The UTSA women’s basketball team (6-20, 3-12 C-USA) dropped a seven-point game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers (15-12, 8-8 C-USA)last Wednesday, Feb. 23. The Roadrunners closed their home slate for the 2021-22 season with a 59-49 win over Louisiana Tech (17-10, 9-8 C-USA) on Feb. 19 before traveling to Birmingham, Ala. to face the Blazers. 

A missed 3-pointer from UAB started the first quarter of play. A rebound and jumper from Elyssa Coleman fed the ‘Runners’ offense to put UTSA on the board within the first two minutes of play. The Blazers returned with a 9-0 scoring run to take a 9-2 lead. A jumper and a 3-pointer from Charlene Mass etched away at UAB’s lead, and a jumper from Jadyn Pimentel with one minute remaining tied the game at the end of the first quarter, 9-9.

Two back-to-back ‘Runner jumpers kickstarted the second quarter as UTSA grabbed a quick 13-9 lead. The Blazers did not give UTSA a prolonged lead as UAB fired off three baskets from long range to create a five-point lead (18-13). Keeping the ‘Runners within at least four for the duration of the quarter, the Blazers built a 29-23 lead to close the first half of play.

Coming back to the court following halftime, the ‘Runners jumped into action with a jumper from Lapraisjah Johnson to open the second half of play. The Blazers continued to add to their lead with long-range shooting to create a 33-25 lead over UTSA. A free throw and 3-pointer from Coleman cut the Blazers’ lead to four (33-29) with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Back-to-back 3-point baskets from Deborah Nwakamma fueled the ‘Runners’ offense to work to close the gap. A set of free throws from Chatal Govan put the ‘Runners behind the Blazers by three points as a Nwakamma basket from the free-throw line closed the third quarter with UTSA trailing by two (40-38).

UAB held the lead over UTSA for the duration of the final quarter. A layup from Queen Ulabo and a Pimentel jumper kept the Blazers from creating a significant lead. A jumper from Nwakamma put the ‘Runners within one of the Blazers before UAB sank a pair of free throws to remain ahead. A jumper from Pimentel tied the game with 3:30 left in the game, but UAB responded with a layup to regain the advantage. Seven free throws in the final four minutes of play closed the game as the Blazers secured the victory by a seven-point margin, 57-50.

The Roadrunners will be on the road for the remainder of the season. UTSA is set to face North Texas on March 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Denton. The Mean Green are ranked second in the C-USA West Division. Following the trip north, the Roadrunners are then set to matchup against the Rice Owls in Houston on Saturday, March 5, before heading to Frisco to compete in the Conference USA Championship tournament March 8-12. The bracket for the tournament has yet to be announced at the date of publication.