Wednesday, Dec. 30
Highlights
No. 21/22 USF 63, Tulsa 35
Elisa Pinzan made 3 of 5 from 3-point range and had 13 points to help No. 21/22 South Florida beat Tulsa 63-35 on Wednesday night.
Pinzan, a point guard from Murano, Italy, finished 5 of 9 from the field and had four assists and two steals. The Bulls (6-1, 3-0 American) won their fifth straight and third straight road game to open the conference season. Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) and Elena Tsineke (Thessaloniki, Greece) scored 10 apiece.
Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) grabbed a team high eight rebounds in the win.
Wyvette Mayberry scored nine points on 3-of-17 shooting for the Golden Hurricane (1-3, 0-3). Madi Washington also scored nine. Tulsa made 11 of 57 (19%) from the field and 6 of 24 (25%) from 3-point range.
South Florida scored the first seven points and never trailed in the game. The Bulls held Tulsa to 13 first-half points and had their largest lead at the final score. The 28-point margin of victory is the largest since defeating East Carolina by 29 points, 81-52, on Feb. 25, 2020, and the 35 points scored by the Golden Hurricane are the fewest allowed by USF in an American Athletic Conference game since Cincinnati scored 36 points in a 75-36 loss to the Bulls on Feb. 7, 2015.
In addition, the Golden Hurricane's 13 points in the first 20 minutes, is tied for the 17th fewest allowed by the Bulls in a half in program history.
Houston 79, Wichita State 65
The University of Houston Women's Basketball remains unbeaten inside the Fertitta Center after defeating Wichita State (3-3, 0-1 American) in a 79-65 decision.
Houston (5-1, 2-0 American) had five players in double-digits led by Eryka Sidney with 17 points including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range. At 1.000 Sidney's shooting percentage from long-range is a single-game American Athletic Conference record. Bria Patterson posted her first career double-double with ten points and a career high 13 rebounds. Jazmaine Lewis made her first career start, posting a career-high 11 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.
The Cougars improved to 5-1 for the first time since the 2010-11 season and are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Defensively, Houston forced 26 Wichita State turnovers, picking up 14 steals. Houston made ten three-pointers and now has five or more three-pointers in every game this season.
Wichita State was led by Seraphine Bastin with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Houston got off to a strong defensive start in the opening quarter forcing 11 turnovers while Sidney and Julia Blackshell-Fair led the way in scoring with six points each. Blackshell-Fair and Britney Onyeje anchored the Cougars on defense with two steals each in the first quarter, as the Cougars finished the quarter with a ten point lead.
Despite the Shockers making adjustments on both sides of the ball, the Cougars maintained their momentum, scoring ten points off turnovers. The Cougars went into halftime leading by 15 points after a block from Tatyana Hill, followed by a three from Sidney as time expired. The redshirt senior went 3-of-3 from the three- point line in the second frame.
Houston opened up the second half with a three pointer from Onyeje. The Cougars forced a Shocker timeout after Patterson went coast-to-coast, capping off a 7-0 run by the Cougars. With great perimeter defense, the Shockers did not score from behind-the-arc until the three minute mark of the third quarter.
Wichita State found its rhythm in the fourth quarter, cutting the Cougar lead to 11. The Cougars maintained their composure, playing through the Shockers tough defense, making multiple successful attempts from the charity stripe.