Arizona State pounded the inside with 40 points in the paint and 26 second-chance points to beat the Roadrunners at the Convocation Center on season-opening Friday night.  UTSA, led by junior guard Loryn Goodwin’s 37-point effort, fought hard but couldn’t get over the hump and Taylor Dorsey’s 22-point performance.

UTSA drew first blood of the game.  Junior guard Carlie Heineman led the way, scoring seven points in the first quarter. An ASU bucket by guard Taylor Dorsey gave the Rams the lead at 7-6.

After a couple of lead changes, ASU started an 11-2 run to push the lead to double digits. Dorsey scored eight for the Rams as ASU took the first quarter 18-12.        

As Dorsey was still leading the Rams in the second quarter, UTSA was pushing forward.  Led by guards Carlie Heineman and Loryn Goodwin, UTSA took the entire quarter and 30 points to fight back.  Goodwin made a three at the buzzer to give UTSA a 41-40 lead at halftime to finalize the first half comeback.  Goodwin finished the half with 20 points.  

Dorsey tied it up at 41 to start the second half.  Back-to-back buckets by senior center Tesha Smith put the Roadrunners ahead by one.

Led by Dorsey and fellow Rams guard Christina Robinson, with 16 points each, the Rams pulled slightly ahead. UTSA wouldn’t let up and kept it close, ending the period 57-61.

ASU pulled away to a 67-59 lead in the last period until Goodwin converted a three-point play and a three-point bucket that sparked the team for a mini run.

Just when UTSA came within three, senior guard Lexi Murphy sank a three for ASU to create a six-point cushion with 1:30 left in the game. The Roadrunners never recovered and lost the bout 77-85.

“Every game, we’re going to play hard,” stated ASU’s Taylor Dorsey.

“I just want to do whatever I can to win the game for our team.” “We changed our defense to try to stop her (Goodwin).”