Thursday, March 21 - WNIT First Round
2019 WNIT BRACKET
Highlights
USF 84, Stetson 50
USF women's basketball defeated Stetson 84-50 in the first round of the WNIT in the Yuengling Center on Thursday night to advance to the second round of the postseason tournament.
USF was powered by hot shooting, making 12 three-pointers as a team on 21 attempts for a 57.1 percent shooting efficiency beyond the arc. Freshman Elisa Pinzan led the charge, making a career-high five three-pointers, adding two field goals and four free throws for a career high 23 points. She made a career high 7-of-12 field goals, added five rebounds and four assists in her best career outing.
The Bulls led wire-to-wire, storming out to a 19-4 lead in the first five minutes. USF tied its season high for points scored in the first quarter with 28, and set a new season high for points scored in the second quarter with 27, enough to lead Stetson 55-29 at halftime.
In true South Florida fashion, the Bulls led Stetson on the glass 43-to-23, outrebounding their opponent by 20. USF also assisted 17-of-28 makes on the night for one of USF's best all-around team performances this season. Four Bulls scored in double figures including Pinzan with a game-high 23 points, Enna Pehadzic with 19, Sydni Harvey with 18, and Shae Leverett with 11. Leverett also led USF in rebounds with eight on the night.
USF will advance to the second round of the WNIT and will face the winner of JMU/North Carolina A&T, which tips off on Friday night. USF will play in the second round between March 23-26, and the location and time are yet to be determined. This will be USF's sixth appearance in the WNIT second round or better.
In the second round of the WNIT, USF will search for its 20thwin of the season. USF has had 20 wins or more for the past six straight seasons, and 19 wins or more for the past seven straight seasons.
Cincinnati 76, Youngstown State 62
University of Cincinnati women's basketball took care of business Thursday night in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) first round with a 76-62 win against the Youngstown State Penguins at Fifth Third Arena.
A dominant second quarter – featuring a 20-8 scoring edge – allowed the Bearcats (22-10) to take control of the game early on. UC then weathered a late run by YSU (22-10) to come away with the victory. The triumph was the Red & Black's first in the postseason since a WNIT win over Duquesne in 2012. In addition, head coach Michelle Clark-Heard picked up her 200th career victory in just nine seasons as a head coach.
UC, once again, featured a balanced scoring attack with four players scoring 10 or more points. Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett led the way with a career-high 16 points, to go along with six rebounds. Junior guard Antoinette Miller also scored 16 and added five rebounds. Junior forward Angel Rizor continued her strong late-season play with 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Junior guard Sam Rodgers chipped in 10 points a career-best-tying seven rebounds, as well as a team-high five assists.
Competing in the WNIT for the second-consecutive season, the Bearcats faced stiff competition in the opening quarter. Able to build up a four-point lead with 3:16 to go in the first period, the Red & Black fell victim to a 6-0 Penguins run to end the stanza to trail 17-15 at the end of one. UC took control in the second, outscoring YSU 20-8, including a 7-0 run early in quarter, to lead 35-25 at halftime.
The Bearcats increased their advantage to a game-high 18 points in the third quarter, but was ultimately edged 21-20 in the period. Armed with a 55-46 lead with just 10 minutes left to play, UC saw its advantage whittled down to as few as three points, 57-54, with 7:27 remaining. Cincinnati fired back with a 13-0 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to get back into the driver's seat. The Red & Black stayed solid down the stretch to earn its 15th home win of the season.
UC shot the ball at a 42-percent clip from the field and was a perfect 13-of-13 from the free-throw line. The home team also held a 41-30 edge on the glass and scored 14 points off of 13 offensive rebounds. Additionally, the Bearcats got out in transition for 18 points, got 28 points from their reserves, and scored 36 points in the paint. Moreover, the Red & Black dished out 19 assists on 29 made field goals and swiped eight steals.
Arkansas 88, Houston 80
The Houston Cougars Women's basketball team fell in overtime, 88-80 to Arkansas in the opening round of the Women's National Invitatation Tournament Thursday evening at Bud Walton Arena.
Behind a team-high 19 points from Octavia Barnes and double-digit scoring efforts from Angela Harris, Dorian Branch, Serithia Hawkins, Tatyana Hill and Julia Blackshell-Fair the Cougars close their season at 15-16 overall and 9-7 in the American Athletic Conference.
Houston got off to a good start, keeping things close with the Razorbacks who made their first appearance in the SEC Championship just two weeks ago. Harris got off to a good start offensively, scoring the first five points for Houston. Six different Cougars would chip in early on, leading to the Cougars trailing by two at the start of the second quarter.
Houston was able to pound Arkansas in he paint, taking its first lead of the contest halfway through the second quarter. The Cougars would take advantage down low and grab four more rebounds than the Razorbacks, outscoring Arkansas in second-chance points 10-0 at the break. Both teams would head into halftime tied 36-36.
Barnes would be the difference-maker in the third quarter, scoring nine of her 19 total points in the third frame. Arkansas would outscore Houston 20-22 in the frame to take a 58-56 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Hill made her presence well-known in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, sinking back-to-back buckets and hitting a freethrow to set the tone. Branch and Blackshell-Fair would play a major role in the fourth frame, combining for 10 points. Houston would take a two-point lead with under two minutes to play and Arkansas would draw a foul with 19 seconds remaining and tie the contest by hitting a pair of free throws. A missed three-point attempt on the Cougar end of the floor would results in Houston heading into its seventh overtime contest of the season.
The Cougars would get outscored 15-7 in the overtime period, unable to counter a 5-0 run from the Razorbacks early on in the period. Houston would ultimately fall to Arkansas 88-80.