita State.

Guard Cali Smallwood scored 25 points in the performance, knocking down seven of 12 shots from 3-point distance.

“Their record is not indicative of how they’ve played,” Aston said. “They had a new team and obviously had to find some chemistry and get used to conference play, so to say. But they had a big win on Saturday, and just to get that one over for them probably gave them a lot of confidence.

“I would think we’ll roll in there with them feeling pretty good about themselves.”

Records

UTSA 10-10, 5-4
UAB 8-13, 1-8

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Tulsa, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Focusing on ‘TNT,’ the Rice women beat UTSA, extending their winning streak to 14

Posted on by
Reply
Rice Victoria Flores, Hailey Adams. Rice beat UTSA 65-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Rice forward Hailey Adams (right) cheers on guard Victoria Flores. While Flores scored 33 points, San Antonio’s Adams supplied 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals. The redshirt junior from Clark High School also hit a clutch fourth-quarter jumper. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Rice Owls women’s basketball coach Lindsey Edmonds stood in the foyer of the UTSA Convocation Center Saturday afternoon, smiling and taking selfies with friends.

A crowd of her program’s supporters lingered in the building where the Owls had just defeated the Roadrunners, 65-55. It was clearly a group of people basking in the glow of a 14-game winning streak, a 19-3 record overall and a 9-0 mark in the American Conference.

Damara Allen. Rice beat UTSA 65-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Damara Allen led the Roadrunners with 11 points on four of 14 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Edmomds shrugged off a reporter’s question about how it felt to be riding such a streak and to be unbeaten in conference play at the halfway point of the schedule.

“Our logo for this year, our theme, is TNT,” Edmonds said. “Which is, today, not tomorrow. And I think we just want to take advantage of every day. Every opportunity that we have, we want to be the best versions of ourself.

“I’m not really concerned or worried or even thinking about records or streaks,” she added, “because I’m thinking about how we can be the best version of ourselves today. We were able to come up here and get a win on the road at a place that’s really, really hard to win.

“So, I’m proud of that.”

Rice’s Victoria Flores led her team offensively, scoring 33 points. She was efficient on every level, making eight of 10 shots from the field, four of six from 3-point range and 13 of 14 at the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, a determined defensive effort by the Owls held the Roadrunners to 29 percent shooting and to five points below their season average as a team. As the Roadrunners fell to a 10-10 record on the season and to 5-4 in conference, they were shut down on seven of 36 from the field in the second half.

At one point in a decisive third quarter, the Roadrunners misfired on 12 shots in a row. It’s arguable that the Owls were successful because they were able to expose weaknesses in an offense that sometimes seems too dependent on only a few reliable shooters.

“We have to help them,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I’ve been saying that. If I had the answers, trust me, I would help them. But we’ve got to figure out how to help those players, and they have to sometimes be comfortable with moving the ball, because they’re not getting the looks they get on certain days.”

As the second half of the conference schedule looms, the Roadrunners are healthier than they were a few weeks ago, but they still have five scholarship players out.

“I know Karen Aston and I know she is an incredible coach,” Edmonds said. “I know that she is coaching them up. I think they’re a tough team. I think they have qualities instilled in them by Karen. Again, they’re going to win a lot of games.

“They’re tough … and they’re stingy on the defensive end. I think she’s still going to do a great job despite having the injuries.”

Guards Damara Allen and Ereauna Hardaway led the Roadrunners offensively, combining for 21 points. Allen finished with a team-high 11 on four of 14 shooting. Hardaway’s 10 points came on a three of nine effort.

Cheyenne Rowe. Rice beat UTSA 65-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA scoring leader Cheyenne Rowe produced nine points on three of 11 shooting from the field. She also pulled down eight rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Cheyenne Rowe, UTSA’s offensive leader, shot three of 11 from the field and finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

A late spark in the game came from freshman guard Adriana Robles, who scored nine off the bench. Robles was four for seven, the only UTSA player to shoot better than 50 percent in the game.

Idara Udo, in her second game back after sitting out more than six weeks with an injury, had a tough day. The 6-foot-1, low-post forward missed all seven shots from the field and scored two.

Records

Rice 19-3, 9-0
UTSA 10-10, 5-4

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

First half

In a battle of heavyweights within the American, both the Owls and the Roadrunners pushed the pace in the first half.

Rice took a 31-28 lead at intermission, with Flores scoring 14 points and senior center Shelby Hayes adding nine. The Owls had an advantage with a 12-4 lead in points scored off turnovers.

Notable

UTSA entered the season as the defending conference champions. Last year, the Roadrunners finished 26-5 and 17-1 in the American. The Owls had a hand in dashing their NCAA postseason dreams by beating them 62-58 in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. After Saturday’s loss, Aston told reporters that she wasn’t thinking about last season.

Flores, a junior from Duncanville, was the talk of the game played in front of 1,172 fans. But Rice forward Hailey Adams also played a major role in the victory. The 6-foot-1 junior from Clark High School produced 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals. She also scored five points, including a big shot in the fourth quarter.

“Hailey Adams does Hailey Adams things, that no one else on our team can do,” Edmonds said. “She fills up the stat sheet in a way that’s really, really impressive. She didn’t make a ton of shots tonight, but she made one in the fourth quarter that was crucial.

“We really needed it in the worst way, and she stepped up and shot that shot with confidence.”

Rice Victoria Flores. Rice beat UTSA 65-55 in American Conference women's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Rice guard Victoria Flores sank eight of 10 shots from the field and finished with a career-high 33 points in a 65-55 win at the UTSA Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Memphis grinds out a 52-40 victory over the UTSA women

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forward Amauri Williams produced 10 points and nine rebounds, guard Jordan Hunter hit two 3-point baskets late in the game, and the defense-minded Memphis Tigers held off the UTSA Roadrunners women, 52-40, Friday afternoon in Memphis.

Memphis locked down on the defensive end, holding UTSA to 29 percent shooting from the field, to snap a three-game losing streak.

UTSA also took a beating on the boards, 44-30, as the Roadrunners lost their second straight game for the first time since the first week of December.

“I think we’ve had some kids hit the wall a little bit,” UTSA coach Karen Aston told Neal Raphael on the team’s radio broadcast. “They just looked like they flat-lined a little bit with their effort and attention to detail.”

In the victory, Memphis (8-12, 2-5) received solid defensive play from its entire roster, notably guards Daejah Richmond and Hunter. Both pressured the ball on the perimeter and prevented UTSA (9-9, 4-3) from getting into a rhythm.

Hunter was also clutch, scoring six of her eight points in the fourth period, including two 3s that cut off UTSA’s momentum.

Richmond, meanwhile, finished with nine points and 11 rebounds. In addition, forward Tamya Smith pulled down 10 boards to frustrate the Roadrunners, who traditionally excel in that phase of the game.

“We’ve just got to get back to working hard again,” Aston said. “This didn’t look like a very hungry team. But again, you got to make shots. I mean, they only scored 52 points. It’s not like they blew us out of the water.

“We just can’t get on the boards right now. We’re getting killed on the boards. We’re getting killed in the paint, and they’re covering up … the people who have been the scorers for us. We’ve got to have other answers, and we just haven’t found that right now.”

Guard Ereauna Hardaway, one of UTSA’s primary scoring threats, produced 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The team’s leading scorer, Cheyenne Rowe, contributed eight points and nine rebounds.

But it was a battle for both of them as Hardaway hit four of 13 from the field and Rowe four of 14.

A few other issues may have played a role in the loss. First, Rowe was playing a few days after she sat out Tuesday night in San Antonio with an illness. Second, UTSA’s travel schedule was altered a few days ago.

Because of inclement weather across the south, officials moved the game from Saturday to Friday, meaning that the short-handed Roadrunners had one less day to recover from Tuesday’s 65-58 loss to East Carolina.

Aston credited the Tigers’ effort for what happened.

“They didn’t make it easy and nobody else does, either,” the coach said. “It’s just part of the game. If we wanted to be easy, then we’re in the wrong league.”

Records

UTSA 9-9, 4-3
Memphis 8-12, 2-5

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Even though Rowe returned to the lineup, the Roadrunners continue to play without six of their scholarship players. Idara Udo sat out her eighth straight game with a lower leg injury.

First half

Led on the perimeter by guards Richmond and Hunter, the Tigers played superior defense en route to a 26-14 halftime lead.

Memphis trapped UTSA guards and played passing lanes and, in the process, held the Roadrunners to 22 percent shooting from the field. The Tigers also forced the Roadrunners into 11 turnovers.

Playing at home in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, the Tigers jumped on the Roadrunners early, forcing the visitors into one for eight shooting to start the game.

Memphis used the momentum to build a 13-5 lead at the quarter. In the second period, the Tigers continued to use pressure to their advantage.

Forcing a turnover and five straight misses, they expanded the lead to 20-7. The Roadrunners rallied, pulling to within 22-14 on a Mia Hammonds left-handed layup.

But in the last two minutes, Memphis held UTSA scoreless.

Third quarter

Guard Chae Harris knocked down a three at the end of the quarter as the Tigers assumed a 37-26 lead. UTSA guard Adriana Robles scored five points in the period.

Player report indicates UTSA’s Rowe will be available today

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women apparently will have starting forward Cheyenne Rowe available for today’s American Conference road game against the Memphis Tigers.

Rowe’s name is not on the latest player availability report, indicating that the team’s leading scorer and rebounder will be ready when the Roadrunners tip off against Memphis at 4 p.m. at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Rowe, suffering from an illness, sat out her first game of the season Tuesday night at home in a 65-58 loss to the East Carolina Lady Pirates.

The 6-foot-2 Canada native leads the team in scoring (12.9 points) and rebounds (8.8) for the season. In conference, she’s been more productive, averaging 14 and 12.8, respectively, including three games with double figures in rebounding.

Rowe is also one of the team’s top shot makers, hitting 46.1 percent for the season.

UTSA (9-8, 4-2) and Memphis (7-12, 1-5) were originally scheduled to meet on Saturday. But the game was moved up a day out of weather-related concerns in Tennessee.

Records

UTSA 9-8, 4-2
Memphis 7-12, 1-5

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Friday, 4 p.m.
North Texas at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Starting forward Idara Udo is scheduled to sit out her eighth straight game with a lower leg injury. Udo will be out for today’s game along with Maya Linton, Ny Gony, Saher Alizada, Taylor Ross and Sema Udo. Gony, Ross and Sema Udo are out for the season.

Cheyenne Rowe’s availability in question for East Carolina

Posted on by
Reply

Update: UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe is listed as questionable to play against East Carolina, according to the player availability report. A spokesman said Rowe is ill. She is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. Rowe has started and played all 16 games for the Roadrunners.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

In the 2022-23 season, the East Carolina Lady Pirates were picked for the cellar in the American Conference women’s basketball race, and coach Kim McNeill proceeded to lead them to the NCAA tournament.

Last fall, coaches in the American pegged them in a preseason poll for a seventh-place finish.

Don’t look now, but the Lady Pirates are tied for second and challenging for the lead coming into a showdown Tuesday night in the Convocation Center against the defending conference champion UTSA Roadrunners.

Moreover, they’re incoming with one of the hottest players in the American, point guard Kennedy Fauntleroy. An Arizona State transfer, Fauntleroy is averaging 23 points and 7.7 assists in her last three games.

“They’re the leading scoring team in the conference,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said on a media zoom conference Monday. “So, start right there. They have a plethora of people that can score the basketball (and) they have a tremendous point guard (in Fauntleroy).”

Aston said the Lady Pirates are always well prepared under McNeill and also may have some intangibles working for them this season.

“I can’t speak for her by any means,” Aston said, “but they look like they have really good chemistry, and they look like they’re having fun playing the game. So, you have to start with that. We’re going to have to be really, really good on our home court.

“We’re going to have to have a sense of urgency with how we play. But, it’s not going to be easy. They turn you over and they score the ball really well. They’re one of the better teams in the conference regardless of what they were chosen.”

East Carolina averages an American-best 73.7 points and shoots 40 percent from the field. The Pirates also force 20 turnovers per game and register a league-best plus 5.68 turnover margin.

UTSA is expected to counter with the conference’s best defense, both in points and field goal percentage allowed (57.9 points and 36.8 percent).

Records

East Carolina 13-6, 5-1
UTSA 9-7, 4-1

Coming up

East Carolina at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Rice Owls lead the American women’s basketball race with a 5-0 record, followed by East Carolina and South Florida at 5-1. Tulsa and UTSA are next at 4-1.

The Lady Pirates, playing at home last week, played well in defeating Tulsa 79-48 and Temple 81-65. In the Temple game, East Carolina led by two going into the fourth quarter when the 5-foot-7 Fauntleroy exploded for 13 of her 27 points.

The native of Upper Marlboro, Md., also finished with eight assists, three steals and two blocks. Fauntleroy, who averages 13.8 a game, has exploded 21, 21 and 27 points in her last three games, respectively.

The Roadrunners traveled to play two in Florida last week. They were humbled in Tampa by the South Florida Bulls, 70-53, after trailing by 25 at halftime. In response, they routed the Florida Atlantic Owls, 79-42.

Aston said the development of sophomore forward Emilia Dannebauer has been “incredible” to watch.

After playing only 22 minutes in eight games last year, she’s already played 276 minutes in all 16 games thus far, averaging 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds. She scored a season-high 13 points last week at South Florida.

Aston said even though Dannebauer didn’t play much last season, the 6-foot-4 native of Germany learned about the pace and physicality of the game and what she needed to do to prepare herself.

She overcame an injury last summer, got herself ready to play in the fall and then stepped in to a starter’s role when Idara Udo was hurt after 10 games.

“It’s been fun to watch her develop and gain confidence,” Aston said.

Hardaway scores 20 as the UTSA women romp past FAU, 79-42

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After losing by 17 points in Tampa against the South Florida Bulls on Tuesday night, the UTSA Roadrunners wanted to make amends when they tipped off in Boca Raton against Florida Atlantic on Friday.

Ereauna Hardaway. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Ereauna Hardaway scored a season-high 20 points on seven of 11 shooting from the field. She was four for five beyond the 3-point arc. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Ultimately, the UTSA women played more to their potential against the Owls in the second game of a two-game American Conference road trip, rolling to leads as large as 41 in the second half en route to an easy 79-42 victory.

UTSA’s winning margin of 37 points was the widest in a regular-season conference game or in any road game in Coach Karen Aston’s five years at the school. The Roadrunners beat Sam Houston State by 43 at home in a non-conference game on Dec. 7, 2024.

With the victory, the Roadrunners (9-7, 4-1) regained the swagger more befitting of the defending champions in the American.

“We had great energy just from the jump,” Aston told Neal Raphael on the team’s radio broadcast. “Our defense was really, really good in the first half. Not as good in the second, but I just thought we were very intentional with how we played the game today.”

The Owls (8-10, 2-4) entered the evening hoping to extend a two-game win streak in the American, but they never could figure out the Roadrunners on either end of the floor.

On the offensive end, UTSA played with a high level of efficiency, shooting a season-high 53.7 percent from the field. Ball movement was a key, with the Roadrunners scoring 29 field goals on 18 assists, with only 13 turnovers.

North Texas transfer Ereauna Hardaway scored 11 of her team- and season-high 20 points in the second quarter, when the Roadrunners blew the game open. The 5-8 senior hit seven of 11 shots from the field, including four of five from behind the 3-point arc.

Forward Cheyenne Rowe had 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

In addition, freshman guard Adriana Robles played one of her better games of the season with 10 points and four assists. When she took a charge on a drive in the first half, her teammates hailed her effort with a raucous cheer.

Mia Hammonds produced seven points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Damara Allen scored eight to go along with her team-high five assists. Nine UTSA players scored, notably, Siena Guttadauro with her first two points since returning to active status on Jan. 3.

Defensively, the Roadrunners smothered a smaller Owls team, not allowing much of anything within 15 feet of the basket. The Owls hit only five field goals in the first half for a 20-percent reading from the field.

A 40-percent shooting team for the season, they finished with 27 percent for the game, including three of 17 makes from three-point distance. Starting forward Vivian Onugha led the Owls with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Records

UTSA 9-7, 4-1
FAU 8-10, 2-4

Coming up

East Carolina at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Rice leads the conference with a 4-0 record, followed by East Carolina, South Florida, North Texas and UTSA, all at 4-1.

The Roadrunners entered the day ranked 129th in the nation among 363 teams in the NCAA Evaluation Tool metric, while Florida Atlantic came in at 217.

UTSA scored its third-most points in a game this season, behind only 86 against Prairie View A&M and 82 versus Texas A&M-Kingsville. UTSA’s 10 three-point baskets ranked second, behind only the 12 makes against Kingsville.

Florida Atlantic’s 42 points were the fourth fewest by a UTSA opponent, behind 40 by Prairie View and Kingsville and 41 by Texas State.

Injured UTSA athletes not playing include Idara Udo and Maya Linton, both of them starters on last year’s 26-5 team. Udo has played 10 games this year, but has sat out the last six with a lower leg injury. Linton has not played.

Neither one of them, however, are listed as out for the season in the conference’s availability reports.

First half

Hardaway led a dominant effort with 15 points as the Roadrunners pushed out to a 41-16 halftime lead. The 41 points tied a UTSA season-best in a half.

Hardaway scored 11 of her points in the second period, when the Roadrunners outscored the Owls, 23-7.

From the start, the Roadrunners completely throttled the Owls, who entered the night with two straight wins in the American.

FAU was held to three of 15 shooting in the first quarter and two of 12 in the second. In the half, the Owls scored only two two-point field goals.

Offensively, the Roadrunners moved the ball well and effectively looped passes inside against a smaller front line. The ploy worked, with UTSA shooting 59 percent in the half.

UTSA women set to tip off against FAU in Boca Raton

Posted on by
Reply

Update: UTSA will apparently have 10 players available for the FAU game. Among six inactive players is junior Idara Udo, an all-conference performer who will sit out her sixth straight game, according to the player availability report. Sophomore Emilia Dannebauer likely will start in her place. For FAU, redshirt junior guard Haley Walker, the team’s leading rebounder, is listed as questionable. She has sat out the Owls’ last two games.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coming off a double-digit loss at South Florida, the defending American Conference champion UTSA women hope to rebound Friday night in Boca Raton against the upstart Florida Atlantic University Owls.

The Roadrunners (8-7, 3-1) had a three-game winning streak snapped in Tampa on Tuesday night, giving up 49 points in the first half en route to a 70-53 loss to the Bulls.

Damara Allen produced a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore from Aurora, Colo., also had three steals. Another sophomore, center Emilia Dannebauer, scored 13 on five of six shooting.

The Owls (8-9, 2-3) were picked to finish last in the American’s preseason poll, but they have been surprising in their resilience under first-year coach LeAnn Freeland, winning two straight after an 0-3 start in conference.

First, they traveled and defeated the UAB Blazers 70-63 last Saturday, and then they returned home and turned it on offensively Tuesday night in an 88-64 victory over the Wichita State Shockers.

Against the Shockers, the Owls hit eight of their 11 three-point baskets in the first half and shot 51 percent from the field overall.

South Alabama transfer Michiyah Simmons led FAU in scoring with a season-high 17 points off the bench.

The Owls reached the NCAA tournament in 2005-06 but have struggled since, with only two winning seasons and one at .500 since then. They have suffered four straight losing seasons since they finished .500 in 2020-21.

The Roadrunners are 10-8 and have won four straight in the all-time series against the Owls. FAU’s last win came in January of 2023 in Boca Raton.

Records

Florida Atlantic 8-9, 2-3
UTSA 8-7, 3-1

Coming up

UTSA at Florida Atlantic, tonight at 6
East Carolina at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

A burgeoning rivalry is renewed as the UTSA women travel to meet South Florida

Posted on by
Reply

Update: UTSA freshman guard Adriana Robles will be available to play tonight at South Florida, according to the player availability report issued Tuesday afternoon. Robles suffered an apparent ankle injury at home Saturday in a 69-63 victory against Charlotte.

All-conference forward Idara Udo will sit out her fifth straight game with a lower leg injury, according to the report. UTSA is 3-1 in her absence, including 3-0 to start play in the American Conference.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Undefeated after three games in the American Conference women’s basketball race, the defending regular-season champion UTSA Roadrunners will play on the road in Tampa on Tuesday night in the continuation of a burgeoning rivalry against the South Florida Bulls.

The Roadrunners, in only their third season in the American, all under fifth-year coach Karen Aston, have become a challenger to the Bulls for superiority in the conference.

UTSA has won two out of three in head-to-head meetings, including two wins in the 2023-24 season. One of them came in the regular season in San Antonio and another in the conference tournament at Frisco.

The latter, a tense, 58-56 victory in the tournament quarterfinals, ended the season for the Bulls.

Last season, South Florida exacted revenge, winning 75-63 in Tampa and handing UTSA its only loss in a 17-1 regular season.

The Bulls, who finished third at 13-4, won the big prize by sweeping three games in Frisco for the postseason title and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

UTSA bowed out in the quarterfinals and ended up playing in the less prestigious Women’s Basketball Invitational.

This season, the dynamics of the rivalry changed.

Not only did standouts from both teams move on in their careers, but longtime South Florida coach Jose Fernandez left in late October to accept a job with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings.

He won 485 games and went to 10 NCAA tournaments the past 25 seasons at South Florida.

In the wake of Fernandez’ departure, South Florida promoted associate head coach Michelle Woods-Baxter to interim head coach, and the transition began.

After two weeks of conference play, the Bulls are 10-7 and No. 73 in the NET. The Roadrunners, with several players injured and not playing, are 8-6 and 124th, respectively.

In the American, the Roadrunners are tied for first place with the Rice Owls and Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 3-0, while the Bulls are knotted with the East Carolina Pirates and North Texas Mean Green at 3-1.

Records

UTSA 8-6, 3-0
South Florida 10-7, 3-1

Coming up

UTSA at South Florida, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at at Florida Atlantic, Friday, 6 p.m.

Notable

Both UTSA and South Florida have won three straight.

American women’s basketball: South Florida tops the field in NET rankings

Posted on by
Reply

Competition in American Conference women’s and men’s basketball will get underway this week. Here are the national rankings for each team on the women’s side as published on Sunday morning, according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET):

Women’s basketball

1) South Florida
NET: 78
Record: 7-6

2) Rice
NET: 82
Record: 10-3

3) Temple
NET: 98
Record: 6-6

4) UAB
NET: 120
Record: 7-5

5) Tulsa
NET: 133
Record: 8-4

6) UTSA
NET: 134
Record: 5-6

7) North Texas
NET: 142
Record: 6-6

8) Charlotte
NET: 150
Record: 6-7

9) East Carolina
NET: 170
Record: 8-5

10) Tulane
NET: 177
Record: 5-7

11) Memphis
NET: 225
Record: 6-7

12) Florida Atlantic
NET: 229
Record: 6-6

13) Wichita State
NET: 284
Record: 3-10

This week’s schedule

Tuesday — Tulane at UTSA; 1 p.m.; UAB at East Carolina, 5 p.m.; North Texas at FAU, 6 p.m.; Rice at South Florida, 6 p.m.; Wichita State at Tulsa, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday — Memphis at Charlotte, 2 p.m.

Saturday — Memphis at East Carolina, 1 p.m.; Rice at FAU, 1 p.m.; UTSA at Temple, 1:30 p.m.; Tulane at Wichita State, 2 p.m.; UAB at Charlotte, 2 p.m.; North Texas at South Florida, 6 p.m.

UTSA women hoping for a signature victory today in New York City

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

On a trip to New York during the holidays, the UTSA women will get more than a chance to see the sights in the big city.

Coach Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston leads the Roadrunners into New York today to play the defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The defending champions in the American Conference have one last opportunity to produce a signature victory and boost their standing in the NCAA rankings before league play commences.

With tipoff set for noon today Central time, the defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions will be waiting at Levien Gymnasium to test the Roadrunners.

UTSA coach Karen Aston said her players will need to be “on task” against a very good team.

“We’ll have to have a competitive mindset for 40 minutes,” she said.

Columbia finished 24-7 last season and made school history by winning its first NCAA tournament game.

The Lions defeated the Big Ten’s Washington Huskies in the Round of 68 before getting knocked out in the next round by the Big 12’s West Virginia Mountaineers.

This season, the Lions return six players from the NCAA squad, including their two leading scorers, guards Riley Weiss and Perri Page.

Columbia (7-4) has played a rigorous non-conference schedule and has been prone to inconsistency, but has won a few games against high major competition.

On opening night, the Lions won on the road, beating Butler of the Big East in Indianapolis.

Eleven days ago, they defeated another Big East team, the Seton Hall Pirates, on the road in South Orange, N.J.

Page hit the game-winning basket on a driving layup with one second remaining.

As a result, the Lions are 70th in the NET rankings of 363 NCAA Division I programs, with the Roadrunners (5-5) coming in at No. 148.

UTSA finished 26-5 last season and won the American at 17-1.

But this year has served as a challenge with a few stars playing out their eligibility, a few others transferring to other programs and more than a few talented athletes sitting out with injuries.

On top of all that, the Roadrunners have played four games, dropping all four, against power conference opponents.

The team’s best wins have come on a neutral site (in Frisco) against Grand Canyon Lopes of the Mountain West and at home against the Sun Belt’s Texas State Bobcats.

UTSA enters today’s game coming off home victories over Prairie View A&M and NCAA Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Records

UTSA 5-5
Columbia 7-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Dec. 30, 1 p.m.