Tuesday, Jan. 29 - Wednesday, Jan. 30
Highlights
Wichita State 57, ECU 47
Wichita State avenged an early season loss and avoided the season sweep with a 57-47 win over ECU Tuesday night at Charles Koch Arena.
Jaida Hampton led the Shockers with 12 points off the bench, while Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Seraphine Bastin tied her season high with 10 rebounds and added five points in the Wichita State victory.
Lashonda Monk led all scorers with 17 points.
After ECU matched Wichita State's first six points of the game, a free throw from Cesaria Ambrosio and a jumper from Hampton allowed the Shockers to take a three-point lead. The Pirates cut the lead to one, but free throws from Raven Prince and Maya Brewer put Wichita State ahead by five.
The Shockers held ECU scoreless for the first four minutes to start the second quarter, until a a 3-pointer knotted the score at 15-15 with 5:00 minutes to go in the first half. Alyssia Faye extended the lead with two baskets, and Hampton added two free throws to make it a 25-19 Shocker lead with 24 seconds to play.
Wichita State held ECU to 18 percent shooting in the second quarter, resulting in the Shockers taking the six-point lead into the locker room.
ECU opened the third quarter on a 9-0 scoring run, taking the lead off a 3-pointer with 7:30 to go in the quarter. The Shockers took back the advantage thanks to a jumper from Hampton and a 3-pointer with five minutes to play, but a three-point play from the Pirates tied the game at 32.
Ashley Reid's layup and free throws from Lozada-Cabbage put the Shockers ahead by three following an ECU free throw, but Lashonda Monk's free throw and basket after an offensive rebound allowed the lead to swing back over to the Pirates. A layup from Asia Henderson swung the advantage toward the Shockers, until ECU knocked down a pair of free throws to take a one-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Five straight points for Lozada-Cabbage and a layup by Faye allowed the Shockers to take a four-point lead, with Faye converting another basket while drawing the foul extending the advantage. Hampton knocked down two jumpers to give the Shockers a double-digit lead, giving them an 11-0 run with 5:30 left.
Temple 75, Tulsa 61
A career performance for graduate Alliya Butts pushed the Temple women's basketball team to a 75-61 win on the road at Tulsa on Tuesday night. Butts dropped a career-best 34 points as Temple improved to 6-14 overall, 2-5 in conference play. The Golden Hurricane fall to 9-11, 3-4 in the American.
Tulsa led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and Temple trailed by five at the half. However, a huge third quarter changed the momentum, as the Owls outscored Tulsa 27-15 in the frame to take over the game. Temple then sealed the win with a 19-12 fourth quarter.
Butts' 34 points topped her previous career high of 30 which she did in her freshman year. She also had five rebounds and a team-best five assists. Sophomore Mia Davis finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Emani Mayo added five points with a career-best nine boards, while Marissa Mackins added five points.
13 points from Butts sparked a huge third quarter for the Owls, as Temple regained the lead early in the frame. With Temple up 40-37, Tulsa battled back to go up by one on a Maddie Bittle 3 (49-48). From there, the Owls closed the frame with eight-straight to lead 56-49 after three.
Tulsa got the lead down to five points midway through the fourth quarter, but the Owls got to the rim and made eight free throws in the frame. Temple closed out the game on a 9-1 run to finish out the win.
UCF 58, Houston 56
The UCF women’s basketball team fed off the crowd’s energy to earn a close 58-56 win over Houston in CFE Arena on Wednesday evening.
UCF (18-3, 7-1 The American) and Houston (10-10, 4-3 The American) battled for much of the contest, with neither team enjoying more than an eight-point advantage.
The Cougars jumped out to the early lead and held a 20-18 edge after the first quarter. The Knights responded to take a 31-30 lead into halftime. After falling behind by seven points, 41-34, less than three minutes into the third quarter, UCF responded to take a 44-43 lead with just under a minute left in the frame but entered the fourth quarter trailing 45-44.
A 10-2 run to start the final stanza gave UCF its largest lead of the game, 54-47, with 5:36 left to play. After the Cougars cut UCF’s advantage to two, 54-52, with 2:12 remaining, Kayla Thigpen rattled in a jumper to push the Black and Gold lead back to four, 56-52. The Knights kept the Cougars at bay and clinched the 58-56 victory at the free throw line.
Kayla Thigpen led all scorers with 16 points, dishing out two assists to go along with a pair of steals and a block. Masseny Kaba added 11 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Kay Kay Wright and Diamond Battles each recorded a trio of assists, while Battles collected a game-high three steals.
Cincinnati 57, USF 56
University of Cincinnati women's basketball gutted out a 57-56 conference road win Wednesday against the USF Bulls at the Yuengling Center.
The Bearcats (14-7, 6-2 AAC) trailed the Bulls (11-10, 2-5 AAC), 56-55, with 1:34 left to play, but a junior guard Antoinette Miller jumper with 1:11 to go gave UC a late, 57-56 lead. The Red & Black stayed solid on the defensive end down the stretch to come away with the win. The triumph is the first versus USF since 2011.
The trio of Miller, senior guard Nikira Goings and sophomore forward IImar'I Thomascombined to score 49 of UC's 57 points. Thomas led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Goings came off the bench to score 18, including three 3-pointers. Miller chipped in 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists, as well as some huge baskets and steals in crunch time.
The Bearcats trailed by as many as 10 points late in the first half, but battled back to force a 28-all tie at halftime. After a back-and-forth third quarter in which UC edged USF in scoring, 20-19, the teams played an even final period which allowed the Red & Black to come away victorious.
UC shot the ball at a 41-percent clip from the field and knocked down six 3-pointers. The Bearcats also held a 38-34 advantage on the glass and scored 12 points off of 15 offensive rebounds. In addition, the Red & Black scored 24 points in the paint and scored 10 points off of 14 Bulls turnovers.
Tulane 62, ECU 61
Tatyana Lofton set a career high with 17 points and Krystal Freeman had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Tulane escaped Memphis with a 62-61 overtime victory at Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
Three-pointers by Lofton and Kaila Anderson were the Green Wave's only points in the extra period, and Memphis missed three consecutive layup attempts in a frantic final 10 seconds as the buzzer sounded and Tulane celebrated.
Tulane is now 2-0 in overtime games this year as it previously defeated Texas State 67-61 in overtime on December 22.
The Green Wave (14-6, 4-3 American Athletic Conference) outscored the Tigers (8-12, 3-4) by a count of 38-25 in the first half and led 48-40 entering the fourth quarter, but Memphis fought back to take a 55-52 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Freeman got a quick layup two seconds later to make it 55-54, and Memphis' Taylor Barnes made just one of two free throws to give the Tigers a 56-54 edge with 25 seconds on the clock. That set up a hectic final possession for Tulane.
Sierra Cheatham got the first chance at the basket but missed a 3-pointer. Lofton snagged the rebound and drove to the basket before finding Meredith Schulte under the basket. Schulte also missed her chance, and Freeman bobbled the rebound off her fingertips before securing it. The clock expired right after Freeman released a layup that bounced off the backboard and in, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, Lofton started things off with a 3-pointer 31 seconds into the period. Memphis responded with an and-1 play from Barnes to tie it at 59-59, but Anderson drained her 3-pointer a minute later.
Neither team could get on the board in the next 2:30 before Alana Davis hit a layup to pull the Tigers within 1 point at 62-61 with 37 seconds left. Tulane could not do anything on its next possession, coughing up the ball with 17 seconds remaining.
Memphis had its chance to come up with the win, but – in a sequence that mirrored Tulane's game-tying basket in regulation – the Tigers missed two consecutive layup attempts as the final horn went off.
With the victory, Tulane has now matched its victory total from all of last season. The Green Wave have also won two straight games against Memphis.
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