The UTSA women’s basketball team (6-22, 3-14 C-USA) concluded their regular season play with a pair of conference games in preparation for the Conference USA Tournament from March 8-12. The Roadrunners are slated to play in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, March 8.

The ‘Runners traveled to Denton on Thursday, March 3 for their first matchup of the weekend against North Texas (16-11, 10-7 C-USA). The Mean Green took an early 4-0 lead. A layup from Yuliyana Valcheva put the Roadrunners on the board (2-4). UNT led in scoring for the first half, outscoring UTSA by 11 points. A layup from Queen Ulabo closed the first quarter of play, 10-21. A Jadyn Pimentel jumper opened the second quarter (12-21). Two baskets and a pair of free throws from UTSA began to close the gap to put the ‘Runners within five. A fastbreak jumper from Charlene Mass etched away at the Mean Green’s lead (22-26). A Mass three-pointer closed the half as the ‘Runners remained behind by five. 

UTSA continued their offensive comeback after halftime. Jumpers from Ulabo and Elyssa Coleman cut the UNT lead to one point. The Roadrunners traded the lead back-and-forth with the Mean Green after a pair of free throws from Pimentel gave UTSA a one-point lead. A jumper in the paint from Mass tied the game at 40-40 to close the third quarter. The ‘Runners went on a 4-0 scoring run to open the final quarter to lead 44-40. The Mean Green responded by firing off 11 points to tie the game, 51-51. Two UNT free throws with 0:01 seconds on the clock gave the Mean Green a two-point victory (53-51).

The ‘Runners then traveled to Houston to face Rice on Saturday, March 5. The Owls controlled the score for the first quarter of play. A Coleman layup closed the first, 13-17. UTSA kept the Owls at bay, not allowing for a lead greater than 10 for the first half. Rice created a nine-point lead with a three-pointer before the close of the first half to lead 36-27. 

The Owls ran away with the score in the third quarter, outscoring UTSA 32-13. Back-to-back three-point shots from Rice opened the second half as the Owls began to create their lead. Rice continued to create a lead in the third quarter, sending the game to the final quarter with a set of free throws to lead 68-40. Only scoring eight points each in the final quarter, Rice claimed the victory, outscoring UTSA by 38 points (86-48).

The ‘Runners are set to face UTEP in the first round of the C-USA tournament at The Star in Frisco. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. The game and the tournament can be viewed on ESPN+.