Thursday, January 13
SMU 60, East Carolina 49
Kayla White scored a career-high 34 points to lead the SMU women's basketball team to a 60-49 victory over ECU in Moody Coliseum Thursday afternoon. White became the first Mustang to eclipse 30 points since Nov. 26, 2017, when McKenzie Adams finished with 35 at Nevada.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Mustangs, which is the longest streak since SMU went 4-0 midway through the 2016-17 season. SMU improved to 8-6 overall and 2-0 in league play for the first time as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Mustangs haven't won back-to-back games to start conference play since going 9-0 to start the 2012-13 season.
Savannah Wilkinson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season in 14 games played. As a team, SMU shot 45.7 percent, 21-of-46, and made 7-of-11 field goals in the first quarter, 63.6 percent, the highest of any quarter this season. ECU was limited to a 27.8 shooting percentage, going 20-for-72 from the field, including 2-for-19 from 3-point range.
The SMU defense held the Pirates (7-9, 0-3 The American) to just nine points in the first quarter and 16 total points in the first half. SMU started the game with 18 points in the first 10 minutes and led by 13 at halftime, 29-16. The Mustangs stretched their lead to 19 at the end of the third quarter, scoring 19 after the break for a 48-29 advantage. ECU outscored SMU 20-12 in the final quarter, but the lead was never in danger.
White finished 11-of-18 from the field, making 2-of-3 3-point attempts, and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Jasmine Smith finished with five points and five assists, continuing to rank near the top in the conference in assists per game, averaging 4.6 prior to Thursday's contest.
SMU outrebounded ECU 47-33, limiting the Pirates to just 13 offensive rebounds while grabbing 40 defensive rebounds.
Wichita State 76, Cincinnati 66
Wichita State put four in double figures and dominated the glass to earn its first conference win of the season over Cincinnati, 76-66, Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Wichita State (10-5, 1-1) snapped a three-game losing streak and has now won two straight vs. Cincinnati after losing the first five meetings. On a night when Wichita State missed its first 15 three-point attempts and finished just 1-of-16 and 37 percent overall, the Shockers relied on its strength. Wichita State outrebounded Cincinnati, 50-39, and outscored the Bearcats, 46-22 in the paint.
The Shockers also claimed 13 steals, forcing 18 Cincinnati turnovers.
Jane Asinde poured in a game-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with six rebounds and a season-high four steals. DJ McCarty scored seven of her 13 points in the final two minutes of the game to help turn a two-point game into a comfortable final margin.
Asia Strong just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds and Seraphine Bastin scored 10 (10-of-11) of her 14 points at the free throw line. Trajata Colbert pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.
Cincinnati connected on its first four three-point attempts to build an early 20-12 lead with 4:13 left in the opening quarter. Wichita State would then hold the Bearcats to just two points the rest of the period to make it 22-21 after 10 minutes. Cincinnati misfired on its final eight three-point tries of the half as well.
The Bearcats' scoreless drought finally ended with 8:26 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 24, but Wichita State immediately responded with eight straight to take a 32-24 lead.
The Shockers never let the lead shrink below six the rest of the half and would take a 40-30 lead into the locker room following a DJ McCarty transition bucket with less than a minute to go. After Cincinnati grabbed its 20-12 lead, Wichita State went on to outscore the Bearcats 28-10 the rest of the half.
Asinde (9) and Strong (8) led a balanced scoring attack, as five Shockers finished the half with five or more points.
Wichita State was able to establish itself in the paint and on the glass in the first 20 minutes. The Shockers outrebounded the Bearcats by 12, including 13 offensive rebounds to just one for Cincy. Twenty-eight of Wichita State's 40 points came in the paint.
Out of the locker room, Cincinnati put the first five points on the board to cut the gap in half. Wichita State would waste little time pushing the margin right back to double figures after back-to-back scores from Asinde and a three-point play from Mariah McCully.
For much of the third quarter the lead would hover between 8-12 points and would end at 55-47 with playing moving to the final frame.
Trailing by eight, Cincinnati used a 6-0 spurt in the blink of an eye to make it a two-point game with 2:42 left on the clock. Out of a timeout, McCarty splashed in the first trey of the game in the biggest moment of the game. She then added four more points to make it 72-64 with only 57 seconds remaining.
Bastin added free throws down the stretch and Colbert put the finishing touches on the victory with a layup in the final seconds.