San Antonio, TX—-They say defense wins championships and offense wins games, and Tuesday night’s matchup at the Convocation Center put that theory to the test.
UTSA, owner of the American Athletic Conference’s top-ranked defense, hosted East Carolina, the league’s most potent offensive team. After a sluggish opening quarter, the Pirates found their rhythm, using pressure defense and timely shooting to pull away for a 65–58 road victory.
The loss marked just UTSA’s second defeat in its last 24 home games over the past two seasons — and its first conference loss at home.
East Carolina entered the night averaging a league-best 73.7 points per game, but the Roadrunners made scoring difficult early. UTSA’s defense, which allows just 57.9 points per contest and limits opponents to 36.8% shooting, suffocated the Pirates in the opening quarter.
Sophomore guards Mia Hammonds and Damara Allen carried the early offensive load for UTSA. Hammonds, playing out of position in the post, and Allen combined for seven of the Roadrunners’ first 12 points as UTSA surged to a 12–4 lead late in the opening period. Both finished with a team-high 12 points, with Hammonds adding six rebounds.
The Roadrunners held ECU to just 2-of-14 shooting in the first quarter, including 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, forcing the Pirates to search for answers.
Those answers arrived in the second quarter.
East Carolina opened the period with an aggressive full-court press that rattled UTSA for the remainder of the game. The Roadrunners committed nine of their 29 turnovers in the quarter and frequently struggled just to advance the ball past midcourt.
Down 13–6 entering the second, ECU erupted on a 9–0 run to seize a 17–16 lead. Senior guard Savannah Brooks sparked the surge with five quick points, including a right-wing three. Brooks finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Senior forward Keanna Rembert, scoreless in the first quarter, caught fire next. She drained a three to tie the game at 25 and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the period, scoring 11 of her game-high 21 points in the quarter while adding four rebounds and two assists.
UTSA briefly regained the lead when sophomore center Emilia Dannebauer split a pair of free throws, sending the Roadrunners into halftime ahead 26–25.
Momentum swung decisively after the break.
Jayla Hearp picked off a pass and raced the other way for an and-one, igniting a 6–0 Pirates run that gave ECU a 35–30 advantage with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter. Junior point guard Jayda Holiman answered with a three that brought the crowd — clad in UTSA navy — to its feet, but Hearp responded immediately, rising over her defender to bury a three of her own and quiet the arena.
East Carolina continued to build its lead and entered the fourth quarter ahead 50–41. Freshman Olivia Hilliard opened the final period with a strong post move for a layup, stretching the Pirates’ advantage to 53–41 — their largest lead of the night.
UTSA battled back and refused to fold, but each rally was met with timely Pirate baskets. Trailing by 12 with under four minutes to play, the Roadrunners made one last push.
After trading scores, senior guard Ereauna Hardaway launched a deep three from several feet beyond the arc, cutting the deficit to 64–58 with 37 seconds remaining and keeping hope alive. It proved to be UTSA’s final field goal, however, as the Roadrunners were unable to generate offense down the stretch despite strong defensive pressure.
Hardaway finished with eight points and seven assists, scoring her first points of the game late in the third quarter.
A key difference came at the free-throw line. East Carolina went 24-of-31 from the stripe, well above its season average of 16 free-throw points per game, which ranks 17th nationally.
The win continued one of the best starts in program history for the Pirates, who improved to 6–1 in conference play for the first time since the 2003–04 season. ECU will next travel to face UAB at Bartow Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m.
“I just think tonight we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win,” UTSA head coach Karen Aston said. “But experiences like this are going to help us down the road in games where we need to be better.”
The Roadrunners, who were without senior forward Cheyenne Rowe and junior forward Idara Udo, will look to bounce back Saturday when they travel to Memphis to face the Tigers at FedExForum at 2 p.m.
