FORT WORTH, Texas – Wichita State continued its late season momentum against a familiar foe, defeating Tulsa by a 76-64 final score in the opening game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship on Monday afternoon at Dickies Arena. The Shockers previously downed the Golden Hurricane 85-77 in overtime in the regular-season finale.
Asia Strong of Wichita State led all players with 24 points and added in 12 rebounds in the victory. Seraphine Bastin and Trajata Colbert each scored 11 points. Maya and Wyvette Mayberry each scored 13 points to pace Tulsa.
No. 9 Wichita State (6-11) raced out to an 14-8 lead just after the media timeout in the first quarter and extended the advantage to 16-10 on a Mariah McCully jumper with 2:04 left to play. No. 8 Tulsa (5-14) clawed back with a made 3-pointer from Madi Washington and a free throw from Wyvette Mayberry to end the opening quarter trailing by just two at 16-14.
Tulsa tied the game early in the second quarter on a Wyvette Mayberry made jumper, evening the score at 18-all. An offensive board and putback from Maddie Bittle vaulted the Golden Hurricane ahead at 20-18. Strong ended a brief Tulsa surge with a Wichita State bucket that re-tied the game at 22-22. Both teams jockeyed for position for the remainder of the half until a Bittle layup following an offensive board and a driving Wyvette Mayberry layup sent Tulsa to halftime ahead 32-30.
It was a hot start out of the break for both teams, with Wichita State inching ahead on a fastbreak jumper from Carla Bremaud to take a 38-36 lead early in the third quarter. Two free throws extended the Shocker lead to 40-36, but back-to-back Tulsa buckets from Wyvette and Maya Mayberry tied the game once more at 40-40. A layup by Tulsa’s Rebecca Lescay and Wichita State’s Strong in the final 90 seconds of the frame sent the game to the fourth tied at 48-all.
Wichita State raced out on a 9-2 run in the fourth quarter, punctuated by an and-1 from Bastin (59-50). A 3-point jumper and back end free throw from Strong extended the Wichita State lead to 10 points at 66-56, but consecutive buckets from Tulsa’s Jessika Evans helped close the gap to 66-62. Strong buried a dagger 3-pointer and pair of free throws on the next possession to vault the Shockers back ahead 71-62.
All of the latest tournament information can be found at Championship Central throughout the week by visiting TheAmerican.org/wbb.
2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship
March 8-11, 2021
Dickies Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
First Round - Monday, March 8
No. 9 Wichita State 76, No. 8 Tulsa 64
No. 10 Memphis vs. No. 7 Cincinnati – 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, March 9
No. 5 Temple vs. No. 4 Tulane - Noon ET/ 11 a.m. CT (ESPN+)
No. 9 Wichita State vs. No. 1 USF - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
7/10 winner vs. No. 2 UCF - 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
No. 6 East Carolina vs. No. 3 Houston - 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Semifinals - Wednesday, March 10
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 5:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Final - Thursday, March 11
Semifinal winners – 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT (ESPNU)