SAN ANTONIO – The most successful teams in sports history share one important trait: they are all led primarily by their players rather than by their coaches. The motivation comes from within those on the court instead of being driven from the sideline.
The UTSA women’s basketball team took another step forward in its impressive 2024-25 season on Saturday with a 69-51 win against Wichita State in the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners improved to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference, extending their home winning streak to 10 games – the second-longest home win streak in program history.
UTSA, which led by 18 points at halftime and was up by 22 points midway through the third quarter, saw its advantage trimmed to nine points (46-37) at the start of the fourth quarter. The Roadrunners ran off 15 consecutive points to open the final frame and seal the victory.
“The good thing about this group is they’re pretty good about self-checking in timeouts,” UTSA head coach Karen Aston said. “It’s not like we have to say a lot. I think our team understands when we need to reset and when we need to refocus. We can give them some things to adjust, but they talk a lot amongst themselves before we even get in the timeout, which is good. They’re starting to recognize when they’re not doing things well and when they need to make some changes.”
Throughout the season, Aston has continually seen growth in the team’s ownership and dedication to improvement.
“It speaks to the commitment that they’ve got right now to fix things, be better themselves and not feel like we have to fix everything for them,” she said. “That’s been a process this year, but it’s so much better than it was a month ago. I think it will continue to get better.”
UTSA’s standout post player Jordyn Jenkins credits the addition of graduate transfer point guard Nina De Leon Negron and the maturity of junior guard Sidney Love for the team’s internal drive.
“We have a lot more leadership than we’ve had in the past,” Jenkins said. “Nina really takes charge of the huddles along with Sid. We are looking at coach to see what we need to run and everything, but it’s been our point guards leading us. Those huddles really make us play and lock in.”
The player-led approach was on full display during the Roadrunners’ 15-0 run in the fourth quarter. As she was for most of the day, Jenkins was double-teamed with the ball on the low block. She executed a behind-the-back pass around her defenders to sophomore post player Idara Udo. Under stifling defensive pressure, Udo struggled to control the basketball, flying out of bounds to save the possession. Udo flipped the ball to De Leon Negron at the top of the key, who drained a three-pointer.
“I pulled a Nina on Nina,” Udo joked, alluding to De Leon Negron’s trademark court vision. “Jordy saw me and recognized we were getting doubled. She tried to pass it to me, but Wichita State made some adjustments, so I kind of fumbled the ball. I just tried to save it and I saw Nina in my peripheral vision and she just caught it.”
For Aston, the play epitomized the evolution that she has seen in her team’s self-leadership.
“We make progress every day,” Aston said. “It’s definitely fun for a coach when you start to see players connect without having to do it as a coach.”
“Growth Steps”
In her fourth season leading the UTSA women’s basketball program, Aston looks for many indicators of the program’s growth in addition to the team’s results in the win-loss column. Signs of increased interest in the Roadrunners are abound.
Attendance at the team’s annual preseason potluck has grown exponentially since Aston’s arrival prior to the 2021-22 season. Saturday was the team’s Alumni Day, welcoming back players from throughout the history of the program and celebrating them with a halftime on-court recognition. Support from program alumni has continued to increase over the last several years.
“To someone on the outside, that might not look like it was a big deal,” Aston said. “The amount of people that were on the court today is a big deal compared to two years ago. Alumni are a really important part of who you are when you’re trying to build a program. They’re proud to come back and watch their team play. That’s just another small dose of growth steps and the progress we’ve made with this program.”
Attendance at UTSA games has increased each year of Aston’s tenure and Saturday’s game included a special dignitary sitting courtside across from the Roadrunners’ bench – Becky Hammon, head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, a six-time WNBA All-Star who played for the San Antonio Stars from 2007-14 and a former longtime assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.
“She has a really unique place in San Antonio history as far as basketball is concerned,” Aston said. “I wanted to try to get her out here and it’s important for our players to see her be willing to step outside of her busy schedule and support women’s basketball in our community.”
Hammon spoke to the Roadrunners in the locker room following the game. It was particularly inspiring to Jenkins, who hopes to become the first UTSA player ever to be selected in the WNBA Draft.
“We had a little chat postgame and she gave us some great advice,” Jenkins said. “She talked to us a little bit about her players, which was really cool. She was just telling us how to be better players and what it’s like to possibly be at the next level.”
Next Up
UTSA plays at Memphis on Wednesday with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.