SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women’s basketball team is set to host defending Conference USA champion Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. (CT) from the Convocation Center and the matchup will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Roadrunners are partnering with the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas to host the organization’s Cookie Rally. The interactive tailgate experience will begin at 11 a.m. outside of the Convocation Center and will include music, activities and games for the local Girl Scouts troops to look forward to.
LEADING THE ROADRUNNERS
Junior Jordyn Jenkins leads the conference in scoring with 270 points, averaging 19.3 per game. Jenkins also leads the team with 94 rebounds and 18 steals. Redshirt sophomore Elyssa Coleman has done a phenomenal job on defense with a team-high 20 blocks, also recording 87 rebounds. Junior Kyra White leads the Roadrunners with 60 assists, averaging 4.4 per game. White is sixth in the conference with a 1.61 assist/turnover ratio. Freshman Sidney Love has the second-most on the team in both points (132) and assists (32). UTSA is first in the conference with 7.3 rebound margin, outperforming its opponents by 557 rebounds to 455 rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT
The Roadrunners are coming off a 74-67 loss to UTEP on Wednesday. UTSA fell to a 3-11 overall record (1-4 in C-USA action) after the loss. The Roadrunners battled back from a 10-point deficit to tie the game up four times but weren’t able to quite finish the comeback.
Jordyn Jenkins led the team with a career-high 37 points scored, adding 11 rebounds to that to complete her third double-double of the season. Jenkins also led the team with three blocks. Kyra White led the team with seven assists, while also contributing eight boards. The Roadrunners had the advantage in the paint with 32 points to 30 points. UTSA also led with 14 second chance points to UTEP’s six.
RECORD WATCHING
Jordyn Jenkins put up a career-high 37 points against UTEP on Jan. 11. The school single-game record is 41 points in a game by Tesha Smith against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 25, 2017. Jenkins currently has 270 total points this season. The program record is 583 points by Tammy Rogers in the 1990-91 season. Jenkins has averaged 19.3 points per game this season. The school record is 20.7 per game by Starlite Williams in 1986-87.
With 295 career wins, head coach Karen Aston is just five wins away from 300 career wins.
COACH ASTON’S CONNECTION TO CHARLOTTE
Head coach Karen Aston earned her first collegiate head coaching job at Charlotte where she held the reins of the program from 2007-2011. While at Charlotte, Aston led the program to record-breaking heights, with 86 victories in four seasons, including a school-record 27 wins in 2010-11. Aston led the 49ers to four consecutive postseason appearances and the 2009 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship en route to the school’s second ever NCAA Tournament appearance. In her final season at Charlotte, Aston’s squad advanced to the WNIT Final Four.
JINKIES FOR JENKINS
Jordyn Jenkins has been named the Conference USA Player of the Week three times this season – Nov. 28, Dec. 19, and Dec. 26. Jenkins leads the conference with 19.3 points per game. Scoring a career-high 37 points against UTEP on Jan. 11, Jenkins owns the conference single-game best this season.
Newcomer Jenkins was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, the first Roadrunner to earn that honor. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020 and aims to celebrate those playing in the 26 mid-major conferences.
Jenkins is a transfer from the University of Southern California, where she played the last two seasons. At USC, she led the team offensively in almost every category while starting in 26 of 28 games last season. Jenkins led the Trojans in total points (384/14.8 per game), free throws made (110) and field goals made (134). She had 173 rebounds, the second most on the team. The Kent, Wash., native was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player, as well as earning All-Pac 12 Honors at the end of the season.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Charlotte holds a 7-7 record (3-2 in C-USA action) after an 77-67 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Jan. 7. The 49ers were picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason C-USA Coaches’ Poll. Charlotte ended the 2021-22 season with an 22-10 overall record, winning the C-USA Championship Tournament by defeating Louisiana Tech, 68-63. Earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, the 49ers fell to No. 11 Indiana in the first round, 85-51.
Jada McMillian leads the 49ers and the conference with 69 assists, averaging 5.3 per game. Dazia Lawrence leads Charlotte with 227 points scored, averaging 16.2 per game, as well as 20 blocks. Lawrence was just named the Conference USA Player of the Week this week, after averaging 29 points last week and putting up a career-high 31 points against Florida Atlantic on Jan. 7. Mya McGraw has a team-high 88 rebounds and 16 blocks.
SERIES HISTORY VS CHARLOTTE
The 49ers hold the 7-1 advantage over the Roadrunners in the all-times series history. UTSA and Charlotte last played each other on Jan. 15, 2022, when the Roadrunners fell to the 49ers, 58-33.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners travel for their longest conference road trip of the season, playing three games on the road over the span of a week. UTSA will start the week off against Rice in Houston on Monday with a tip-off time of 7 p.m.
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