DENTON - A tough shooting day was the downfall for North Texas women's basketball as they suffered their first conference loss of the season to UTSA, 57-54, Saturday afternoon in the Super Pit.
 
The loss to the Roadrunners (6-9, 1-2 C-USA) also brought an end to the six-game win streak for the Mean Green (10-6, 3-1 C-USA).
 
"It's very difficult to beat people when you're not scoring," head coach Jalie Mitchell said, who was honored pregame for her 50^thcareer win on Thursday night. "I give a lot of credit to us fighting to get back in it, but I wish we could've pulled it out."
 
North Texas fell behind in the second quarter when they missed 18 straight field goals over a stretch that would begin with 8:30 left in the half and carry into halftime and almost two minutes into the second half. The Roadrunners built a 16-point advantage during the stretch. 
 
UTSA was paced by their leading scorer, Marie Benson, who contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds. "We needed to do a better job on Benson," Mitchell said. "We knew she was their go-to player, and we did not defend her as well as I would like."
 
North Texas was led in points by freshman Charlene Shepherd who scored 15. She was joined in double figures by Anisha George who contributed 14.
 
The opening frame was a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading buckets and runs. The Mean Green used a 6-0 run to grow their first lead of the game, but a 4-0 run by the Roadrunners knotted the game up at six. After a UTSA layup with 35 ticks left on the clock, the game was knotted up at 15 at the first break.
 
A Shepherd layup pushed the Mean Green in front at 19-15 to open up the second quarter, but the Mean Green would go ice cold from the floor for the remainder of the quarter. North Texas ended the quarter missing 15 straight field goals. UTSA took full advantage of the Mean Green struggles, using a 13-0 run to grow a 28-19 lead, forcing a Mean Green timeout. A Shepherd free throw and a pair from Madison Townley stopped the bleeding for a time, but the Roadrunners ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead by a dozen heading into halftime.
 
The start of the third quarter had the same look as the end of the second, with UTSA growing as big as a 17-point lead. A huge three by Callie Owens capped a 12-0 run for the Mean Green to draw them within five at 46-41. However, four straight points by Benson gave UTSA a 50-43 lead heading into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter started with both teams having trouble finding the bottom of the net. But a corner three by Shepherd with 3:39 left in the game erased UTSA's once 17-point lead and draw the game to a 50-50 tie before a free throw by Brittany Smith gave the Mean Green a 51-50 advantage, their first lead since they led 6-4 at the 6:18 mark in the first quarter. But a pull up jumper by UTSA gave the Roadrunners a 56-52 lead and sealed the fate for the Mean Green. North Texas had a chance to force overtime after a Benson free throw, but the shot was off and the Mean Green suffered their first conference loss and first defeat in seven games.
 
Next up, UNT travels to Houston to take on Rice Jan. 19 for a 2 p.m. matchup.