FORT WORTH, Texas – For the first time as a conference member, Houston punched its ticket to the tournament’s final four teams by defeating No. 6 seed East Carolina 73-63 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday night at Dickies Arena. The No. 3 seed Cougars will meet No. 2 seed UCF on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (CT) in the second tournament semifinal on ESPN+.

Laila Blair led all scorers in the game with 19 points (3-of-6 from beyond the arc) to go along with eight rebounds for Houston (16-6), and Miya Crump and Bria Patterson each chipped in 14 points. Maddie Moore recorded 16 points to pace the ECU (8-14) lineup in defeat.
 
Jazmaine Lewis started out on fire for Houston, scoring the first six points for the Cougars during a 6-4 surge in the opening three minutes. Lewis cleaned up the offensive glass and struck once more at the 5:15 mark, vaulting Houston ahead 12-6. ECU notched a steal and coast-to-coast layup by Taniyah Thompson out of the media timeout to close the gap to just two points at 12-10. Three straight makes for Houston (17-10) were erased by an and-1 from ECU’s Alexsia Rose to narrow the deficit at 17-13. Great team basketball down low by Houston ended in an easy layup for Patterson and a 19-13 Cougar advantage after one quarter.
 
Patterson cancelled out an ECU made layup early in the second quarter by drilling a 3-pointer from Blair (22-15). Patterson then returned the favor with a feed to Blair beyond the arc to force a Pirate timeout with Houston ahead 25-15. ECU began the climb back by going on an 8-0 surge in 2:44 of game time, capped off by a Thompson layup to force Houston call a timeout of its own clinching to a 25-23 lead. Rose tied the game with a contested layup at 3:53 to extend the run to 10-0, but Blair calmly split the lane for two points to vault the Cougars back ahead 27-25. A steal and Crump layup later and Houston was back up by four (29-25). Patterson out an emphatic exclamation point on the first half with a pullup 3-pointer from distance at the buzzer to send Houston to the locker room ahead 38-31.
 
ECU inched within five points at the start of the third quarter following a Moore layup (40-35), but Houston locked down on the defensive end to quell the momentum. Thompson broke a cold spell from the floor for the Pirates to trim the Cougar lead to 45-38 into the media timeout. Houston scored a fast five points out of the timeout capped by a Britney Onyeje triple from the corner to jump in front by 12 (50-38). The Cougars closed the quarter on pace and in front by a 56-45 score.
 
The Pirates brought it back within five at 58-53 following a Lashonda Monk layup that forced a Houston timeout 3:24 into the fourth quarter. Both teams traded baskets to make it 60-55 before Crump buried an open 3-pointer that lifted the Cougars back up eight (63-55). ECU kept the pressure on late against Houston and closed within six at 67-61, but the Cougars hit six free throws on the way in to cement the win.
 
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. 7 Cincinnati 78, No. 10 Memphis 67

Quarterfinals - Tuesday, March 9
No. 4 Tulane 83, No. 5 Temple 73
No. 1 USF 48, No. 9 Wichita State 44
No. 2 UCF 53, No. 7 Cincinnati 43
No. 3 Houston 73, No. 6 East Carolina 63

Semifinals - Wednesday, March 10
No. 4 Tulane vs. No. 1 USF – 5:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
No. 2 UCF vs. No. 3 Houston - 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)