Sunday, Nov. 18
Highlights
UCF 76, Mercer 42
The UCF women’s basketball team paired a dominant defensive performance with an outstanding offensive outing in a 76-42 win at Mercer on Sunday afternoon in Hawkins Arena.
UCF (3-0) held Mercer (2-2) to just 14 points in the second half. The Knights outscored the Bears in each quarter, pouring in 25 in the final frame.
Kay Kay Wright led all scorers with 16 points. Masseny Kaba added 10 points for the Knights and pulled down seven rebounds. Nyala Shuler grabbed seven boards for UCF and Sydnee McDonald dished out four assists.
After giving up 14 in each of the first two quarters, the Black and Gold defense held the Bears to just 14 points combined in the third and fourth quarter.
UCF held a 33-28 edge heading into halftime. Mercer scored its lone two points at the 5:23 mark of the third quarter. The Knights forced the Bears into 11 second half turnovers while committing just five themselves.
UCF is off to its second 3-0 start in the last three seasons under head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.
USF 87, Oklahoma 70
Behind a team effort of four scorers in double-figures and a career-high 34 points from senior wing Laura Ferreira, No. 21 USF women's basketball stepped up to defeat Big 12-foe Oklahoma 87-70 at the Yuengling Center on Sunday, just three days after losing senior superstar and All-America candidate Kitija Laksa to injury.
USF's dominant 19-2 run to start the fourth quarter powered the Bulls over Oklahoma, who were tied 50-50 midway through the third quarter. USF took a slight 58-54 advantage into the final 10 minutes, but defensive stops combined with Laura Ferreira's lights out shooting powered the Bulls to the dominant finish.
In the first four minutes, USF was caught off guard by OU's defensive switch-up and OU got out to a 10-2 start. USF called a timeout and Fernandez made adjustments which sprung the Bulls immediately to life. USF ran for 11 unanswered points in an eventual 17-3 run to take its first lead with just under three minutes to go, and maintained that lead until the second half. The Bulls' first-half run was powered by defensive stops and forced turnovers, as USF forced 14 of Oklahoma's 22 turnovers in the first half alone.
Ferreira had career highs in the following categories: points with 34, field goals made with 13, field goals attempted with 20, three-point field goals made with eight (ties for fourth all-time at USF), and three-point field goals attempted with 11.
ECU 62, Kennesaw State 56
For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the ECU women's basketball starts its season 4-0 after beating Kennesaw State 68-56 on Sunday evening inside Minges Coliseum.
Kennesaw State came out of the locker room and found its rhythm on offense in the third quarter. The Owls scored 18 points in the period, their highest scoring quarter in the game. For ECU, Johnson helped make sure ECU never fell behind. She scored seven points in the quarter, including nailing a pair of shots from behind the three-point arc. Heading into the final 10 minutes, ECU held just slim 42-39 lead.
The fourth quarter opened with an Owl three-pointer to tie the score at 42-42, followed by Lashonda Monk nailed a key triple as the shot clock was winding down. The fourth quarter followed that pattern, as every time Kennesaw got close, the Pirates were able to counter with an answer on the offensive end. In the fourth, ECU shot a blistering 8-of-9 from the field, hitting both three-pointers and 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Marist 74, Temple 68
Another career best effort from sophomore Mia Davis was nullified by a 13-4 second quarter Marist run, as the Temple women's basketball team fell on the road to the Red Foxes, 74-68. The Owls' record evens to 2-2, while Marist improves to a perfect 3-0 with the win.
Temple led by five early in the second quarter, before Marist's 13-4 run that put the hosts up for good.
The Owls cut it to a one point lead in the third, but the Red Foxes led by five after three. Temple got as close as a four-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, but Marist iced the game by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
The Red Foxes slightly out-shot Temple, 41% to 39%, but forced 16 Owls turnovers, while giving the ball up just 10 times.
Temple held a 45-36 advantage on the boards, but missed key free throws in the fourth quarter, as Marist held on. Davis, who has tallied career-bests in all four games for the Owls this year, ended with 28 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
Louisiana Tech 66, Memphis 50
The Tigers dropped a home game to Louisiana Tech on Sunday, falling by a score of 66-50 Sunday afternoon.
Returning home after two road games, the Tigers dominated the boards, 50-42, led by Alana Davis' 11. Davis also led the team in scoring, with 15 points. Taylor Barnes also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points, six assists and seven rebounds.
Memphis started on a 7-2 run through the first five minutes, highlighted by a pair of Davis offensive rebounds and putbacks. Davis has been averaging a near double-double early this season, scoring 11 points and pulling down 9.7 rebounds per outing.
The first quarter ended tied at 10-10, with Memphis outrebounding the Lady Techsters 18-11, including five offensive boards.
Davis continued to be the source of offense for the Tigers, scoring 11 points in the first half. Junior Kiana Coomber added a three-pointer deep in the second quarter, and the first half ended with a 37-29 Lady Techster lead. Coomber finished the afternoon with six points on a pair of triples.
The third quarter saw the teams score back and forth, including Barnes' only triple of the game. With three rebounds in the period, Davis logged her first double-double of the season, and the fifth of her career.
Louisiana Tech pulled away in the fourth quarter after back-to-back three-pointers by Taylor Stahly.
Cincinnati 51, Saint Louis 50
University of Cincinnati women's basketball snapped a two-game losing skid Sunday with a 51-50 win over the St. Louis Billikens inside Chaifetz Arena.
Junior guard Antoinette Miller broke a 50-50 tie with a made free throw with four seconds remaining to lift the Bearcats to victory.
UC picked up its first road victory of the season and moved to 3-2 on the season. Meanwhile, SLU fell to 1-2 in 2018-19.
For the second-straight game, IImar'I Thomas led the way on the offensive end for UC with 13 points. Miller, again, stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, a career-high nine assists, six rebounds, and two steals.
In the fourth, the Red & Black pulled ahead by as many as four points, 42-38, with 7:44 left. The home team again answered with an 11-4 surge to lead by three, 49-46, with 2:54 remaining. The Bearcats fought back with a bucket and a foul by senior guard Nikira Goings to go up 50-49 with 1:21 to play. After a free-throw conversion by SLU to tie the game at 50, Miller attacked the basket and drew a foul with four seconds left. After the junior guard buried the go-ahead free throw, the Bearcats stayed solid on the defensive end to clinch the 51-50 victory.
Boston College 64, Houston 57
The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team saw their comeback bid fall just shy in a 64-57 loss against Boston College on Sunday, inside H&PE Arena.
The two squads traded buckets for the first three minutes of the second quarter before Boston College built a seven-point lead at 22-15 with 6:08 to play. The Cougars followed with a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer from Jasmyne Harris and a jumper from Octavia Barnes, and after a Guy layup, cut the lead to two again on a Jasmyne Harris jumper with 3:57 to play in the half.
Following Harris' jumper however, the Eagles would break out on a 9-0 run to take a 33-22 advantage in the waning minutes of the half.
After the two teams traded buckets in the fourth, Boston College extended their lead to 57-51 following a 7-2 run, which saw Jasmyne Harris foul out in the process. Houston refused to go away however, and on their ensuing possession, Angela Harris connected on a 3-pointer and made 3-of-4 free throws on the following two possessions to pull within one at 57-56 with 3:39 to play.
Boston College's defense would clamp down the rest of the way however, holding the Cougars to just one point over the final 3:39 and outscoring Houston 7-1 over that span to take the contest 64-57.
Senior Serithia Hawkins tabbed her 19th career double-double after leading the Cougars with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jasmyne Harris added 15 points and five boards, while Angela Harris scored 13 points and also pulled down five rebounds.
Tulane 63, Washington 51
Sophomore Sierra Cheatham posted a career-best 22 points and the Tulane women's basketball team moved to 3-0 for the first time in four seasons with a 63-51 victory over Washington at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.
The Tulane (3-0) victory over Washington (2-1) was also the Green Wave's second consecutive victory over a Power 5 conference opponent after defeating LSU on Thursday in Baton Rouge.
Cheatham's career night came thanks to a flawless 5-of-5 performance from the field in the second half including a 3-of-3 effort from the 3-point line. And unlike Thursday's game at LSU where the team struggled to hold a late lead, the Green Wave were strong in the finishing moments on Saturday when they outscored the Huskies 9-3 in the final three minutes.
Tulane led for the entirety of the game, but Washington made things tense when it got within 6 points at 54-48 with 3:23 left on the clock.
From there, though, Tulane went on a 9-0 run to ice the game. Anderson had a huge steal-and-score fast-break layup, extsending the Green Wave's lead to 8 as the Huskies were on offense. From there, Anderson and freshman Erin Gutierrez combined for seven consecutive free throws, putting the game well out of reach.
Kayla Manuirirangi was Tulane's only other scorer in double figures with 11 points, all of which came in the first half as she was the Green Wave player who seemingly could not miss. Krystal Freeman and Gutierrez had 8 points apiece, and Meredith Schulte tallied 7.
TCU 65, SMU 63
Led by a contingent of freshman, the Mustangs comeback attempt fell short in a 65-63 game on the road against TCU on Sunday.
SMU (2-2) nearly pulled off an incredible comeback despite trailing by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs trailed by two with the ball in the game's final possession but couldn't convert a game-winner.
Alicia Froling set the program record with her 39th career double-double, breaking a three-way tie for first with Shasta Smothers and Janielle Dodds. It was the senior's third double-double of the season. Froling set the mark when she hit a pair of free throws that brought the game to within three with two minutes remaining. Eight of her 10 points came in the fourth.
Freshman Amber Bacon led the Mustangs in scoring breaking out for 18 points. Fellow freshman Kayla White added 15 points.
TCU (3-0) led the game early before the Mustangs grabbed momentum by not allowing a Horned Frog field goal for a stretch of 7:43. The defensive stand allowed the Mustangs to tie the game up after the opening period and take a lead into the half.
The third quarter saw the Mustangs go cold from the field (3-for-14) and TCU jumped back in front. Alicia Froling got into foul trouble forcing the Mustangs to rely on the freshman-heavy roster.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| TUESDAY |
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Southeastern Louisiana |
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SMU |
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8:00 PM |
Dallas, Texas |
Live Stats Live Video Live Audio |
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Saint Louis |
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Tulsa |
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8:00 PM |
Tulsa, Okla. |
Live Audio |
| WEDNESDAY |
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Houston |
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Columbia |
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2:00 PM |
New York City, N.Y. |
Live Stats Live Audio |
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UCF |
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Central Michigan |
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5:00 PM |
Mt. Pleasant, Mich. |
Live Stats TV:ESPN+ |
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Yale |
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Cincinnati |
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7:00 PM |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Live Stats Live Video |
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Wichita State |
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South Dakota |
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8:00 PM |
Vermillion, S.D. |
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| THURSDAY |
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Kentucky |
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USF |
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1:00 PM |
US Virgin Islands |
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Ole Miss |
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UConn |
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7:30 PM |
US Virgin Islands |
Live Audio |