Wednesday, Jan. 23
Highlights
UConn 79, SMU 49
No. 3 UConn has been working in practice on its pressure defense, hoping to force a few more turnovers and get a few more baskets in transition.
That practice paid off Wednesday night.
Napheesa Collier scored 22 points and Katie Lou Samuelson added 21 to lead the Huskies to a 79-39 rout of SMU, the team's 107th straight victory over an American Athletic Conference opponent.
UConn had 16 steals and scored 26 points off 24 SMU turnovers. The Huskies had 21 points on the fast break and outscored SMU 38-22 in the paint.
Christyn Williams had 12 points and Megan Walker chipped in with 11 for the Huskies (17-1, 6-0). UConn has won every AAC game in both the regular season and conference tournament since the league was formed in 2013.
Alicia Froling had 13 points and Johnasia Cash scored 12 for SMU (7-12, 1-5), which has lost seven of eight.
UConn put on a clinic in ball sharing, with 26 assists on 31 baskets. Point guard Crystal Dangerfield had eight assists, and would have had a couple more if Collier hadn't missed a layup on a beautiful behind-the-back feed and Samuelson and been able to convert a no-look pass.
SMU started strong and led 7-6 before layups by Collier and Samuelson triggered a 12-0 UConn run.
That coincided with the Huskies' switch to a full-court press on defense. UConn led 24-10 after one quarter and was in control the rest of the game. The Huskies had 11 of their 16 steals in the first half and SMU turned the ball over 16 times before the break.
The Mustangs scored just six points in the second quarter and UConn led 46-16 after a 3-pointer from Walker just before the halftime buzzer.
The Huskies turned down the pressure in the second half, but SMU was unable to close the gap.
Cincinnati 68, Houston 57
University of Cincinnati women's basketball used a dominant second-half performance to upend the visiting Houston Cougars, 68-57, on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Following a 36-31 halftime deficit, the Bearcats (12-7, 4-2 AAC) fought back in the third quarter, outscoring the Cougars (9-9, 3-2 AAC), 22-9, to take a 53-45 advantage into the final period. In the fourth, the Red & Black increased its lead to as many as 12 points early, and following UH cutting its deficit to five with 1:30 to go, ended the game with a 6-0 run to secure the victory. The win is the Bearcats' third in a row and their eighth-consecutive at home.
UC had three players with double-figure scoring outputs, led by a game and career-high 21 points from junior guard Antoinette Miller. Miller also added seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas contributed 16 points and a team-best eight rebounds, while junior guard Florence Sifa came off the bench to score 10 points. Junior forward Angel Rizor recorded eight points, seven rebounds, and a career-high-tying six assists.
Beginning a two-game home stint, the Bearcats fell behind by as many as six points midway through the first quarter, but battled back to trail just 15-14 at the end of one. UC took a one-point, 18-17, lead early in the second period, but fell victim to an 8-2 Cougars streak over four minute to trail, 25-20. The two teams went back and forth over the duration of the half, resulting in the visitors holding a 36-31 surplus at the break.
UC came out of the locker room energized and quickly erased a seven-point shortfall with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 40 with 4:33 left in the third quarter. Over the course of the period, the Bearcats outscored the opposition, 13-5, to lead 53-45 going into the fourth. The Red and Black went up by double digits early in the final quarter and weathered a late UH rally to come away with a 68-57 triumph.
Memphis 47, USF 40
Down five with 1:20 remaining in the contest, the University of Memphis women's basketball team rattled off a 12-0 run, including six free throws by Taylor Barnes, to come away with a 47-40 victory over USF on the road Wednesday night.
The victory is the third-straight for the Tigers and improves Memphis to 8-10 overall and 3-2 in American Athletic Conference play. This is also the first win for the Tigers in Tampa since Jan. 28, 2001. Alana Davis and Barnes led Memphis with 11 points each.
After a slow start to the second half, the Tigers found themselves down as many as seven with 7:21 remaining on the clock. A pair of free throws by Davis and lock down defense by the Tigers saw Memphis down five with 1:20 remaining.
Brianna Porter went to the line with 1:20 remaining in the game to pull the Tigers within four. A quick offensive foul by USF granted Memphis the ball, and a lay-up by Porter on the ensuing drive pulled the Tigers within two.
Jamirah Shutes drove to the basket for her first points of the second half and ultimately completed an old-fashioned three-point play to give Memphis the final lead of the contest with 21 seconds remaining. Barnes finished the game off with six consecutive free throws.
USF built its lead up to as many as seven before the Memphis comeback with 7:21 left in the third quarter took place.
The Tigers committed just 14 turnovers in the contest, compared to the 22 that they forced by USF. Shutes finished with nine points and led Memphis with four assists. Gazmyne Herndon was tasked with guarding the reigning AAC Rookie of the Week, Sydni Harvey, and did so successfully, only allowing her five points and forcing nine turnovers.
UCF 61, ECU 58
The UCF women’s basketball team withstood a rally from ECU to post a 61-58 overtime win in Minges Coliseum on Wednesday evening.
UCF (17-2, 6-0 The American) held ECU (10-8, 1-4 The American) to just two free throws in the extra period. The Knights finished the game 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
The Black and Gold pushed one-point 13-12 advantage after the first quarter into a 25-20 edge heading into halftime.
UCF outscored the Pirates in each of the first three frames to take a 41-31 lead into the fourth quarter. ECU slowly chipped away at the Black and Gold’s advantage, pulling within one on three occasions within the final two minutes. The Knights sank clutch free throws down the stretch to put their lead back to three points, but a three-pointer from Justice Gee with 10 seconds left knotted the score at 56-56 to send UCF to its first overtime game of the season.
Kay Kay Wright found Masseny Kaba less than 10 seconds into the extra period, putting the Knights back on top, 58-56. The UCF defense locked the Pirates down, limiting them to just a pair of free throws, while the Knights clinched the victory from the foul line.
Nyala Shuler posted her second double-double of the season, grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with a season-best 10 points. She also collected a season-high four steals. Sydnee McDonald added 10 points for UCF. Kayla Thigpen chipped in nine points and tied her career-high with two blocks.
Penn 71, Temple 62
Despite an 8-0 closing run for Temple women's basketball, the Owls (4-14) came up short in a Philadelphia Big 5 game at Penn, falling 71-62 to the Quakers (10-3). Temple finishes the city series at 2-2, while the Quakers finish at 3-1.
Freshman Marissa Mackins made 5-of-10 three-pointers on her way to scoring a career-high 19 points while also leading all players with three steals. Sophomore Mia Davis added eight rebounds to 15 points, while junior Shantay Taylor also pulled down eight boards for Temple. Graduate student Alliya Butts led the Owls with six assists.
Mackin made her first two three-pointers within a 20-second span to put Temple within a point, 19-18 at 8:29 in the second. Two Penn free throws were the only points before Mackin's third trey at 5:48 which tied the game for the first time at 21-21. Penn used a 6-0 run to lead 31-23 at 2:44, and the teams traded buckets over the final few minutes. The Quakers' Eleah Paker took advantage of a Temple turnover in the final seconds of the period and scored at the buzzer to put the Owls down 35-27 at halftime. Davis led all players at the break with 10 points and six boards.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Lena Niang and Mackins got the Owls within 12 to start the fourth, but Penn pushed its advantage back to 17 points with a 5-0 run. The Quakers' Ashley Russell ended the run with a layup at 4:49, but Temple held Penn scoreless for the remainder of the game. Mackins and Breanna Perry each scored four points in an 8-0 run to close out the game. Perry's final bucket at 1:35 put Temple back within single digits, but the Owls came up short on their final three attempts from the field.
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