UTSA women’s basketball escaped with a 74-69 win over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (1-1) held the lead over the Vaqueros (1-1) for nearly three full quarters before finally surrendering it. A back-and-forth final period featured key defensive performances from sophomore forward Idara Udo and senior forward Jordyn Jenkins. Jenkins’ eight fourth-period points kept the Vaqueros at arm’s length in the final moments, earning UTSA its first victory of the season.
“I thought the difference in the fourth quarter was just people stepping up to the plate on both the offensive end and the defensive end,” coach Karen Aston said. “Super proud of the win, something to feel [good] about as we head toward a two-game road trip.”
UTSA and UTRGV battled for momentum in the opening period. Jenkins picked up the first points of the game for either team, drilling two routine free throws. A few minutes later, Vaqueros’ guard Kade Hackerott knocked down a turnaround jumper to tie the score at 8-8. Aided by contributions from Jenkins and senior forward Nyayongah Gony, UTSA took its biggest lead of the half, exiting the period with a 7-point lead.
UTRGV opened the second period with a 6-0 run, cutting its deficit down to just one point in a little over three minutes. The Roadrunner offense snatched the momentum back off shots from Jenkins and junior guard Alexis Parker, reestablishing their 7-point lead heading into halftime.
The Vaqueros outscored UTSA 27-15 in the third period. Freshman guard Damara Allen got her first collegiate start in place of injured starter graduate guard Nina De Leon Negron. Allen, along with junior guard Sidney Love, kept the ‘Runners afloat as the Vaqueros offense roared to life and took the lead with 1:26 remaining in the period. Allen finished with nine points and five rebounds.
“It was really exciting,” Allen said of her first home contest. “Just sticking to everything my coaches and everything people were saying to me was very important.”
UTSA began the final period with back-to-back threes from Love and Allen. Following a jumper from Hackerott, Allen and Jenkins added six points to the board, giving UTSA a 68-66 advantage. With nine seconds left, Udo sent senior guard Tierra Trotter to the line off a shooting foul, setting up UTRGV with an opportunity to tie the game late.
Love led all UTSA scorers in points and assists with 21 and 11, respectively. Jenkins finished second in points with 19; Allen and Love tied for the lead in rebounds with five apiece. UTSA as a team shot 51.1% from the field against UTRGV, a significant increase from the 34% the team shot against Texas A&M on Thursday.
The Roadrunners will head west to face New Mexico State at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Pan American Center.
