Wednesday, December 21
South Florida 66, #17/19 Arkansas 65 (OT) – Box Score
UCF 64, Elon 46 – Box Score
Memphis 66, Xavier 63 – Box Score
Tulane 71, Tennessee Tech 49 – Box Score
SMU 57, Incarnate Word 44 – Box Score
East Carolina 64, Hampton 60 – Box Score
Ole Miss 75, Temple 55 – Box Score
Washington State 70, Houston 63 – Box Score
Northern Kentucky 72, Cincinnati 52 – Box Score
Recaps
South Florida 66, #17/19 Arkansas 65 (OT) – Box Score
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Elena Tsineke scored all four of South Florida's points in overtime and finished with 23 points as the Bulls beat No. 17 Arkansas 66-65 on Wednesday in the San Diego Invitational.
South Florida needed the extra-time victory after losing in overtime on Tuesday in a tournament opener against No. 3 Ohio State.
Maria Alvarez forced overtime against Arkansas by making three free throws with 17 seconds left to tie it at 62-all. Arkansas was trapped in the corner at the other end and wasn't able to get a shot off before the buzzer.
Tsineke opened the overtime session with a basket at 4:12 and South Florida led the rest of the way as neither team made another field goal. Arkansas was 0 for 4 in overtime.
Makayla Daniels had a layup attempt roll out with 19 seconds left for Arkansas, but the Razorbacks regained possession after a jump ball was called on the rebound. After a timeout at 15.5, Chrissy Carr missed a shot in the lane and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu secured the rebound and the win.
Fankam Mendjiadeu finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for South Florida (11-4). She was coming off a big game against Ohio State with a career-high 34 points and 17 rebounds.
South Florida was held to just five points in the second quarter after going scoreless for eight minutes. The Bulls were 2-of-13 shooting in the quarter and trailed 27-18 at halftime after turning it over 11 times.
Erynn Barnum scored 21 points and Daniels added 20 for Arkansas (13-2).
UCF 64, Elon 46 – Box Score
ORLANDO - Rachel Ranke made a season-high 5 three-point field goals, along with a season-high and game-high 21 points as UCF Women's basketball (8-3) defeated Elon (4-7) in their second game of the Christmas Classic on Wednesday afternoon. Freshman guard Sierra Godbolt contributed with a career-high eight assists and added four steals as UCF won their eighth game of the season.
The first quarter was a defensive battle for the Knights, both teams came out locked in on defense, forcing six turnovers each. UCF held Elon to 18.8 field goal percentage and Elon had zero made field goals in the last four minutes of the quarter.
The Knights defensive prowess continued into the second quarter, with Destiny Thomas contributing with two blocks. UCF was able to create some breathing room going into halftime leading 29-21 due to Ranke's impressive scoring outburst. Ranke scored 12 points, including 2-3 from three-point range. The redshirt senior guard had her second-highest point total of the season in the first half alone.
The Knights continued to sustain their lead in the third quarter, making three three-pointers in the third and forcing four turnovers.
The fourth quarter was all Knights, leading by as much as 23. UCF shot 42.9 percent from the field and outscored Elon 18 to 11 in the fourth quarter. The Knights hustle helped them outscore Elon 21 to four in second chance points and force a total of 20 turnovers.
Similar to most of the season, the Knights used their defense to fuel their offense to win their second and final game of the Christmas Classic. The defensive intensity that has the Black and Gold holding opponents to 34.9 field goal percentage continued as they held Elon to just 25.4 shooting, their lowest rate of the season. Before today's game, the Knights were holding opponents to just 34.9% shooting, good for 27th in DI Women's Basketball.
Memphis 66, Xavier 63 – Box Score
CINCINNATI – The Memphis Tiger women's basketball team had a lot to celebrate today as they took down the Musketeers 66-63 while seeing Madison Griggs break the program's career three-point record.
Following today's game, Memphis moves to 8-5 overall.
A slow start saw both team's struggle to get a basket in the first quarter.
Jamirah Shutes and Hannah Riddick would score on back-to-back possessions to open the game for the 4-2 lead. Xavier would fight back to take an 11-7 lead following Kaysia Woods and Mackayla Scarlett baskets.
Madison Griggs would ignite the Tigers offense and break the program record for career three-pointers, with 2:17 left in the first quarter off a bank-shot three from the wing to cut Memphis' deficit to just three. Shutes would get a three of her own to end the quarter and make it a 15-15 game heading into the second quarter.
The Tigers and Musketeers would trade baskets in the second quarter before Xavier would jump ahead after a 7-2 run. Shelbee Brown and Makaiya Brooks would get Memphis right back into it with consecutive three pointers to get the Tigers back within one.
Only one basket would be scored in the final four minutes of the half; Destiny Thomas would grab an offensive rebound with 28 seconds left to make it a 26-25 Xavier advantage heading into halftime.
The battle continued into the third quarter; Memphis would regain their lead after Griggs sank a short jumpshot in the lane with 3:40 left in the quarter. After Xavier got a three-pointer from Woods, the Tigers would Tanuyel Welch would sink a crucial shot from the elbow to give them back the lead. The Musketeer offense would add in one last lay-up late in the third quarter to take the 42-41 lead into the final 10 minutes.
After Xavier pushed their lead out to as much as five to start the fourth quarter, Memphis would make a run with baskets from Brown, Griggs and Emani Jefferson to get back in front.
Memphis would come alive in the fourth quarter and make yet another comeback. In the final two and a half minutes of the game, Jefferson drained a three-pointer from the corner to cut their deficit to one. On the next possession, Griggs would get a transition lay-up to give the Tigers the 60-59 lead with just over a minute left.
Shutes would put the team on her back as she scored the final six points for Memphis as they captured the 66-63 win.
Jamirah Shutes and Madison Griggs led the team with 17 and 12 points, respectively, while Destiny Thomas grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
As a team, Memphis shot just over 35% from the field while forcing Xavier into 17 turnovers.
Tulane 71, Tennessee Tech 49 – Box Score
NEW ORLEANS –Tulane University Women's Basketball won the Tulane Holiday Tournament title for 22nd time and the first since 2017 by defeating Tennessee Tech 71-49 in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Wednesday. The Green Wave shot 54 percent from the floor and drained eight shots from beyond the arc while limiting the Golden Eagles to just 30 percent shooting.
With the victory, Tulane moves to 9-3 on the season and 6-2 at home. The win also marked the Green Wave's fourth consecutive victory.
Graduate guard Rachel Hakes earned the tournament MVP after averaging 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in two wins for Tulane. Marta Galic and Kyren Whittington each earned all-tournament team selection for the Green Wave. They were joined by Anna Walker and Reghan Grimes of Tennessee Tech and Layla Laws from Saint Francis.
Hakes and Whittington led the offensive attach for the Green Wave against the Golden Eagles. Hakes tallied 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor including three made three-pointers. She also added five assists and five rebounds to go with a pair of blocks. Whittington posted 17 points shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown.
Tulane controlled the painted area again by outrebounding Tennessee Tech 40-26 and winning the scoring battle around the rim 36-20. The Wave also swatted a season-best seven shots led by Anijah Grant with four blocks.
Hakes led the Green Wave to a strong start in the first quarter scoring 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Tulane finished the opening frame with a 9-0 scoring run to hold a 22-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Tennessee Tech pulled within two in the second quarter as the Tulane offense slowed down. The Wave made a surge after the Golden Eagles made it 22-20 with 5:19 to play by outscoring Tennessee Tech 8-5 in the final minutes to maintain its lead at 30-25 at the half.
Whittington sparked a 10-0 run by the Green Wave to begin the second half. The redshirt sophomore guard scored the first five point of the frame as Tulane managed to push its lead out to 15. The Wave shot an incredible 72.7 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from beyond the arc in the frame building its lead to 51-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Tulane never let the Golden Eagles climb back into the game by posting another strong shooting performance in the fourth quarter hitting at a 75 percent clip from the floor. Whittington contributed seven to the Wave's third 20-point quarter of the day as Tulane went on to close out the victory 71-49.
SMU 57, Incarnate Word 44 – Box Score
DALLAS – SMU outscored UIW 20-3 in the third quarter en route to a 57-44 victory at Moody Coliseum Wednesday. The Mustangs for the eighth time in their last nine games.
SMU (9-3) erased the five-point halftime deficit when Reagan Bradley buried a 3-pointer at the 7:28 mark. The Cardinals (5-5) regained the lead for the final time when Breelyn Sanborn answered with three of her team-high 12 points, with 7:09 remaining in the frame. UIW failed to score for the next 13 minutes and 52 seconds, allowing SMU to build its largest advantage of the day with a 20-0 run.
Trailing 54-32, Jorga Elliott's triple with 3:36 left in the game ended a 0-for-11 stretch from the field for the Cardinals. With both teams playing their reserves, UIW hit three more 3-pointers for the final margin.
Chantae Embry posted a game-high 14 points, while Savannah Wilkinson led with eight rebounds. Tamia Jones paced the Mustangs with four assists, five steals and three blocks.
Knotted at 17-17 after the first 10 minutes, UIW carried a five-point halftime advantage by holding Mustangs to seven points in the second quarter.
The Cardinals shot 40.7% (11-27), including 7-for-13 (53.8%) from three-point range, while limiting SMU to 33.3% (8-24) from the floor. The Mustangs made 1-of-7 (14.3%) beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. In the second half, SMU knocked down half of its 24 attempts and held the Cardinals to 25% (5-20), including 5-of-15 (33.3%) from distance. The Mustangs went 15-for-21 (71.4%) from the free-throw line. UIW converted 60% (3-of-5) at the stripe but failed to earn a trip to the line in the second half.
East Carolina 64, Hampton 60 – Box Score
HAMPTON – The East Carolina women's basketball team defeated the Hampton Lady Pirates, 64-60, on Wednesday at the Hampton Convocation Center. Amiya Joyner starred in the tight, physical ballgame which saw the Pirates lead for only six minutes.
The game was an adventurous one which saw a pair of technical fouls assessed to East Carolina (9-4) in the second half – assessed to coach Kim McNeill and Joyner. The Pirates trailed Hampton (3-7) for over 25 minutes of the game, including almost the entirety of the second half, but that can all be thrown out with the late resurgence led by, as is often the case, the Pirates' signature pressure defense.
The Pirates leveled the game for the first time in the second half with just 1:50 remaining and did not take the lead until there were under two minutes to play. It was not a lead ECU would keep, however; Hampton answered, and the teams found themselves tied at 60 with under a minute left – Hampton ball.
The home team drew up a play and made their drive for the lead but Morgan Moseley – who played well with nine points and five boards – made her biggest play of the season, stepping in to take the charge and give ECU the ball with only 29.5 seconds to play.
The Pirates held the ball down to take their shot, a post look for Joyner which bounced tantalizingly on the rim before falling into the hoop. ECU lead, 62-60, with 2.1 seconds to play.
Hampton called timeout to advance the ball before Synia Johnson made a remarkable defensive play to deflect the inbound, back out, into the hands of the very Hampton player who threw the pass with only 2.1 seconds to play.
With Hampton forced to foul, Joyner stepped up again, knocking down a pair of free throws – on a day in which ECU shot a measly 8-18 from the stripe – to extend the lead to four with 1.0 to play.
Hampton didn't get their desperation three off in time and the final buzzer sounded to give the Pirates perhaps their gutsiest win of the season.
In addition to the game-winning shot, Joyner simply had the best game of her young career, racking up 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for her second-career double-double – in back-to-back games, no less.
East Carolina trailed by as many as nine in the game and the four-point winning margin was their largest lead of the game. The team turned it over 20 times and racked up only seven steals – a season low – but they stepped up when it mattered and enter the holiday break with their best record through 13 games since 2018-19.
Ole Miss 75, Temple 55 – Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple women’s basketball team (5-7, 0-0 American) lost to SEC opponent Ole Miss (11-2, 0-0 SEC), 75-55 at Liacouras Center on Wednesday afternoon. The Rebels had two players with double-doubles in Madison Scott and Angel Baker. The Owls will now take eight days off before tipping-off conference play with Memphis on Dec. 30.
Ole Miss grabbed the early lead, taking a 13-3 advantage, but Jasha Clinton split the momentum, netting two points for the Owls followed by a pair of free throws from Aleah Nelson to close the lead to 15-7. The Rebels shot 79 percent from the field in the first quarter to end with the 26-9 lead.
Jasha Clinton came out strong for the Owls in the second quarter, netting six points in the first four minutes, along with a three-point conversion from Tiara East to cut the Rebel lead to 15 (33-18). Ole Miss regained control, extending the lead to 19 by the conclusion of the half. East led all players in the quarter with eight.
Ole Miss pushed the lead past 20 in the third quarter, extending the margin to as much as 25. The Owls held the Rebels to 15 points, finding 10 of their own to finish the third quarter 57-35.
The Cherry and White came out strong in the fourth, outscoring the Rebels 12-8 in the first 5 minutes. Tarriyonna Gary led all scoring in the quarter, securing nine of her 11 points in the final ten minutes of play.
Makayla Waleed saw her first action since the Saint Joseph’s game on Nov. 23. East scored 14 points, the third time in the last four games East has cracked double figures. Clinton was remarkably efficient hitting 6-11 from the field and 4-5 from the line. Gary had three steals to set the game-high, the third time she has stolen the ball thrice in the last four games.
Washington State 70, Houston 63 – Box Score
HOUSTON – The University of Houston women's basketball team closed out its non-conference slate on Wednesday against Washington State, losing 70-63 in Fertitta Center.
The Cougars (3-10) sparked a comeback bid nearing the late third quarter but fell short as Washington State (10-2, 0-1 Pac-12) managed to hold on to its lead in the fourth quarter to reach double-digit wins on the season.
Junior Laila Blair and redshirt senior Britney Onyeje each recorded season-highs in points with 21 and 15, respectively. Graduate Tatyana Hill posted a team-leading six rebounds on the day, marking her 11th game with five or more rebounds. Junior Kamryn Jones tied her career-high in assists with three.
Blair has now scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games, the third time this season the guard has posted 20-plus points, and Onyeje tied her career-high with five three pointers in the game.
Houston jumped out to a hot start in the first quarter, sparking an 8-0 run to end the quarter up 17-12, with junior guard Laila Blair posting nine points in the period.
Washington State took the lead in the second quarter holding Houston to four points in the second quarter.
Houston responded late in the third quarter with a string of runs including a 7-0 run before closing out the quarter with an 8-0 run, cutting the deficit to just seven points heading into the fourth.
Houston trailed by as little as three points in the fourth quarter but came up short as time expired.
Northern Kentucky 72, Cincinnati 52 – Box Score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — The University Cincinnati women's basketball team fell 72-52 to Northern Kentucky inside Truist Arena on Wednesday.
Cincinnati now concludes non-conference play 7-6 on the season.
Senior guard Mya Jackson finished with her 11th 10-plus scoring game of the season with a team-high 17 points, while connecting on 3-5 from behind the arc. All 17 of her points came in the second half.
Junior guard Jillian Hayes recorded her 12th-straight double-digit scoring game with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Hayes was a force in the paint all night, finishing 7-15 from the field and 2-3 from the line.
Sophomore forward/center Clarissa Craig added eight points on 3-4 from the field and grabbed five rebounds, while senior Jadyn Scott posted six points and four rebounds.
The Norse raced out to a 12-0 lead to open the game before Hayes got the Bearcats started with a finish on the low block.
The defense settled in over the final 3:05 minutes of the first quarter as the held their opponent scoreless. Craig went to work after the first period as she scored six of her eight points in the second quarter.
To start the second half, Jackson knocked down her first three of the game as Scott and sophomore Braylyn Milton each followed up with a layup of their own.
Shots started following in the second half for the Bearcats as team scored 18, including going on a 5-0 run capped off by Jackson ending the third with a jumper as time expired. She scored seven points in the quarter.
Jackson connected on a corner three that would spark a 5-0 run as the Bearcats looked to get back into the game.
The Bearcats outscored the Norse 20-17 in the fourth quarter and went on a 10-2 run late in the final quarter, but could not complete the comeback.