Wednesday, Jan. 6
Tulsa 62, Cincinnati 57
Wyvette Mayberry, Jessika Evans and Maya Mayberry all scored in double figures to lead Tulsa to a 62-57 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Golden Hurricane moved to 2-3 on the season and 1-3 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Bearcats fell to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the league.
Wyvette Mayberry had a team-best and career-high 20 points, while freshman Jessika Evans added personal-bests of 13 points and nine rebounds. Junior-transfer Maya Mayberry tallied 11 points, Rebecca Lescay recorded five assists, and Desiree Lewis and Kayla Moutry both had four steals.
"I thought our guys handled adversity well," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "We jumped out to the 16-point lead and they came back on us, but we didn't relinquish the lead. In the first quarter we won the transition game, they did in the second quarter and it all evened out in the second half. I'm proud of the way our kids defended them and held Iimar'I Thomas to her second-lowest scoring game this season. Kayla Moutry took three charges, two of which were off of Thomas, and our team defense was really good."
Cincinnati pulled to within two points, 53-51, with 3:01 left to play in the contest, but the Golden Hurricane held on and earned the five-point victory.
Tulsa owned a 14-12 lead in assists and a 13-6 advantage in steals, while the Bearcats had a 42-35 lead in rebounds and a 5-2 advantage in blocks.
The Bearcats took an early 6-2 lead with 7:20 on the clock, but the Golden Hurricane went on a 12-0 run to own a 14-6 advantage with 2:17 to play. TU had a 16-8 lead at the end of the frame and shot a solid 46-percent from the field and 40-percent from behind the arc in the first 10 minutes.
Tulsa climbed to a 16-point advantage (26-10) at the 6:03 mark of the second quarter, but the Bearcats closed out the period with a 15-7 run. Wyvette Mayberry hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Hurricane a 33-25 lead at the break.
TU inched ahead to take a 13-point lead, 42-29, with 7:40 on the clock in the third quarter, but Cincinnati cut their deficit in half to end the frame down just six points (46-40).
Tulsa shot 36-percent from the field, 35-percent from behind the arc and 91-percent from the free throw line, while Cincinnati shot 37-percent from the field, 25-percent from behind the arc and 69-percent from the line.
Thomas scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Arame Niang, Jillian Hayes and Jada Scott all added eight points.
Tulane 76, Houston 62
The Tulane women's basketball team used an impressive defensive performance to defeat Houston, 76-62, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, in the Fertitta Center.
Tulane (6-3, 2-2) outshot Houston (5-3, 2-2) .453-.383 from the field, including holding Houston without a made field goal for over 10 minutes of play. The Green Wave logged 42 rebounds, 18 assists and 13 steals, while the Cougars had 37 rebounds, 14 assists and seven steals. The Green Wave forced 21 Houston turnovers and scored 19 points off turnovers for the game. Tulane scored 44 points in the paint and held Houston to 22.2 (6-27) percent shooting from three.
Senior Krystal Freeman led the Green Wave with 20 points on 10-14 shooting. Freeman also grabbed seven rebounds, while junior Dynah Jones added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds and six assists. Senior Arsula Clark and freshman Jerkaila Jordan joined Freeman and Jones in double-figures with 12 points, apiece.
The Green Wave went on a 19-0 run that spanned from the end of the first half to the beginning of the third quarter to stretch their lead to 48-30 with 7:08 remaining in the third. During the run, the Green Wave also held Houston without a made field goal for more than 10 minutes of play. Both teams traded baskets for the rest of the quarter and Tulane took a 59-40 lead into the fourth.
Houston cut the Tulane lead to 65-57 with 4:02 to play, but Jordan and Heide ended the run with three free throws. Freeman scored four consecutive points for the Green Wave to extend the lead to 72-57. The Olive and Blue finished it off with a 76-62 final score.
Both teams traded blows in the first quarter with the Green Wave taking a slight edge, 20-18, into the second. Jones led the way with eight points in the opening period for the Olive and Blue.
The quick pace continued into the second quarter with Houston taking a 28-27 lead with 5:50 left in the half. After the Cougars hit a free throw, Tulane finished quarter on a 9-1 run to lead 36-30 at the break. The Green Wave held Houston without a field goal in the last 5:50 of the first half.
Tulane out-rebounded Houston 20-15 in the opening 20 minutes. The Green Wave logged eight steals and seven assists in the first half, while only turning the ball over six times. The Olive and Blue scored 26 of their 36 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes. Jones led Tulane with 13 points, while Freeman grabbed a team-high five rebounds in the first half.
Temple 66, East Carolina 57
Three players scored in double digits as the Temple women's basketball team topped ECU 66-57 on the road Wednesday night to remain undefeated in American Athletic Conference action. The Owls improved to 3-3 (3-0 AAC) while the Pirates dropped to 5-5 (3-2 AAC).
How It Happened
> Temple controlled the first quarter to hold an 18-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
> However, ECU was able to hold a two-point lead at halftime after outscoring the Owls 22-16 in the second frame.
> The Owls shot 41.7% (25-60) from the floor, holding the Pirates to a 33.3 field goal percentage.
> The back-and-forth game featured 12 lead changes.
> Temple held a 43-37 edge on the boards.
Statistically Speaking
> Junior Alexa Williamson recorded a game-high 19 points for her third-straight game in double digits. The forward 77.8% from the field while adding seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
> Senior Mia Davis registered her third consecutive double-double with 17 points and 11 boards. Davis now holds four double-doubles on the season, improving her career total to 39.
> Rookie Jasha Clinton added 11 points, a career-best nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
> Junior Emani Mayo shot 50% from three-point range as she finished the game with nine points.
> Sophomore Asonah Alexander added an impressive stat line of five points, eight assists, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
First Quarter: Temple 18, ECU 14
> The Cherry and White controlled the fast-paced first quarter, outshooting ECU 53.3% to 40%.
> Temple registered five steals in the first 10 minutes of action, forcing the Pirates to commit eight turnovers.
> Clinton led the Owls in scoring with eight points in the first frame.
Second Quarter: ECU 36, Temple 34
> Temple opened the second quarter with back-to-back threes from Clinton and E. Mayo, but the Pirates answered with a 17-3 run that included a perfect 5-for-5 effort from long range.
> ECU went on to outscore the Owls 22-16 as they shot 85.7% (6-7) from beyond the arc.
> The Owls shot 31.6% from the floor while the Pirates mustered a 50% field goal percentage to give themselves the halftime advantage.
Third Quarter: Temple 49, ECU 48
> Temple used the majority of the third quarter chasing down the Pirates before taking the lead after seven minutes of play.
> Williamson led the way for the Owls in the third frame with nine points, using good foul shots to tie the game and eventually put Temple on top.
> ECU took a one-point lead with 52 seconds remaining, but another pair of free throws from Williamson gave the Owls a slight edge heading into the final 10 minutes.
Fourth Quarter: Temple 66, ECU 57
> The Owls outscored ECU 17-9 in the final frame to extend their lead and collect their third-straight conference victory.
> The Pirates recorded a field goal percentage of just 14.3% while Temple went on to shoot 50% from the floor.
No. 18/19 USF 66, Wichita State 48
No. 18/19 USF proved to be too much for a shorthanded Wichita State squad Wednesday night in the Yuengling Center, as the Bulls pulled away for a 66-48 win.
Wichita State (3-5, 0-3) suffered its fifth consecutive loss after beginning the season 3-0. The Shockers suited up just seven players with Mariah McCully and DJ McCarty out with injuries.
Asia Strong scored a team-high 17 points to go with six rebounds. She was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc – a season best. Ene Adams added a season-high 10 points off the bench. Seraphine Bastin did a little bit of everything again, finishing with eight points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Shockers struggled from the opening tip putting the ball in the basket, finishing at just 29 percent overall and 4-of-15 from three-point range. USF overcame a slow shooting start to end the game at 43 percent and 12-of-26 from long range.
USF was powered by Elena Tsineke's game-high 31 points off the bench – the most by an opposing player this season.
Wichita State went the whole first quarter without a made field goal, getting just three points at the free throw line. USF held the Shockers to 0-for-14 shooting in the first 10 minutes to lead 12-3. The Bulls didn't shoot it much better, going 3-for-10.
The Shockers' first field goal came with 8:18 remaining in the second quarter on an offensive rebound putback for Strong.
Strong would then score nine straight points to keep Wichita State in it. She would finish the half with 11 points (three 3-pointers) and USF's lead at just nine, 27-18. Elena Tsineke led all scorers with 15 points for the Bulls.
Wichita State finished the half just 5-of-24 from the field, while USF got big lift from its bench. Twenty-two of USF's 27 points came from the bench, in large part to Tsineke.
Midway through the third quarter Wichita State was right in it, trailing by just eight. Second chance opportunities hurt the Shockers in the final minute, as USF made them pay. USF cashed in on a three-pointer following an offensive rebound to make it 47-34 at the end of the quarter.
USF then broke the game wide open with an 8-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, forcing a Keitha Adams timeout just 1:34 in.
The Bulls' run reached 11-0 before a pair of Ene Adams snapped it, but USF's lead was 24.