Saturday, Dec. 15 - Sunday, Dec. 16
Highlights
USF 67, Grambling State 50
USF women's basketball won its fourth straight game and improves to 8-2 on the season when the Bulls defeated Grambling State 67-50 on Saturday afternoon in the Yuengling Center.
The Bulls were led by junior Alyssa Rader with 16 points, 16 rebounds and three assists. The 16 rebounds are a season high for the 6-3 post, but the 16 points tie her season high for her third double-double of the year. Rader was one of four Bulls that scored in double-figures, including freshman Sydni Harvey who led USF in scoring with 18 points. She added three rebounds, three assists and a steal to her line.
Laura Ferreira dished out 11 points, three assists, two steals and five rebounds despite being her drive being locked down by Grambling State's Shakyla Hill. Enna Pehadzic continued her standout performance from last week with 10 points and six rebounds, for her second career night scoring in double figures.
USF (8-2) led wire to wire, delivering Grambling State's (1-7) seventh loss of the season. The Bulls sampled its seventh starting lineup of the season, and despite a slow offensive start, took a 17-11 lead after the first period. USF defense held GSU to just nine second quarter points, and drew 14 first-half personal fouls from the Tigers. USF hit 12-of-14 free throws in the first half and owned a 32-20 lead at the break.
Rice 66, SMU 52
The Mustangs fell on the road to the Rice Owls, 66-52, in non-conference action on Saturday inside Tudor Fieldhouse.
Kayla White led the Mustangs with a career-high 22 points on the night. The freshman chipped in five rebounds and four assists as she led the Mustangs in minutes. White had 12 points at the half as the Mustangs trailed by 24 after the first two periods.
Alicia Froling's 10-point third quarter helped the Mustangs cut into the Owl lead as the Mustangs went on a 10-0 run near the middle of the period. Froling finished the game with 12 points and added three blocks on the night with 5-of-8 shooting. SMU outscored Rice 24-19 in the quarter.
The Mustangs would hold the Owls to seven fourth-quarter points but were unable to erase the deficit. SMU was able to whittle a 29-point Owl lead down to the 14-point margin at the game's close. The Mustangs defense held Rice without a field goal for the final 6:34 forcing four Owl turnovers over the stretch.
Makenzie Ellis set her career high at SMU with a five-assist game, topping the team. Ellis also added six rebounds and two steals in the effort as she started her second straight game.
ECU 63, USC Upstate 53
A dominant fourth quarter helped the ECU women's basketball team pull away to a 63-53 win over USC Upstate on Sunday afternoon in Minges Coliseum.
Salita Greene had a team-high 18 points (tying her career-high) and nine rebounds, while Destiny Campbell had nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds. ECU is now 8-0 all-time when Greene reaches double-figures in scoring. Lashonda Monk was the only other Pirate in double-figures, adding 11 points, the sixth time this season she has scored at least 10 points.
Although ECU had just three field goals in the second straight period, the difference in the third quarter was ECU's ability to get to the free throw line. The two teams went back and forth in the third, as USC Upstate led for the first time and held that lead for the majority of the quarter. ECU shot just 3-of-10 from the field, but went 9-of-13 from the free throw line in the third.
With the score tied heading into the fourth quarter, ECU's offense came to life. The Pirates opened the quarter on a 13-3 run to take a commanding 51-41 lead with 5:21 remaining. The run consisted of six points from Greene as well as a three-pointer by Raven Johnson, a Campbell jumper and a fastbreak layup from Alex Frazier. USC Upstate threatened to come back on two occasions.
First, the Spartans narrowed the score to 51-45, but Campbell answered with a jumper off a pass from Greene, and then Frazier stole a Spartan pass and buried a jumper. The Spartans once again got within six when it was 57-51 with 1:09 left, but Greene calmly canned a jumper on the next possession and after a Spartan free throw, added another jumper to regain the ECU cushion. In the fourth quarter, Greene finished with 12 points, four rebounds and an assist.
Cincinnati 79, Xavier 61
University of Cincinnati women's basketball sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas paced five Bearcats in double-figures with a career-high-tying 20 points -- as well as a career-best 18 rebounds – in a 79-61 victory over the Xavier Musketeers on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena in the 2018 edition of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.
Following an even first half, the Bearcats (7-5) turned it on in the second, outscoring the Musketeers (7-2), 38-20, to take back the Kendle Cup – the traveling trophy in the rivalry. The win for UC also snapped a four-game losing streak to XU and marked its first home Shootout win since 2008.
Thomas was joined in double-figure scoring by junior guards Sam Rodgers, Antoinette Miller and Florence Sifa who posted 14, 13, and 10 points, respectively, while sophomore forward Andeija Puckett added a career-high-tying 11 points. Furthermore, Thomas' four assists also tied a career best, while Miller's eight rebounds set a new career mark.
Following a week off from competition during finals week, the Bearcats fell behind by as many as five points in the first quarter and faced a 21-17 deficit at the end of one. Confronted with a five-point, 24-19, hole with 8:43 to go before halftime, UC went on a 22-13 run over the next eight minutes to lead, 41-37, with under a minute left in the second quarter. Four unanswered points by XU in the final seconds brought the score to 41-all at the break.
With the score tied at 43 with eight minutes to go in the third period, the Red & Black surged ahead with a 22-7 run – including 11 unanswered points -- to take a 65-50 advantage with 1:15 remaining in the quarter. The Muskies answered with six-straight points to bring the score to 65-56, Bearcats, with one quarter of regulation left to play. UC took control of the game with a 9-0 run to begin the fourth period and never looked back, staying in the driver's seat over the duration of the stanza to come away with the victory.
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