Highlights
Cincinnati 70, Temple 52
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball led from start to finish in a 70-52 win at Temple on Wednesday afternoon at the Liacouras Center. With the victory, the Bearcats improved to 17-10 overall and 9-5 in American Athletic Conference action. The last time UC recorded 17 wins or more in a season was in 2005-06 when it went 17-12. Meanwhile, the Owls fell to 10-17 on the year and 2-12 in the AAC.
The play of the seniors was the story of the day with the duo of Ana Owens and forward Shanice Johnson combining for 48 of UC's 70 points. Owens set the tone early, scoring 16 points in the first half, totaling 24 for the game. She also recorded game highs of seven points and three assists. Playing in front of friends and family in her hometown, Johnson, too, poured in 24 for her first 20-plus point game of the season. The Philly native also posted five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
For Temple, senior guard Tanaya Atkinson posted her fourteenth double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Emani Mayo led Temple with 13 points on 5-12 shooting, while classmate Desiree Oliver had a strong showing, finishing with with 12 points and five rebounds.
USF 81, Houston 65
No. 17 USF defeated Houston, 81-65, Wednesday night and clinched the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Bulls utilized a suffocating 17-0 run at the end of the first half to spark their third 80-point outing in six games.
USF (23-5, 12-2 The American) took the first quarter to adjust to a wild Cougars (20-8, 9-5) team. Down five at the end of the first quarter, the Bulls went to work. USF chipped away at a Houston lead of 10 points and a jumper by Kitija Laksa sparked a burst of offense in the final three minutes of the half. The Bulls made three of their five first-half three-pointers in the final minutes and carried a 42-33 lead into the break.
Laksa finished with 32 points while Maria Jespersen added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jespersen collected her 16
thdouble-double of the season in the first 20 minutes with 13 points and 11 boards. Laia Flroes distributed 11 of the team's 16 assists and added seven points and five rebounds.
Houston finished with a trio of players in double figures including a team-high 21 points from sophomore Angela Harris. The effort was Harris' third straight of 20 or more points. Jasmyne Harris finished the contest with 14 points, while Serithia Hawkins added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
UCF 63, Memphis 40
The defense came on strong in the final three quarters as the UCF women's basketball team earned a 63-40 win at Memphis on Wednesday night. UCF tallies 10 conference victories for the first time since 2010-11 and the first time since joining The American.
After allowing 19 points in the first quarter, UCF (18-9, 10-4 The American) locked down on the defensive end, holding Memphis (8-19, 3-11 The American) to three single digit quarters to close the game.
Four Knights scored in double figures, led by Zakiya Saunders' 14 points. Kornelia Wright recorded her first career double-double, scoring 11 points and tied her career-best with 10 assists. Masseny Kaba scored 11 points, and Jamesha Paul scored a season-high 10 points. Paul just missed a double-double, collecting a career-high nine rebounds.
Memphis senior Brea Elmore became the 25
th member of the University of Memphis 1,000-point club Wednesday evening, finishing with a team-high 12 points.
UConn 91, Tulane 47
Azura Stevens scored 23 points, Napheesa Collier scored 22 and No. 1 UConn won its 50th straight road game, 91-47 over Tulane on Wednesday night. Katie Lou Samuelson had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for UConn (27-0, 14-0 American), which led by as many as many as 32 in the first half and built a lead as large as 48 in the final period.
Kolby Morgan scored 15 points for Tulane (12-15, 4-10), which lost its third straight and fell to 0-9 all-time against UConn.
Tulane scored first on Morgan's 3-pointer - the Green Wave's first shot of the game - but that was by no means an omen of things to come. UConn responded with a 28-4 run during the rest of the first quarter, during which the Green Wave turned the ball over 12 times, leading to 17 Huskies points.
Upcoming Schedule
Feb. 24 (Saturday)
| Temple at ECU |
1 p.m. ET |
| UCF at Houston |
1 p.m. ET |
| Tulsa at Memphis |
2 p.m. ET |
| Tulane at Wichita State |
3 p.m. ET |
| Cincinnati at USF |
5 p.m. ET |
| UConn at SMU |
6 p.m. ET |
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