The UTSA women’s basketball team stumped its chance at a victory as they took another loss from Temple, 56-48, Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
After leading 18-11 after the opening frame, the Roadrunners soon felt the pressure from the Owl’s offense in the second quarter as Temple shortened the deficit to two. The back-and-forth continued in the third quarter as the Owls tied the game at 32. Late attempts to gain more points led to the Roadrunners (14-12, 8-7 AAC) stacking up on fouls, giving Temple (17-10, 11-4) multiple free throw attempts which led them to take the lead.
“22 offensive rebounds is the story,” head coach Karen Aston said. “We usually do not give up that many offensive rebounds.”
Holding with defense in the first half, UTSA was able to keep Temple from scoring, slowing down their offensive plays and tiring the Owls out. UTSA and Temple were neck-and-neck with no team having more than a two-point lead. Junior forward Elyssa Coleman led the defense with four blocked shots while scoring 10 points against the Owl’s defense. Guards Kyra White and Sidney Love both contributed four assists for the ‘Runners offense. Senior forward Jordyn Jenkins led the team with 15 points.
With intensity increasing from Temple, UTSA racked up fouls and fell behind on the scoreboard in the second half. The ‘Runners had 21 fouls against Temple, resulting in 18 points while allowing the Owls 22 offensive rebounds. With the momentum of the game swinging into Temple’s hands, UTSA went on to get outscored 13-8 in the final quarter.
“There’s only two stats that really matter in this game: the offensive rebounds and free throws,” Aston said. “They were pretty determined in the second half to beat us in the paint.”
