Saturday, Jan. 2
Highlights
No. 21/22 USF 71, East Carolina 58
Bethy Mununga scored 23 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, both personal bests in her two years at South Florida, and the No. 21 Bulls pulled away from East Carolina 71-58 on Saturday.
Mununga, a junior college transfer from Zellik, Belgium, controlled the inside, especially in the second half when she outrebounded the Pirates 15-12 and scored 11 points. The senior, who spent her first two years at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, has four double-doubles this season and 13 at USF.
Mununga's 20-20 performance marked the eighth in program history, and the first since Alisha Jenkins scored 27 points and had 20 rebounds against Harvard on Dec. 3, 2016. In addition, Mununga is the 14th player in program history to grab 20 or more rebounds, and her total is tied for the fourth most in a single game in school history, and tied for the fifth most in American Athletic Conference history.
Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) added 11 points and Maria Alvarez (Bal Harbour, Fla.) 10 for the Bulls (7-1, 4-0 American Athletic Conference), who have won six straight. Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) also handed out eight assists in the win.
Sierra DaCosta and Lashonda Monk had 13 points apiece for East Carolina (5-4, 3-1), which had won four straight. Taniyah Thompson added 12 points.
Mununga had four points as USF scored the last five of the second quarter to lead 32-28 at the half. Monk and Thompson combined for a 9-0 run that put the Pirates on top 37-34 midway through the third quarter. But Mununga scored six points during a 13-2 run and the Bulls led 47-41 going into the fourth quarter.
After an ECU bucket, USF took control with nine-straight points as part of a 15-3 run and led by 15 with 5:11 left.
Mununga was 9 of 12 from the line and Harvey 8 of 10 as the Bulls made 28 of 36 free throws, outscoring East Carolina by 17.
Cincinnati 65, Wichita State 59
IImar'I Thomas posted her first double-double of the season, collecting 24 points and 17 rebounds, while Destiny Haymer and Arame Niang posted 10 points each as Cincinnati (2-5, 1-2 American) snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday with a 65-59 win at Wichita State (3-4, 0-2).
Asia Strong and Mariah McCully led the Shockers with 15 points each. Carla Bremaud had 12 points and Seraphine Bastin added eight points and registered a double-double with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Wichita State, who suffered its fourth consecutive loss.
UC limited the Shockers to 36.5 percent shooting from the floor (23 of 63), won the battle on the boards 42-35, matched a season-best with seven blocks and recorded 16 assists on its 24 field goals.
Thomas, who entered the day second in the nation in scoring at 28.2 points per game, has produced at least 23 points in every game this season. Her 17 rebounds were one shy of matching a career high.
The Bearcats started strong out of the gate, running off 14 consecutive points after an early Shocker basket to grab a 14-2 lead at 5:57 of the opening quarter. A Milan Schimmel 3-pointer, four points from Niang and five points from Thomas keyed the run.
However, Wichita State answered with a 21-6 run of its own thanks to eight points from McCully and seven from Strong to grab a 23-20 lead with 6:10 left in the second quarter.
The Bearcats responded with two baskets inside from Thomas, a 3-pointer from Sofia Gritzali and jumpers from Haymer and Jadyn Scott to take a 31-27 lead into intermission.
The Shockers wrestled the lead back at 37-35 following a layup by Strong with 6:08 left in the third quarter.
But a 12-3 run by the Bearcats that featured a pair of three-point plays by Thomas gave UC a 47-40 advantage at 2:12 in the third frame.
UC's lead grew to as many as 10 in the final quarter on a pair of free throws from Thomas with 8:13 left and Wichita State never was able to pull within more than six points the rest of the way.
Tulane 80, Memphis 44
The Tulane University women's basketball team (5-3) picked up its first league win in convincing fashion Saturday night, as it defeated the University of Memphis, 80-44, at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
With the win, Tulane captured its fourth win over Memphis in its last six outings. The Green Wave also collected their third straight victory at home to remain undefeated on their home floor this season.
Tulane's 80 points marked the third time this season the Green Wave have scored 80-or-more points. The Green Wave's 80-point effort also was their highest against Memphis since their 86-point output back on Feb. 18, 2010.
Junior guard Dynah Jones led the Green Wave with a game-high 19 points. She connected on 8-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Her 19 points and three field goals from long range were both season bests.
Joining Jones in double figures was freshman Jerkaila Jordan, as she added 15 points. Jordan's 15-point effort marked the seventh time this season she has scored in double figures.
As a team, Tulane connected at a 54 percent clip (35-of-65) and held a 37-29 rebounding advantage.
Defensively, Tulane also held Memphis to just 33 percent from the field and held team leading scorer Dulcy Mendjiadeu Fankam to just five points. She entered the game, averaging 16.4 points per game.
The Green Wave also had totaled 13 steals and forced Memphis into 22 turnovers.
Tulane jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as it opened a 39-18 lead at the break. The Green Wave shot 51.4 percent from the field and connected on 18-of-35 shots.
The Green Wave also was impressive on the defensive front, as they held Memphis to just 28.6 percent shooting (8-of-26). Tulane also held Memphis to single digit scoring in the first and second quarters.
Tulane ended any chance of a Memphis comeback in the third quarter as it outscored the Tigers by a 13-7 count over a four minute stretch to start the third quarter to open up a 25-point advantage. By the end of the frame, Tulane opened up a 30-point lead.
The Green Wave secured the win by outscoring the Tigers 18-12 in the fourth quarter.