Friday, Dec. 28-Saturday, Dec. 29
Highlights
Duke 83, ECU 66
In the highest scoring game so far this season, the ECU women's basketball team could not keep up with Duke, falling 83-66 on Friday night inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The difference in the game came in the third quarter. ECU had gone toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils through the first 20 minutes, but trailed by nine at the half. In the decisive third quarter, the ECU defense could not stop the Duke offense. The Blue Devils scored 32 points in the quarter, the most an ECU opponent has scored in a single period this season.
Duke shot 13-of-17 (.765) from the field and 5-of-8 (.625) from behind the three-point arc.
The Pirates held their own in the other three quarters, including outscoring Duke 21-13 in the fourth frame. Raven Johnson led ECU with 13 points, including seven of Duke's 16 points in the third quarter. Also scoring in double-figures was Destiny Campbell (11 points) and Desiree Corbin (10 points). Corbin had the best game of her Pirate career, scoring in double-figures for the first time while also adding a career-high nine rebounds and three steals.
Tulane 68, Central Michigan 57
One of the best quarters in program history got the Green Wave off to a tremendous start, and Tulane held on for a 68-57 victory over Central Michigan in the Miami Holiday Classic at the Watsco Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Green Wave (9-3) jumped out to a 21-3 lead at the end of the first quarter over Central Michigan (8-3), who made the NCAA's Sweet 16 last season. Tulane went on an 18-0 run to close out the first quarter and held the Chippewas to just 6 percent shooting from the field (1-16) in the first 10 minutes.
The game was much more even the rest of the way, with Central Michigan starting to hit its shots as Tulane cooled offensively. But despite the Chippewas outscoring the Green Wave 20-8 in the third quarter, Tulane never lost its lead and earned a big non-conference victory over a team favored to win its conference once again.
Central Michigan entered the game as the No. 7 team in the nation averaging 41.4 percent from downtown, but it made just 6 of 30 on Saturday (20 percent). Tulane held CMU to a mere 57 points total, 21.8 fewer than its season average of 78.8 entering the game.
Krystal Freeman led the way for Tulane with 17 points while Kayla Manuirirangi and Harlyn Wyatt were also in double figures with 16 and 14, respectively. Freeman had her second career double-double with 10 rebounds as well, topping the Green Wave in that category.
Tulsa 66, UTEP 45
Tulsa jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 66-45 victory over UTEP Saturday afternoon in the final non-conference game for the Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa snapped a 15-game losing streak against their former league foe from the two schools' membership in Conference USA. Tulsa's last win against UTEP came in the 2005-06 season. Tulsa heads into American Athletic Conference action with a 6-7 record, while the Miners fell to 3-10 on the season.
Alexis Gaulden led the way for Tulsa with 21 points, followed by Kendrian Elliott's season-high of 12 points and 10 by Desiree Lewis. The Hurricane finished the game shooting over 40-percent from both the field (42.3) and three-point range (41.2), while the Miners shot just 32.7 percent from the field and 28.6-percent rom behind the arc.
Tulsa led by as many as 22 points in the first half and again at the 7:49 mark of the third quarter, 40-18, before the Miners went on a 12-1 run over the next 3:54 to cut its deficit to 41-30 on a Katrina Zec layup. The Hurricane wouldn't let UTEP get any closer and finished the third period on a 6-2 run for a 49-34 lead heading into the final period.
Memphis 77, NC Central 56
The Tigers scored a season-high 77 points en route to a solid 77-56 win over the Eagles of North Carolina Central Saturday afternoon, capping a six-game December home stand with a victory.
Jamirah Shutes paved the way for Memphis, scoring a team-high 18 points. Taylor Barnes dished out a career-high 11 assists, compared to just four turnovers, and the Tigers used big runs to close out each half to pull away from the Eagles.
The opening quarter of the game began with neck-and-neck scoring, both teams netting opportunities throughout the first minutes. As the quarter fleshed out, the Tigers grabbed ahold of the lead, with Shutes capping a 9-0 run with a layup to give Memphis a seven-point, 15-8, lead. The Eagles were able to trim the lead before the end of the quarter, but Memphis led after one, 17-16.
Barnes came out in the second quarter looking to get her teammates involved. After logging three first-quarter assists, the junior guard recorded four more in the second, helping the Tigers take a double-digit lead in the quarter.
Memphis iced the cake in the fourth, extending its lead and putting the finishing touches on a quality win. After the Eagles trimmed the deficit to single-digits, the Tigers regained their focus, closing the game on a 19-8 run. Jasmine James scored eight during the run, and finished with a career-high 16 points.
UT Arlington 66, SMU 41
Senior forward Alicia Froling recorded her 43rd career double-double, a program record, but SMU women's basketball fell to UTA in the non-conference finale, 66-41 inside Moody Coliseum on Saturday night.
Froling scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting while grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. The 16 boards are her second-highest total this season, behind an 18-rebound performance against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 20.
The Mustangs outrebounded the Mavericks 46-31, but UTA gained the advantage by knocking down 22 of its 28 free throw attempts.
SMU held a 19-18 lead at halftime, and extended the advantage to 26-21 behind five consecutive points from freshman guard Kayla White (10 points, 2 steals). She collected a blocked shot from freshman forward Paige Bayliss and sunk a fast break lay-up then drained a three-pointer on the next possession. UTA outscored SMU 34-12 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
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