Saturday, Jan. 19 - Sunday, Jan. 20
Highlights
Memphis 58, ECU 46
The Memphis women's basketball team defeated ECU with a solid 58-46 victory on Saturday afternoon. Stifling defense and aggressive driving to the basket put the Tigers in a position to control the double-digit victory to improve to 7-10 overall and 2-2 in American Athletic Conference play.
Paced by a season-high 18 points from Taylor Barnes, the defensive intensity from the Tigers ruled the afternoon, as Memphis held the Pirates to 24.7 percent shooting. Jamirah Shutes and Alana Davis also scored in double-figures, notching 16 and 11 points, respectively.
A defensive battle in the first quarter, Memphis held the Pirates to just 27 percent shooting and zero trips to the free throw line. On the other side, the Tigers used points in the paint and free throws to build a 13-10 lead after one.
The Tigers came out in the second quarter looking to increase the intensity of their defense. Getting quick stops and fast responses on offense extended the lead to nine, forcing ECU to call a timeout with Memphis up 19-10 and 7:35 remaining in the quarter.
With 3:51 left before halftime, Ashia Jones checked in, marking her official Memphis debut. Originally transferring to Memphis prior to the 2015-16 season from UT Martin, Jones has dealt with injuries that have kept her from suiting up for the Tigers.
Opening the second half, the Tigers and Pirates battled neck-and-neck, with each team making runs in the period. Alana Davis scored five in the quarter, bringing her total into double-figures. After three quarters, Memphis led 51-40.
The Memphis defense came out in stifling fashion in the fourth, holding ECU to just one of its first 15 shots in the quarter. Though the Pirates dominated the offensive glass early in the quarter, the Tigers contested shots and kept points off the board. The low-scoring quarter ended with a Memphis victory, 58-46.
UConn 88, Temple 67
Crystal Dangerfield did it all for UConn.
Dangerfield had a career-high 26 points with nine assists and no turnovers to help lead No. 2 UConn to an 88-67 victory over Temple on Saturday.
Dangerfield broke out of a shooting slump by hitting 10 of 14, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers. She entered having missed 21 of her last 28 shots over three games.
Napheesa Collier added a season-high 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies (16-1, 5-0 American), who have won five in a row since their lone loss, 68-57 at Baylor on Jan. 3. UConn remained undefeated in league play since joining the American Athletic Conference, improving to 106-0.
Megan Walker added 11 points and Katie Lou Samuelson had 10 for UConn. Alliya Butts had 17 points to lead the Owls (4-13, 0-5), who lost their sixth straight.
Temple got within 66-52 early in the fourth quarter, but UConn methodically pulled away.
The Huskies, who entered leading the country with an average margin of victory of 27.8 points, won easily despite a sub-par shooting performance from long range. UConn was 7 for 25 (28 percent) on 3-pointers. The Huskies led 42-25 at halftime despite missing 10 of 13 3-point tries.
Dangerfield shot 6 for 8 in the opening 20 minutes, and finished the half with a coast-to-coast layup after a UConn defensive stop to make it a 17-point game at the break.
USF 73, Tulane 46
With just eight available players, USF defeated Tulane (receiving votes) in a dominating 73-46 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Yuengling Center behind career-high nights from Sydni Harvey and Enna Pehadzic.
Harvey and Pehadzic sparked the fire at the Yuengling Center, as each set career highs in scoring and combined for 46 points. The scoring bulk is a needed boost for USF (11-7, 2-2 AAC) who is missing more than 50 points from five unavailable players.
Harvey had a game-high 25 points on a 9-of-17 clip from the field, including a career-best tying four three-pointers in her career-best outing. Pehadzic had 21 points and eight rebounds, including a career-high five treys made to power USF. Shae Leverett had her third double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 12 points.
Tulane jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Bulls swam out of the Green Wave and went on a 7-0 run of their own. USF then held Tulane scoreless for almost four minutes in the first quarter. The offensive showing was led by Harvey who hit three of her four treys in the first quarter. The two teams were neck and neck at the end of the first period and USF had a slight 16-14 advantage at the quarter break.
After shooting just 5-of-17 from the field in the first quarter, the Bulls came alive in the second period and outscored Tulane 24-8. USF allowed no Tulane points until midway through the second period and USF took a 40-22 lead to the locker room. By halftime, three Bulls had already scored in double figures and Leverett needed just two rebounds to earn her double-double.
Coming out of the break, Tulane hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 16, but would get no closer the rest of the way. Leverett picked up her needed two boards to meet the double-double threshold, and USF held the Green Wave scoreless for another near-four minute period.
The fourth quarter was all Bulls' fun, as Pehadzic hit three more three-pointers and USF shot a cool 57.1 percent from the floor on an 8-of-14 clip.
Cincinnati 70, Tulsa 50
University of Cincinnati women's basketball picked up a conference victory on the road Saturday with a convincing, 70-50 win at Tulsa inside the Reynolds Center.
A buzzer beater to end the first quarter by sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas set the tone for a strong first half in which the Bearcats (11-7, 3-2 AAC) outscored the Golden Hurricane (9-9, 3-2 AAC), 25-12. UC really took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 22-10 -- including an 11-2 run to end the period -- to lead 47-22 with 10 minutes left to play. The Red & Black kept up the pressure in the final quarter, not allowing TU to get closer than 18 as the Bearcats rolled to victory.
UC had four players with double-figure scoring performances with Thomas leading the way with 18 points. Thomas also grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds to notch her fifth double-double of the season. Junior guard Antoinette Miller neared her second-consecutive double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, to go along with four assists. In addition, junior forward Angel Rizor added 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while junior guard Sam Rodgers chipped in 12 points.
UC's defense was suffocating, limiting Tulsa to 38.8-percent shooting and forcing the home team into 17 turnovers. The Bearcats were dominant in the paint, totaling 40 points, and outrebounded the opposition, 39-24. Furthermore, the Red & Black turned 11 offensive boards into 13 points and blocked a season-high eight shots.
UCF 55, SMU 43
For the second time in the last three games, the UCF women’s basketball team completed the comeback to earn a 55-43 victory over SMU on Saturday afternoon in CFE Arena.
Saturday’s victory gave UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson the 300th victory in her coaching career.
UCF (16-2, 5-0 The American) outscored SMU (7-11, 1-5 The American) 27-4 over the final 11:56 of the game, pouring in 24 points in the fourth quarter.
The Knights fell behind early but held a 14-12 advantage after the first quarter of action. After Kay Kay Wright put UCF ahead 18-14 with 4:46 left in the second quarter, SMU went on a 13-0 run to take a 27-18 lead into the locker rooms.
UCF pulled within three on a pair of occasions midway through the third quarter, but the Mustangs responded with an 8-0 scoring spurt to reclaim a double-digit lead, 39-28, with 1:56 remaining in the frame.
Trailing 39-31 entering the final 10 minutes, the Black and Gold went to work. Sydnee McDonald gave UCF its first lead since midway through the second quarter, draining a three-pointer to put the Knights up 40-39.
A basket from Nyala Shuler and another three-pointer from McDonald gave UCF a 45-39 advantage. Masseny Kaba pushed the Black and Gold lead to double digits, 52-41, with 1:21 remaining and Wright drained a three-pointer with time winding down to clinch a 55-43 win.
Extending her double-digit scoring streak to all 18 games this season, Kay Kay Wright posted a game-high 21 points while dishing out five assists and collecting five rebounds. Sydnee McDonald hit five three-pointers on her way to 19 points. Nyala Shuler pulled down 10 rebounds and Lawriell Wilson dished out four assists.
Houston 66, Wichita State 58
The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team won its third consecutive game and fifth in its last six contests with a 66-58 victory at Wichita State on Sunday inside Koch Arena.
Houston was led offensively by junior guard Angela Harris who led all scorers with her first 20-point game of the season. Harris finished the contest with 23 points behind five 3-pointers and an 8-of-9 mark from the free throw line. Octavia Barnes finished the contest with 13 points, while Julia Blackshell-Fair added 12. Serithia Hawkins pulled down double-digit rebounds for the 32nd time in her career with a game-high 12.
Wichita State had two players reach double figures in scoring including a team-high 18 from Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage. Carla Bremaud added 17 to combine with Lozada-Cabbage for 35 of the team's 58 points. Seraphine Bastin led the Shockers on the glass with six rebounds.
Houston opened the second half on an 8-3 run to push the lead to its biggest of the game the time at 35-23. The Shockers cut the lead back to nine with four of the next six points heading to the media timeout, But the Cougars answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Harris and a bucket from Hawkins to push the lead back to 11 at 45-34. However, after a Blackshell-Fair bucket gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game at 47-34, the Shockers ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the lead back to eight with 10 minutes to play.
Wichita State grabbed the first three points of the final quarter to extend its run to 8-0 and cut the lead to six at 48-42. Houston would respond however with 11 of the next 17 points to extend the lead back to 58-48 at the media timeout. Angela Harris knocked down a pair of free throws to spark the spurt and a pair of buckets from Hawkins and a fast-break layup for Blackshell-Fair led to another Barnes triple to push the lead back to 10 with just over four minutes to play.
Wichita State began mounting a comeback out of the timeout, when Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage connected on a 3-pointer, and knocked down the free throw after she was fouled, to cut the lead to 58-52 with just under three minutes to play. Houston would clamp down on defense however, holding the Shockers to just one bucket and four free throws down the stretch, while Houston converted all eight of its free points to give the Cougars a 66-58 victory.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| WEDNESDAY |
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Memphis |
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USF |
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7:00 PM |
Tampa, Fla. |
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Houston |
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Cincinnati |
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7:00 PM |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Live Stats TV:ESPN3 |
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SMU |
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UConn |
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7:00 PM |
Storrs, Conn. |
Live Audio TV:SNY/ESPN3 |
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UCF |
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ECU |
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7:00 PM |
Greenville, N.C. |
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Temple |
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Pennsylvania |
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7:00 PM |
Philadelphia, Pa. |