By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The UTSA women will attempt to tie a 16-year-old program record for victories in a season tonight in New Orleans when they face the Tulane Green Wave. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. at Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Roadrunners (23-3, 14-1) need one more win to tie the UTSA record of 24 set by the Rae Rippetoe-Blair-coached team from 2008-09.
The ’08-09 team forged a 24-9 record and played in the NCAA tournament. It was also the last one in school history to win a regular-season championship, as it finished 14-2 in the Southland Conference and tied for first with UT Arlington.
Coach Karen Aston’s Roadrunners (14-1) have a chance to win the American Athletic Conference title within the next week, and it would be the first regular-season title in Aston’s 17 years as an NCAA Division I head coach.
The Roadrunners lead the South Florida Bulls (13-2) and the North Texas Mean Green (12-3) in the AAC standings, with each having three to play.
Both of the Roadrunners’ nearest pursuers play next on Wednesday night. The Bulls, who have won nine in a row, take to the road to play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, while the Mean Green will host the Charlotte 49ers.
A chance exists for a two-way or three-way tie for first place, and in either case, the teams tied for the lead at the end of the regular season would be considered co- or tri-champions, according to the AAC.
If there is a two-way tie for first between UTSA and South Florida, the Bulls would be the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament, and the Roadrunners would be No. 2, based on a head-to-head tiebreaker.
If there is a three-way tie between UTSA, South Florida and North Texas, the Bulls would be seeded first, followed by the Roadrunners in second and the Mean Green third, an AAC spokesman said.
Records
UTSA 23-3, 14-1
Tulane 16-10, 9-6
Coming up
UTSA at Tulane, tonight, 6:30
FAU at UTSA, Saturday, noon
UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, March 4, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)
Notable
The Green Wave, in their last game, defeated the Wichita State Shockers to snap a three-game losing streak. The Wave won 68-64 at home on Saturday to keep hope alive for a top-four finish in the standings.
Amira Mabry, a Tulane junior from Judson, starts and averages 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. She is a 52 percent shooter from the field but has slumped lately, hitting only nine of 29 shots in her last four games.