STORRS, Conn. — UTSA women’s basketball suffered a season-ending loss to No. 1 University of Connecticut 90-52 on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion.
The Roadrunners competed well in the opening period, trailing by just 13 at the end of the first. The top-seeded Huskies pulled away in the ensuing periods after registering a combined 56 points in the second and third, compared to the Roadrunners’ 24. UTSA trailed by as much as 47 points early in the final period, but chipped away at its deficit with UConn pulling a majority of its top players, including AP All-American guard Azzi Fudd and forward Sarah Strong. The Roadrunners finished the game with a 6-0 run before the final buzzer rang, signaling an official end to a historic postseason run.
“[UConn is] a really good team. I do believe our team understood that,” coach Karen Aston said after the game. “They had the correct mindset and the correct preparation, but we ran into a team that’s really, really good. What they do defensively is not very inviting for our team, and it hasn’t been, to be honest with you, all year long.
“We’ve struggled against pressure at times, even in our league. I think it was a matchup that was probably pretty difficult for us, but I do want to commend our team for continuing to compete.”
UTSA held up early defensively, trailing by just two near the midway point of the opening period. Sophomore guard Damara Allen scored the Roadrunners’ first points of the game off a pull-up jumper. Sophomore forward Mia Hammonds and senior guard Ereauna Hardaway nailed a couple more shots from the field, as Strong began to find her rhythm for the Huskies.
Senior forward Cheyenne Rowe made her way to the cup twice in the second, but the Roadrunners faced consistent pressure from the Huskies. UConn scored 24 points off of 10 UTSA turnovers. Huskies forward Blanca Quiñonez scored 10 of her 15 total points in the second.
Allen led the team in scoring in the third as the Roadrunners tried catching up to the Huskies, who were paced by Fudd’s seven points. Hardaway and junior forward Idara Udo combined for 12 points as UTSA outscored UConn 22-15 in the final quarter.
Allen, Hardaway and Rowe tied for the team lead in points with 11 each. Rowe led in rebounds with eight, while Hardaway led in assists with four. UTSA shot 47% from the field, 38% from three and committed 27 turnovers in the loss.
The Roadrunners finish the season as American Conference tournament champions, and will have an NCAA tournament appearance banner to hang when they return to the Convocation Center this fall.
