Franklin's Conference Record Helps UTSA Get Past Sam Houston
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas - Ashleigh Franklin chose a good time to have a record-setting night.
The UTSA senior guard made a Southland Conference tournament-record 15 free throws as part of a 33-point, 14-rebound, four assist performance as the fourth-seeded Roadrunners prevailed over fifth-seed Sam Houston State 69-61 at Merrell Center on Tuesday night.
With the win, UTSA (16-14) advances to the semifinal round, where they will play top-seed McNeese State Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
"Ashleigh can take over a game, but I've never seen her do it like she did tonight," said Roadrunners coach Rae Ripptoe-Blair. "She was determined to find a way to win."
Franklin set the tone early, scoring 14 of UTSA's first 28 points. Her efforts helped the Roadrunners bolt out to a 16-3 lead at the 13:42 mark of the first half before Sam Houston State (17-14) shook off the rust that came from hitting just 3 of their first 18 shots.
Her ability to sink freebies from the charity stripe came in handy, especially when the Bearkats took a 56-53 lead with 7:34 remaining, putting them on the verge of the school's first tournament win since 1997. Franklin was 15 of 16 from the line, surpassing the record of 13, which was held by three players, most recently by UT-Arlington's Meghan Nelson in last season's tourney.
"I haven't had a game like this since high school," said Franklin, "but this is college, so it's more important. Most of all, we won."
Sam Houston State closed the deficit to 33-32 when Sequeena Thomas banked home a shot just beyond the half-court stripe as the halftime horn sounded. It was a shot that Thomas and the rest of the Bearkats had practiced just as their Tuesday morning shoot around concluded.
"When she hit that shot, I was concerned," said Blair. "I knew they would come out of the locker room fired up, and they did. We just had to keep our composure."
Fueled by their fans, the Bearkats took their first lead of the night on a Thomas basket early in the second half. Thomas helped will Sam Houston State past a 29 percent shooting evening, finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds while playing all but one minute.
The Bearkats shot just 6 of 28 from 3-point range on a night where they attempted 75 field goals. UTSA's switch from zone to man coverage was a contributing factor as to why Sam Houston attempted the bulk of their shots outside the paint.
"Defensively, they did a lot of double and triple-teaming me," said Thomas. "It was really physical down there tonight."
UTSA dialed up the aggressive nature in the final 7:34, outscoring Sam Houston 16-5 in that span.
With all but one player returning for next season, the loss could serve as a springboard for bigger things for the Bearkats, who have made consecutive trips to the tournament for the first time since a seven-year run from 1994-2000.
"We have such a group of young girls who play with a lot of pride," said Sam Houston coach Brenda Welch-Nichols. "We will come back proud, we will come back strong, and we will be back here next year. We just have to work on the little things."
UTSA Quotes
Rae Rippetoe-Blair
Opening Statement: "I have to give Sam Houston State a lot of credit. They played very, very well. I thought both teams played very hard. We just came out on top. We knew they were a good rebounding team. The first time we played they were able to beat us on the boards, so to come away with a win today, we feel really good about it."
On Ashleigh Franklin's career high 33 points: "We run a lot of plays to go to Ashleigh, but the plans we drew up tonight for her was not when she scored. Her points came on her own effort tonight. I think she was just determined to find a way to win. Whenever we were down and fell behind Ashleigh turned up her game and gave us what we needed."
On defensive effort against Sam Houston State: "Well the one thing Sam Houston State is is a very contagious 3-point shooting team. At halftime when she made that shot from half court I was very concerned because I knew they were going to come out fired up. But we were able to keep our composure. I thought when went down four points it was possible we might lay down but we really fought hard. We grabbed some key rebounds late and held it together."
Ashleigh Franklin
On career high 33 points: "I have not had a game like that since high school. So to have a game like that now, in the tournament, means a lot more."
Amber Gregg
On Franklin's career day: "Ashleigh's an amazing player anyway. She just really stepped it up tremendous today."
Sam Houston State, Quotes
Brenda Welch-Nichols
Opening Statement: "I'm very proud of my girls. We started out the season with a bang going 5-0, we hit a rough spot, but jumped back to reach the tournament. We have such a young group of girls that play with a lot of pride. They represent Sam Houston very well. We play for the name on the front, that's why we don't have names on the back. It's just a good feeling to know that this team will be back next year and we will come back hard and we will come back strong. And these little things that we didn't take care of tonight we will make sure we take care of them next year."
Britni Martin
On number of three-point shots: "Every time we drove to the basket it either wasn't going in or we couldn't get the rebound. So we had to settle for the outside and I think it through us out of rhythm."
Sequeena Thomas
Low post play: "There were double and sometimes triple teams down in the low post which broke up a lot of our shots. It was really physical which forced a lot of outside shots."