TULSA, Okla.— Despite five different members of the UTSA women's basketball team scoring in double-figures, the squad fell to a potent Tulsa team, 74-70 in American Athletic Conference action inside the Reynolds Center
The Roadrunners (12-11, 6-6 The American) suffered a defeat at the hands of the Golden Hurricane (18-7, 8-4 The American) in what represented the first time in a full calendar year that UTSA saw this many score over 10 points, with five accomplishing the feat on Feb. 2, 2023, against Western Kentucky.
Sophomore Sidney Love led the way, scoring 16, while senior Kyra White was not far behind with 15. Freshman Idara Udo and senior Jordyn Jenkins each charted 11, as Jenkins hauled in seven rebounds across 15 minutes of action. Rounding out the group, newcomer Aysia Proctor totaled 10 points and tied Jenkins for the team lead with seven boards. Defensively, sophomore Maya Linton was a standout performer, swiping six steals for a new career-high.
As a team, the Roadrunners snagged eight more rebounds than the opposition, leading to nine more second-chance points and 10 more points in the paint.
UTSA struck first as Proctor nailed a triple, but Tulsa quickly worked a 5-5 tie midway through the first quarter. The Golden Hurricane strung a pair of baskets together ahead of a Jenkins jumper that saw a 9-7 score line, favoring Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane then built a five-point lead as the period neared its close, with a White three-pointer seeing a 22-19 score entering the second stanza.
Back-to-back makes for Udo and Proctor knotted things up at 24 to kick-start the second quarter. Tulsa responded with a 9-0 run that resulted in a 33-24 Golden Hurricane advantage. Udo broke the streak as the squads exchanged blows before Love and sophomore Cheyenne Rowe hit shots to trim the Roadrunner deficit to four. Neither team could tickle the twine before the buzzer sounded, with Tulsa leading 38-34.
The Roadrunners started the third quarter hot, as White sunk back-to-back shots before Proctor connected on a layup for a 40-38 UTSA lead. Shortly after, four consecutive points by Love saw a 46-42 UTSA lead, and the squads traded shots with a White layup sending the contest into the fourth quarter with the 'Runners up, 55-51.
Tulsa opened up the final frame with a jumper, prompting an 11-0 UTSA surge that saw makes by Linton, Jenkins, Udo, and White en route to a 66-53 advantage. Not to be deterred, the Golden Hurricane kept battling with an 11-point swing of their own, seeing a 66-64 score line midway through the quarter. Proctor then splashed home a triple that the Golden Hurricanes mimicked, keeping things close. Another Tulsa triple followed, providing a 70-69 Golden Hurricane lead with a minute remaining. Tulsa then knocked down their free throws, propelling them to a 74-70 win.
The Roadrunners will now head to Denton, Texas, with a Sunday matchup against North Texas on the docket at 2 p.m. inside The Super Pit.
Keep up with UTSA Women's Basketball all season long on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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