Tuesday, Feb. 23-Wednesday, Feb. 24
Cincinnati 76, East Carolina 61
Iimar'I Thomas became the second player in University of Cincinnati basketball history to score 50 or more in a game with her career-best, 51-point performance in a 76-61 win at East Carolina on Wednesday.
Thomas, who also had the first 50-plus point game in American Athletic Conference women's basketball history, set school and league records for points in a game (51) and field-goals made (20). It was the most points scored by an NCAA Division I women's basketball player in the 2020-21 season.
She joins basketball legend Oscar Robertson as the only UC players to cross the 50-point plateau in a single game. Robertson had six career games at UC with 50 or more points, most recently a 50-point performance against North Texas on Feb. 22, 1960.
Thomas went 20-of-27 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line while grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing out four assists and had a steal. She became the fourth player in school history with 1,800 or more career points and is the first in UC history with 1,800+ career points and 800+ career rebounds. Thomas has scored 1,824 points with 846 rebounds at UC.
The Bearcats (5-15, 4-12 AAC) snapped a three-game losing streak after taking a one-point lead out of the first quarter, leading by eight at the break and pulling away by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter.
Caitlyn Wilson added 10 points, knocking down three triples to give her 27 three-pointers made over the last seven games.
Jada Scott pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds as UC held a 54-26 edge on the glass over the Pirates (7-12, 5-9 AAC).
ECU's Taniyah Thompson scored 19 to lead three players in double digits as Synia Johnson and Lashonda Monk each added 11.
No. 13 USF 56, Temple 47
Bethy Mununga scored 10 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and the No. 13 USF women's basketball team beat Temple 56-47 on Wednesday to extend a program record with 13 straight victories.
USF pulled away in the fourth quarter, opening on a 17-2 run — with scoring from five different players. Temple made just 3 of 14 field goals in the final 10 minutes.
The other four starters for South Florida (14-1, 11-0 American) each scored nine points.
Shae Leverett also had nine rebounds and Elisa Pinzan had six assists. Pinzan made all six of her free throws and Sydni Harvey was perfect on five as USF made 19 of 23.
Mia Davis and Jasha Clinton combined for 43 points for Temple (9-9, 9-6 American). Davis had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Clinton made four 3-pointers. The duo shot 15 for 42 from the field.
The rest of Temple was 2 of 15, both those baskets by Alexa Williamson, the only other player to score for the Owls.
Wednesday marked Mununga's second 20-rebound game of the season. She also accomplished the feat with a career-high 21 rebounds against East Carolina on Jan. 2. Mununga is one of just four players in the nation to grab 20 or more rebounds in more than one game.
Houston 77, Wichita State 65
The University of Houston Women's Basketball (14-5, 11-4 American) team won its sixth straight game with the help of a five double-figures scoring efforts, knocking off Wichita State (4-11, 1-9 American) in a 77-65 decision on Wednesday evening.
Houston was led in scoring by Miya Crump with 16 points. Laila Blair added 15 points, as Britney Onye added 13 of her own. Dymond Gladney poured in 12 points, as Tatyana Hill rounded out the double-digit scorers for Houston with 11 points.
The win is the Cougars sixth straight road win, matching the third-longest road winning streak in program history. Houston closes out the regular-season with an 8-3 road record, its best since the 2010-11 season. Houston has earned four regular-season series sweeps this season. The 11 wins is the most by the Cougars since joining The American.
Both teams got out to fast starts, but hot three-point shooting from Onyeje would give UH a 14-11 advantage by the time the first media timeout rolled around. Wichita State held the Cougars scoreless for over two minutes before a 6-0 run, highlighted by three-point plays from Hill and Gladney along with a pair of steals from Blair gave UH a 20-17 lead. Houston held things down on the defensive end to take a 25-19 lead at the break.
Wichita State climbed back within two, but not without a strong defensive effort from the Cougars. UH forced three straight WSU turnovers, but struggled to score early in the second frame. Both teams battled back-and-forth, but lay-ups from Jazmaine Lewis and Crump kept the Cougars ahead at the second media intermission. Wichita State took a brief lead after holding UH scoreless for over two minutes, but Cougar freshman Blair remained aggressive earning trips to the charity stripe and winning one-on-one battles. Houston went into the halftime break with a 34-33 lead behind scoring from seven different Cougars.
Gladney paced the Cougar offense out the break, hitting a lay-up and her second three-pointer of the day to keep UH in front. Fouls kept the Shockers in the game, as Wichita State made several trips to the free throw line hitting 6-of-8 from the charity stripe before the media timeout. Back-to-back possessions capped off with made baskets out of the huddle forced Wichita State to call a timeout. Wichita State took a one-point lead following empty Cougar possessions. Blair again came through as the quarter winded down, hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to give UH a 54-49 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
WSU got within two behind strong play at the rim, forcing a Cougar timeout early in the fourth frame. Houston kept it composure makes shots when they needed to, led by Blair's aggressiveness on the offensive end. WSU kept things close with the help of fouls calls going against the Cougars. Houston made plays on both ends down the stretch to earn its sixth consecutive road win and sixth straight win overall.
Tulane 72, Memphis 52
The Tulane University women's basketball team defeated Memphis on the road, 72-52, to give head coach Lisa Stockton her 600th career win, Tuesday night. Stockton became the 77th coach in NCAA women's basketball history to win 600 games. She is just the 19th active coach to achieve the feat.
"It feels great to get 600," Stockton said. "It is nice to check that off and move on. It has been fun to see the players' reactions. It was a good game."
Freshman JerKaila Jordan tied her career-high with 29 points on 13-22 shooting from the floor and 3-5 from three. Senior Krystal Freeman recorded the 20th double-double of her career with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Mia Heide patrolled the paint for Tulane tying her career-high of five blocks and snagging seven boards. Senior Arsula Clark led the team with five assists.
"I'm really happy with Krystal [Freeman]," Stockton said. "She was really aggressive tonight. I thought she did some good things getting that double-double. JerKaila Jordan with three games back-to-back-to-back with that kind of scoring output is pretty impressive."
Tulane (15-7, 11-6) outshot Memphis (4-11, 2-8) .403-.309 from the field and .333-.143 from three. The Olive and Blue logged 45 rebounds, 36 points in the paint, 24 points off turnovers and 30 points on the fast break. Tulane registered 15 assists and 15 steals on the night.
Jordan scored the Green Wave's first seven points of the game, but the Tigers were able to keep pace with Tulane. Freeman hit a turnaround jumper to get on the board for the Green Wave with 4:08 left in the first quarter. The Olive and Blue led Memphis 9-8 at the first media timeout of the game.
The Tigers went ahead by one at 14-13 then Tulane closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 19-13 lead into the second quarter. The Olive and Blue kept the run going into the second quarter and scored 11 straight through the end of the first and beginning of the second. Memphis ended the run with 8:55 left in the second. Memphis pulled within three at 28-25 then the Green Wave closed the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 37-25 lead into the break.
Jordan led all scorers with 17 points in the first half, while Freeman added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Green Wave. Both players shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first half, with Jordan hitting 8-16 and Freeman knocking down 5-10.
Tulane held Memphis to 25.6 percent shooting from the field and 7.7 percent from three in the opening half. The Olive and Blue shot 35.6 percent from the field. The Green Wave dominated the paint grabbing 32 rebounds and scoring 22 points in the paint in the first half.
With 9:22 left in the third quarter, Freeman snagged her 10th rebound of the game to secure her 20th career double-double. Tulane used a 9-2 run in the middle of the third to pull away for good. The Green Wave held a 53-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Freeman and Jordan opened the fourth quarter with each hitting a three to put the Olive and Blue firmly in control with a 59-39 lead. Heide turned away her fifth Memphis shot in the fourth to tie her career-high of five blocks. Tulane maintained the lead and took the 72-52 win.