Saturday, Dec. 8 - Sunday, Dec. 9
Highlights
UConn 99, Seton Hall 61
Katie Lou Samuelson scored 26 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead UConn to an easy 99-61 win over former Big East rival Seton Hall on Saturday.
It was just the second career double-double for the 6-foot-3 All-American, who also had six assists.
Napheesa Collier had 18 points and Crystal Dangerfield scored 16 for Connecticut (9-0). Freshmen Chrisyn Williams (15 points) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (13) also reached double figures.
Nicole Jimenez had 23 points for Seton Hall (7-2), which had won three straight after its only other loss this season, at UCLA.
The Pirates led 3-2 lead after a 3-pointer by Kaity Healy.
But Samuelson hit three buckets, including a pair of 3-pointers during a 10-0 UConn run that put the Huskies up for good.
Williams had 15 points in the first quarter and UConn lead 35-13 after 10 minutes and 61-29 at the half.
Samuelson's third basket from behind the arc, a shot from the top of the key in the fourth quarter, moved her past Diana Taurasi and into second place on the school's all-time list.
She finished the night just 4 of 12 from behind the arc. But her 320 career 3-pointers put her within reach this season of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis' school record of 398.
Creighton 83, Wichita State 71
Wichita State erased a 17-point first half deficit, but its comeback effort came up short, falling to Creighton, 83-71, Saturday afternoon in Charles Koch Arena.
Alyssia Faye and Shyia Smith set new career-highs, with Smith scoring a team-high 17 points and Faye adding 15 in her first career start. Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage and Carla Bremaud also contributed 11 points each.
A shorthanded Wichita State (5-4) team shot nearly 50 percent for the game and outrebounded the Bluejays, 33-29, but couldn't contain Creighton's lethal outside shooting. The Bluejays cashed in 18-of-41 attempts from three-point range, while also dishing out 21 assists on 29 made field goals.
Lozada-Cabbage cut the deficit down to single digits with two baskets to open the third quarter. Creighton responded with two baskets, but another three-point play from Bremaud cut the deficit back down to seven with under five minutes to play in the quarter.
Faye's 3-pointer and Bremaud's up-and-under layup cut the deficit to a single possession with less than 3:30 to go. The Shockers finally regained the lead thanks to a basket from Bastin, but a free throw allowed Creighton to tie the score just before the end of the quarter.
The Bluejays moved ahead by six with under seven minutes to go, with another basket making it an eight-point lead with five minutes left. Faye responded by knocking down another three, but Creighton answered back with another basket inside and a 3-pointer to jump ahead by 10 with 2:36 left.
Alabama 69, Tulane 58
The Tulane women's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak snapped when it suffered a 69-58 loss at the hands of Alabama at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The Green Wave (7-2) shot just 21.4 percent from the field in the first half and were not able to make up ground in the second half against the Crimson Tide (6-4).
Tulane had an impressive stretch in the second quarter where it held Alabama scoreless for eight minutes, but the Wave only managed 9 points in that eight minutes and could not overcome the Tide's 14-point advantage at the start of the period.
In the second half, the Tide ballooned their lead to as many as 20, and Tulane's offense could not keep up. The Green Wave scored 15 of the game's final 21 points in the fourth quarter when the Crimson Tide lead had expanded to 20, but it was too late for any real chance at a comeback.
Sierra Cheatham led all Tulane players with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Dynah Jones also reached double figures with 11. Krystal Freeman scored 7 points but topped the team with eight rebounds while Mia Heide added six more rebounds.
Freeman and Harlyn Wyatt tied for the team high with two blocks as the Green Wave out-blocked the Crimson Tide 6-2. Erin Gutierrez led Tulane with three assists. Heide tied her career high with 8 points, and Kaila Anderson had 9 points for Tulane.
Villanova 76, Temple 68
The Temple women's basketball team forced 19 Villanova turnovers, but the Wildcats shot 54.2% to provide the edge in a 76-68 Philadelphia Big 5 battle in Villanova. The Owls dip to 3-6 overall (1-1 Big 5), while Villanova improves to 7-2 (3-0 Big 5) with the win.
Temple rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to take the a 34-33 edge at the half, backed by an 11-0 closing run in the second quarter.
Villanova answered by outscoring Temple 22-14 in the third quarter to lead by seven after three.
The Owls cut the lead to four midway through the final frame, but Villanova surged over the final four minutes sealing the win.
Temple racked up a season-best 13 steals, while shooting 42% from the field, but Villanova's 13 threes and accurate offense prevailed in the Big 5 battle.
Sophomore Mia Davis was one rebound shy of her fourth-straight double-double with 22 points and nine boards. The forward was sidelined for a good portion of the fourth quarter having picked up a fourth foul in the third.
Graduate student Alliya Butts scored 11 fourth quarter points to tie for game-high honors with 22 overall, while also adding six assists and three steals.
USF 63, George Washington 30
In a defensive matchup, USF defeated George Washington 63-30 in a Sunday matinee at the Yuengling Center, highlighted by three Bulls scoring in double figures while holding all Colonials to nine points or less.
The Bulls are coming off of an eight-day finals break and jumped into midseason form extending their win streak to three games and never allowing George Washington to score more than nine points in a quarter.
Enna Pehadzic stepped up for the Bulls today, scoring eight of USF's 12 third-quarter points and hitting a career-high three treys on the night to share the high-point with Beatriz Jordao. The pair each scored 14 points on the night.
USF got out to a quick 11-2 start, powered by Beatriz Jordao who scored the first six points and had 10 points by halftime. The Bulls led the Colonials for all 40 minutes and took a 29-15 lead into the locker room. Laura Ferreira set the standard for the Bulls in the defensive battle, and held GW's leading scorer Mei-Lyn Bautista scoreless.
Eight of USF's nine available players got on the board today, while Jordao and Pehadzic had a game high 14 points apiece. Pehadzic's career-high performance included a personal best three treys and five free throws for her best night as a Bull. Alyssa Rader had 10 points and eight rebounds in a near double-double, while Sydni Harvey had seven points, four rebounds, and five assists on the night.
Thirty points is the lowest point total for a USF opponent this season, and this is the second time GW has been held to 30 points in a game, the first coming from No. 9/10 Maryland on Nov. 14. In the theme of the season, USF out-rebounded GW 47-31. USF held George Washington to just 30 points, the lowest point total for a Bulls' opponent for the first time since Dec. 19, 2005 when USF defeated William & Mary 74-23. This is the third time this season USF has doubled up its opponents' point total.
Arkansas State 73, Tulsa 60
Morgan Brady, Alexis Gaulden and Crystal Polk all scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough as Tulsa dropped a 73-60 decision to Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Ark. TU fell to 5-5 on the season, while ASU moved to 4-4 overall.
Brady had a team-leading 18 points, all of which came from behind the arc with six three-pointers, while Gaulden added 17. Polk tallied her sixth career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. Polk missed 14:29 off the clock as she had to get stitches after taking an elbow to the face, but she was able to return to the court late in the fourth quarter.
Tulsa was called for 31 fouls in the contest, compared to Arkansas State's 13, sending ASU to the free throw line 36 times for 24 points, while TU shot just 3-of-7 from the charity stripe.
TU shot a solid 52-percent in the first 10 minutes, including 75-percent from three-point range, but went cold from behind the arc missing all five attempts in the second quarter and shooting just 33-percent from the field. The Red Wolves outscored the Hurricane, 15-10, in the second 10-minute period to pull within seven, 36-29, at halftime.
Arkansas State had a 14-11 scoring advantage over Tulsa in the third quarter to pull to within four, 47-43, but the Red Wolves evened the score at the 9:32 mark of the final quarter, 47-47, for the first tie of the game. The score was tied again at 51-all and 53-all, but a pair of free throws by Akasha Westbrook gave ASU their first lead of the game at the 6:59 mark, a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the contest.
The Red Wolves pulled ahead to a 12-point lead, 67-55, but Polk hit a jumper in the paint for a 10-point deficit for TU with 1:22 to play. Brady hit TU's last points, a three-pointer, for the final 73-60 score.
Memphis 53, Samford 48
The Tigers held on to their lead, making clutch free throws down the stretch to claim a 53-48 victory over the Samford Bulldogs Sunday afternoon. Memphis improves to 3-6 on the year.
Led by Taylor Barnes' 15 points, including shooting 7-for-9 from the free throw line, Memphis held off the Bulldogs' comeback efforts. Three Tigers scored in double-figures as Jamirah Shutes added 11 and Jada Stinson scored a season-high 10 points.
Entering the second quarter, Memphis built on its lead, stretching it as high as five through the middle of the period. As the teams continued to battle, the Tigers were able to maintain their lead with free throws and defense. Memphis had the advantage at the free throw line, going 8-for-12 from the line, compared to the Bulldogs 1-for-2 shooting in the first half.
Memphis also rejected three shots in the first half and came away with three steals, helping the Tigers head into halftime with a 20-17 lead.
Coming out of the half, the Tigers built their halftime lead to double-digits midway through the quarter. Samford fought back, however, scoring 10 unanswered to bring the game to a one-point lead for Memphis. The Tigers regained their energy, pushing the lead back to five to finish the third quarter 35-30.
The final quarter of the afternoon saw Samford chip away at the lead until the Bulldogs tied the score at 45-all. After a layup gave the Bulldogs the lead, Jamirah Shutes would make a layup to tie the score at 47 with just over a minute remaining in the game.
UCF 71, Delaware 60
The UCF women’s basketball team opened December action the same way they closed out November – with a win. The Knights posted a 71-60 victory over Delaware in the Bob Carpenter Center on Sunday evening.
UCF (7-1) used its sixth 70-point performance to top Delaware (3-6) and posted its best start since the 2013-14 campaign.
A trio of Knights reached double figures. For the eighth time this season, Kay Kay Wright reached double digits, scoring a game-high 24. Sydnee McDonald added 15 and Tolulope Omokore chipped in a season-best 11 points.
Wright led UCF with seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Fifi Ndour collected a team-high four steals and tallied a game-high three blocks.
Sunday’s victory marked UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s 50th win at the helm of the Knights. She became the fastest UCF head coach to amass 50 Division I victories – doing so in 74 games.
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