Charlotte Tops UTSA 74-54

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 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte forced 27 turnovers for the second-straight game, while holding UTSA to 35.6 percent shooting overall in grabbing a 74-54 triumph over the Roadrunners Saturday night during the annual Play 4Kay game. The 49ers limited UTSA to zero 3-pointers, while winning the battle on the boards by nine against the top team for rebounding margin in league games entering the contest.

Four Charlotte (10-14, 6-6 C-USA) players netted double-figure scoring for the second game in a row, led by junior Kira Gordon’s third double-double of the season and fifth of her career. She finished with a game-high 18 points and game-best 11 rebounds in only 29 minutes, while producing two assists, a block and steal on the defensive end.

Sophomore Lefty Webster chipped in 15 points, while senior Olivia Rankin matched her career high of 10 points to go along with her career-best seven caroms, and junior Alexis Alexander tallied 10 points. Senior Hillary Sigmon drained a second half 3-pointer, the only one for either side, for her only points, which moved her within 17 of tying the school’s all-time mark.

The Roadrunners were led by 10 points apiece from Kamra King and Tesha Smith, while Akunna Elonu paced the visitors with eight boards.

The 49ers held UTSA (12-13, 7-6 C-USA) to only 26.1 percent shooting during the opening 20 minutes, as it converted just 6-of-23 field goals. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s defense swiped 15 steals, one short of its best effort this year.

The game remained close during the first seven minutes with the Niners claiming the first advantage of more than two when Webster hit a layup at the 13:05 mark to provide Charlotte a 10-7 edge. A circus jumper from just outside the paint by Gordon followed and the 49ers eventually grew their cushion to eight, 18-10, on an Alexander layup at 10:36.

Two Elonu charity tosses dipped the deficit to a half dozen, as both teams went without a field goal for nearly three minutes. Alexander then dropped in back-to-back conversions, the second on her own initial miss, to put the Niners ahead by double digits for the first time at 22-12 with 7:15 remaining. Again, Charlotte’s offense turned cold, but thanks to solid defense, UTSA was unable to convert as well for a two-minute span.

Rankin drained a jumper at 4:27 for a 24-15 lead, preceding a baseline bucket from freshman Amaya Ransom on the next 49ers possession, her first points in seven games, as the margin increased to 11 entering the final media timeout of the period. The two field goals started a 10-2 Charlotte run to close the half and enter the break, up 32-17.

The Niners’ advantage never dipped back into single digits the entire second stanza, as Charlotte kept the pressure on both ends of the court. Gordon opened the frame with a jumper, but four-straight Roadrunners’ points brought them within 13, 34-21, before the first minute had passed. The 49ers built another 17-point difference following two free throws by Webster and a Rankin jumper.

The cushion never got lower than 14 during a near five-minute stretch, but back-to-back jumpers from Gordon and Webster pushed the gap back to 18, 48-30, with 10:48 to play. UTSA then used a 9-2 spurt to trim the deficit to 11, 50-39, by the 9:03 mark, but Sigmon’s triple exactly two minutes later capped a 5-0 run to widen the score back to 16, 55-39.

The Roadrunners closed within 12, 59-47, on consecutive layups by Dwanisha Tate and Smith, but Webster followed with four-in-a-row followed by four-straight points by Gordon as Charlotte eventually mounted a 9-0 surge for a 21-point difference, 68-47, with 1:27 left.

Following the Webster free throw to cap the run, the 49ers emptied the bench for the remainder of the game and the reserves helped keep the Roadrunners not get any closer than 18 down the stretch.

Charlotte returns to the road for two Conference USA matchups this week, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday in Ruston, Louisiana, against Louisiana Tech. The 49ers will also be facing Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, during a Saturday evening contest.