The Roadrunners were underdogs in both games this past week, at home against Southern Miss. and Louisiana Tech. The ‘Runners went 1-1 during the week, with a resounding loss to Southern Miss., but then a surprisingly dominant win against LA Tech. 

The women’s first matchup of the week was on Thursday, Feb. 17, against Southern Miss. Ten days prior, the two teams met with a close finish in overtime with Southern Miss. prevailing 60-57, meaning UTSA came into this game with some confidence. The game started slow, only having 11 total points in the first five minutes of the game. The first quarter ended tight with USM up 13-11. The game was ultimately lost in the second quarter with UTSA being outscored by 18 points. The ‘Runners had five turnovers in the quarter and went into the half down 36-16. UTSA came into the second half with more defensive pride, while Southern Miss, also started missing some shots. The ‘Runners outscored USM by four points the entire second half, but could not overcome that lifeless second quarter. The final score was Southern Miss., 66-50. 

The lead scorer for UTSA was Elyssa Coleman with 14 points and second was Lapraisjah Johnson off the bench with 13. UTSA went 4-14 from the three-point line while allowing 21 total turnovers and only forcing USM to 14. This was a game where the better team won and clearly showed that in the second quarter. 

After the frustrating loss, the Roadrunners looked to redeem themselves against LA Tech on Saturday, Feb. 19. This was the second meeting between these two teams, with Tech winning the first by 15 points. This just added extra motivation for the ‘Runners to have a big bounce-back win. 

Just looking at the box score, one would expect UTSA to lose this game as they committed 21 turnovers to LA Tech’s 12, having 25 fouls and shooting 58% from the free-throw line and 28% from three. However, the ‘Runners out rebounded LA Tech 50-26. 

UTSA came out strong, winning the first quarter 20-11 and maintained that score throughout the second quarter, going into halftime down 30-21. This felt like a game the Roadrunners would control and do so dominantly, but the Bulldogs kept fighting. LA Tech outscored UTSA 19-7 in the third quarter and kept UTSA scoreless from the seven-minute mark up until just under two minutes left in the quarter. After being down early 43-37, the ‘Runners scored nine unanswered points and finished the game on top 59-49, avenging their earlier loss and bouncing back from last Thursday. 

Coleman led the team in back-to-back games in scoring with 15 points and 10 rebounds, on 60% shooting from the field. Jadyn Pimentel had 10 points and Johnson had eight points and eight rebounds. UTSA had eight total players play more than 10 minutes, and all of them scored and recorded a rebound, showing how much of a team effort this game was. 

The ‘Runners are set to play UAB Wednesday, Feb. 23 in Birmingham, Ala. with hopes to continue this winning streak.