Saturday, Dec. 8 - Sunday, Dec. 9
Highlights
Wichita State 70, Grambling State 61
With a season-high 7,356 in attendance, mostly of energized elementary kids, Wichita State ended a three-game skid and defeated Grambling State on Tuesday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
Shyia Smith led the Shockers with 15 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, while Carla Bremaud and Jaida Hampton added 14 points each. Bremaud also stepped up grabbing a season-high six rebounds. Raven Prince chipped in 10 points - eight in the first half.
The Shockers finished the game shooting just 38 percent and 4-of-13 from beyond the arc, but won the rebounding battle, 35-32 and forced 26 turnovers. The Tigers hit 5-of-18 attempts from 3-point range and 46 percent overall.
Holding the Shockers to 25 percent shooting in the second period, Grambling State came from behind to tie the game heading into the locker room.
With Grambling State shooting 20 percent in the first four minutes of the second half, the Shockers jumped out to a three-point lead. Seven straight points from Hampton stretched the Shocker lead to six with four minutes to play in the third quarter. Hampton would end the period with nine points.
Bremaud gave the Shockers momentum heading into the final 10 minutes, knocking down a 3-pointer to put the Shockers ahead 53-46. She followed up with another one from downtown to start the fourth quarter that put Wichita State ahead by 12.
Hampton kept the rain storm of threes coming that gave the Shockers a 61-46 lead, forcing Grambling State to call a timeout with 8:19 left. The Tigers cut the deficit to single digits, but a three-point play from Smith pushed the lead back out to 10.
Grambling would come no closer than eight points the remainder of the game.
UCF 71, Duquesne 63
The UCF women’s basketball team extended its winning streak to five games with a 71-63 victory at Duquesne on Wednesday evening. At 8-1, UCF is off to its best start since 1984-85, the program’s first year playing in Division I.
UCF (8-1) jumped out to a 24-12 lead over the Dukes (4-4) at the end of the first quarter and took a 35-32 edge into halftime. Duquesne took a four-point advantage early in the third quarter, but the Knights responded to claim a 54-49 lead heading into the final frame. The Black and Gold held the edge for the entire fourth quarter to sweep the road trip.
Kay Kay Wright led a trio of Knights in double figures, posting her fourth 20-point performance with 21. She added seven assists and collected five rebounds.
Nyala Shuler became the first Knight with a double-double this season – pulling down a season-high 14 rebounds while shooting 4-for-4 from the floor en route to 10 points. Jamesha Paul added 11 points.
ECU 66, Liberty 63
With a record 6,276 fans in the stands, Justice Gee hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift ECU to a 66-63 win over Liberty on Thursday afternoon in Minges Coliseum.
Lashonda Monk finished with a team-high 16 points for ECU, as well as leading the team in assists (6) and steals (5). Gee finished with seven points, three assists, four steals and was +11 in her 17 minutes on the court
Thursday's game was ECU's annual Education Day inside Minges Coliseum and students from all over Pitt County came to watch the Pirates. The crowd, which is the biggest in ECU women's basketball history, was loud from tipoff all the way until the final basket. At times, that energy from the crowd helped ECU stay within striking distance of Liberty, as the Flames led for 34:46 of the game's 40 minutes, but never by more than nine points. After scoring the first two points of the game, ECU fell behind 6-2 and eventually trailed 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.
With the score deadlocked in the final minute, both teams had chances to take the lead. Necole Hope missed a jumper followed by a missed layup from Liberty's Emily Lytle. Gee pulled down the defensive rebound and ECU took a timeout to set up a play.
Out of the timeout, ECU had three good looks at the basket, with Salita Greene and Johnson pulling down offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive. After the third Pirate miss, Gee dove for another offensive rebound and the Pirates once again called timeout.
With just four seconds remaining, ECU did not have much time and after the first option did not materialize, Monk passed to Gee at the top of the key. Gee let loose a long attempt that hit nothing but net, setting off a wild celebration as the buzzer sounded. It was the first game-winning shot for ECU since Shala Hodges made a game-winning three against Marshall on Feb. 26, 2012.
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