UT Arlington Sends Two-Time Defending Champion Home Early
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas - UT Arlington assured there would be a changing of the guard, but UTSA refused to go down quietly.
The fifth-seeded Mavericks took an early lead and held on for dear life in a 68-63 win over the fourth-seeded Roadrunners at Merrell Center on Tuesday night, knocking out the two-time defending tournament champions in the process.
UT Arlington (15-15) will advance to play top-seed Lamar in the women's semifinal Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
"I'm real proud of the effort they displayed out there," said Mavericks coach Samantha Morrow. "They showed a lot of resiliency when UTSA came back."
Trailing 51-39 with 10:26 remaining, the Lady Roadrunners (15-15) embarked on a 20-9 and drew within 60-59 when Whitney York converted a layup with 2:48 left.
Bent, UT Arlington refused to break, as the Mavericks delivered at the free throw line down the stretch. UTA hit 8 of their last 9 attempts from the charity stripe, including four from guard Meghan Nelson in the final 76 seconds.
"I just stayed calm and approached each free throw like the last one," she said.
Nelson, who led the Lady Mavericks with 18 points, took 17 of UTA's 37 free throw attempts, converting 13 despite staying in foul trouble throughout the game.
By contrast, the Roadrunners hit 11 of their 12 free throw attempts in the second half, but were just 8 of 17 in a first half that saw them shoot 28 percent from the field. UTSA finished the evening hitting only 30 percent from the field, as UTA threw a variety of zones that helped take them out of their game.
"The ball just didn't bounce our way," said UTSA coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair.
Despite the poor night of shooting, the Lady Roadrunners had a chance to force overtime, but Ashleigh Franklin's 3-point attempt fell short, allowing Kiarra Shofner to hit the last two free throws of the night to give UT Arlington the winning margin.
"I really believed we could get it done," said Rippetoe-Blair.
UT Arlington also took advantage of the rebounding battle, pulling down 46 compared to UTSA's 37 boards. Shayln Martin led the Mavericks with 13 rebounds to go along with her 17 points.
UTSA had 14 offensive rebounds, but were not able to make the most of the extra chances.
The Mavericks never trailed, taking a 15-6 lead as UTSA missed seven of their first eight shots. The Roadrunners found enough offense to close to 25-22 near the end of the first half, but Tamara Simmons scored seven straight points -- including a pair of 3-pointers -- to extend UTA's lead to 33-22.
UTSA closed the deficit to 35-28 at the half, but a sluggish start to the second half put them back into an uphill climb.
"I give UTA a lot of credit," said Rippetoe-Blair. "But our kids played with a lot of heart and never gave up."
Amber Gregg led the Roadrunners with a game-high 20 points, while Franklin and Whitney York scored 14 each and Jones added 13.
"We just weren't able to get the job done," said York.