Wednesday, Jan. 27
Highlights
Wichita State 60, Cincinnati 52
Wichita State recorded its first-ever win against Cincinnati and snapped a six-game losing streak with a 60-52 win Wednesday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
Wichita State (4-6, 1-4) was 0-5 all-time vs. the Bearcats entering the day and hadn't won since Dec. 4 vs. Southern.
Asia Strong registered her fifth straight game in double figures with a team-high 17. Trajata Colbert scored 10 of her 12 points after halftime to go with eight rebounds. Seraphine Bastin chipped in 11 points, eight boards and six assists, while Shamaryah Duncan set season highs in points (8) and rebounds (10), as she nearly tallied a double-double.
Wichita State led by double figures much of the second half, but decided to make it interesting down the stretch, as Cincinnati clawed all the way back to three.
The Shockers shot 42 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bearcats by seven. Defensively, Wichita State limited Cincinnati to 32 percent shooting and just 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Jillian Hayes led Cincinnati with 17 points, while IImar'I Thomas and Arame Niang added 13. Thomas, one of the nation's top scorers at 23.9 points per game, was held to 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
Bastin scored six straight points in the final minutes of the first quarter and finished with a team-high eight to push Wichita State to an 18-11 lead after 10 minutes. Cincinnati was just 4-of-16 from the field in the first quarter.
Wichita State grabbed a nine-point lead (largest of the half) to begin the second quarter on a bucket from Strong. Bastin and Strong combined to score 18 of the team's 32 first half points, as the Shockers went into the half with a 32-27 lead.
Cincinnati outrebounded Wichita State in the first meeting, but the Shockers held the advantage (plus-7) on the glass after 20 minutes. Wichita State was also able to score at an efficient rate, shooting 45 percent from the field, while holding the Bearcats to 34 percent.
A 7-0 run to begin the second half gave Wichita State a 12-point lead, capped by a Carla Bremaud three-pointer from the corner. A Cincinnati score snapped the run, but Strong's trey made it 42-29 with 4:45 remaining in the period.
The Shockers would go on to outscore Cincinnati, 18-9, in the third and led 50-36.
Cincinnati put the first six points on the scoreboard to start the final period, trimming the lead to eight, before Wichita State finally found the hoop with 5:23 remaining.
Colbert's score to end the drought was matched by a Cincinnati triple to bring the Bearcats within five. The next trip down Strong drilled a step-back three-pointer to push it back to an eight-point margin.
As soon as Wichita State got it back to eight, the Bearcats answered with five straight to make it 55-52 and 2:00 left on the clock.
A clutch jumper from Bastin and free throws from Colbert in the final minute sealed the win.
UCF 52, East Carolina 47
The UCF women's basketball team extended its win streak to four with a 52-47 victory over ECU in Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday evening.
UCF (9-2, 7-1 AAC) used a team effort to jump out to an 8-2 lead over ECU (5-9, 3-6 AAC) as four Knights scored in the early going. A three-pointer from Ahna Burney put the Black and Gold in double figures and UCF held a 14-9 lead at the end of the opening frame.
The Pirates opened the second period on a 6-0 spurt to take a 15-14 lead, but the UCF post players stepped up down the stretch. Masseny Kaba and Brittney Smith combined for six points to give the Knights a 24-22 edge at the break.
While the Knights were able to maintain a lead in the third quarter, they were unable to pull away from the Pirates. After UCF extended its lead to six, 36-30, in the opening 39 seconds of the final frame, the Pirates responded with a 9-0 run to go in front with just over five minutes to play.
For the second game in a row, sophomore guard Alisha Lewis stepped up when the Knights needed her. Finding her team down by three, 41-41, Lewis sank a clutch three-pointer to pull UCF event and provide a spark for the Black and Gold. The Knights extended their lead to three before Kaba stepped up defensively with a block and recovered the rebound. UCF went perfect from the charity stripe in the closing minute to secure the victory.
For the seventh time this season, UCF held its opponent under 50 points. The Knights limited the Pirates to a 24.6 field goal percentage, sparked by a 16.7 percentage in the opening quarter.
Courtajia Sanders tallied her second double-double of the season with a game-high 11 rebounds and 10 points. Brittney Smith led UCF with 11 points. Masseny Kaba filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.
Houston 71, Tulane 64
The University of Houston Women's Basketball team used strong free-throw shooting and a second-half offensive surge to earn a comeback victory over Tulane. With the victory, Houston (9-5, 6-4 American) splits the season series with Tulane (8-5, 4-4 American) 1-1.
Miya Crump led Houston with 17 points and eight rebounds, marking her third straight game in double-figures. Laila Blair added 14 points and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Britney Onyeje paced the Cougar defense with a career-high five steals, to go along with 10 points.
Houston went 19-of-26 from the free throw line, tying its season-high for single-game made free throws. Defensively, Houston scored 24 points off turnovers. The UH bench came up big outscoring Tulane's reserves 18-9.
Tulane was led by Jerkaila Jordan with 19 points.
Houston got out to a hot start, opening the game with 12-2 scoring run to take an early lead. Onyeje and Crump combined for all 12 UH points. Tulane fired back after the first media timeout with a 14-2 run of its own, taking a 20-14 lead at the quarter break.
Jazmaine Lewis was the highlight of the second quarter for the Cougars, scoring six of her eight points in the frame. Tulane didn't have an answer for the 6-5 sophomore who won multiple one-on-one battles to help Houston outscore Tulane 16-14 in the quarter. A late Green Wave scoring run resulted in Houston heading into the locker room facing a 30-34 deficit.
The Cougars showcased their dogged style of defense in the second half, forcing six third quarter Tulane turnovers and scoring 10 points off those turnovers. Tatyana Hill made her presence known in the paint, cleaning the glass and scoring a pair of timely second-chance buckets to keep the Cougar offense on track.
With one quarter remaining and Tulane leading by one, Houston remained aggressive. The Cougar freshmen made pivotal plays, combining for 12 of the Cougars 26 fourth quarter points. Blair and Jones hit seven key free-throws down the stretch as Houston went 12-of-16 from the charity stripe in the final 10 minutes of play.