SAN ANTONIO — Despite controlling the boards and applying steady defensive pressure, UTSA women’s basketball could not overcome efficient shooting and transition offense in a 69-63 loss to the University of South Florida on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
What began as a back-and-forth opening quarter unraveled in the second and third, as South Florida (16-10, 9-4 AC) dictated tempo and capitalized on transition opportunities. Fast-break layups, kick-out threes, mid-range jumpers and physical finishes inside exposed defensive lapses and stretched the margin to 12 entering the fourth. A late surge trimmed the deficit as UTSA (12-12, 7-6 AC) pieced together stops and timely baskets, but each time the Roadrunners threatened, the Bulls answered with efficient execution to keep them at arm’s length.
“The difference in the game was their ability to get easier shots than what we were able to get,” coach Karen Aston said. “When you play a team like South Florida that transitions the way they do, you can’t take a break and feel sorry for yourself.”
UTSA showed early fight, as junior forward Idara Udo established presence inside, and the Runners’ defense forced tough looks, allowing them to stay level even while shots near the rim refused to fall. Even as South Florida pressured the perimeter and crowded driving lanes, UTSA kept generating chances, but too many point-blank looks rolled off the rim or were altered at the last second.
“One area that we may and should have done a better job was giving the ball to Idara,” Aston said. “She was having a good night tonight, and I’m not sure we did a good enough job getting it inside.”
South Florida flipped the tone in the middle stretch. Guard Katie Davidson began finding space on the perimeter, and guard Stefanie Ingram repeatedly attacked downhill. Forward L’or Mputu altered shots at the rim, and every UTSA miss seemed to ignite a fast break the other way. A tight contest slowly stretched as South Florida strung together stops, pushed tempo and capitalized on defensive breakdowns that hadn’t been there in the opening quarter.
The Roadrunners however, never stopped competing. They controlled the glass, outrebounding South Florida 45-36 as Udo posted a double-double. UTSA even generated 19 more shot attempts, but the difference was conversion. The Bulls shot 50% from the field, while the ‘Runners struggled to make clean looks count, finishing at 31%.
“When you look at the box score, we got more shot attempts, we beat them on the three-point line, we beat them on the free throw line, we beat them in rebounding and they turned the ball over more than we did,” Aston said. “The difference in the game was them putting the ball in the basket more in transition.”
Still, the final minutes brought life. Junior guard Ereauna Hardaway sparked momentum with a steal and aggressive finish that briefly energized the crowd. Allen provided an offensive spark in the fourth, scoring nine points in the period as UTSA clawed within striking distance.
A late opportunity off a steal could have cut the margin to five with under a minute left, but the layup would not drop. On the other end, South Florida answered calmly yet again, forcing the Roadrunners to chase from behind in the closing seconds.
UTSA will travel to Kansas to take on Wichita State University at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Charles Koch Arena.
