Gibbs, Roadrunners shoot the lights out, oust McNeese
KATY, Texas ? Southland Conference Player of the Year Monika Gibbs and the UTSA women’s basketball team defeated McNeese State, 71-52, Wednesday at the Merrell Center. With the win, the Roadrunners advance into the semifinal round of the State Farm Southland Conference Tournament. They will face Northwestern State, who earlier defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Friday at 12:05 p.m.
UTSA, the No. 2 seed and the tournament’s reigning champion, broke the game open in the second half thanks in large part to the play of their Player of the Year. Following an extended halftime that came as a result of a power outage inside the Merrell Center, Gibbs led the Roadrunners to open up a 45-30 lead over the No. 7 seed with 14:06 left in the game.
Down but not out, the Cowgirls rallied to cut the deficit down to 10 points twice, the last time on a layup by Kiara Johnson with 9:04 remaining to make it 50-40. That would be as close as McNeese would get to the No. 2 seed, which took advantage of yet another power outage just past the midway point of the second half. After the break, Gibbs scored eight points, including a 6-for-6 run from the free throw line, and Amber Gregg added seven to close out the game and the win.
In the first half, UTSA used a 6-0 run to take a 33-25 lead into the intermission. Prior to that point neither side could take control of the game, as UTSA held an advantage that wavered from two to seven points from the outset. McNeese’s only lead of the game came early on when Jessica Hooker went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe for a 1-0 lead. Gregg was fouled on a three-point field goal on the next possession and made all three free throws as UTSA took a lead it would not relinquish.
Gibbs led all scorers with 21 points and added 10 rebounds and three assists. Teammate Ryba Pawlaczyk nearly had a double-double of her own, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine boards. Kendra Wells led the way for McNeese with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Ashlyn Baggett added nine points and her sister Caitlyn Baggett tallied eight in the defeat.