Saturday, January 14
Tulsa 70, Houston 68 - Box Score
Memphis 78, Cincinnati 58 - Box Score
SMU 68, East Carolina 66 (OT) - Box Score
South Florida 66, Tulane 53 - Box Score
Recaps
Tulsa 70, Houston 68 - Box Score
TULSA –– Tulsa held off the Houston Cougars comeback bid for a 70-68 victory Saturday afternoon in front of 1,256 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center to improve to 14-3 overall.
Tulsa moved to 4-0 in American Athletic Conference play in a match-up that pitted two of the three undefeated teams in the league. Houston fell to 6-11 overall and suffered its first league loss to drop to 3-1.
This marked the first time in nine years as a league member that Tulsa began the conference season 4-0. The previous best start to league play in The American was 3-0 in the 2018-19 season.
Temira Poindexter's 22 points led three Tulsa players in double-figures, as Maddie Bittle added 18 points and Delanie Crawford 16. Houston also had three double-digit scorers with Bria Patterson leading the way with 17 points.
Houston put up 20 more field goals than the Hurricane, making 30-of-77 shots as Tulsa converted 24-of-57 from the field. It was free throw shooting that put Tulsa in position for its school record ninth straight home win, as the Hurricane made 17-of-20 freebies, compared to just 3-of-4 for the Cougars.
Tulsa had strong first and third quarters, jumping out to a 28-15 lead after one period and outscoring Houston 22-16 in the third period. The Hurricane was outscored in the second 19-14, but still held a 42-34 lead at intermission, while the Cougars had an 18-6 advantage in the final quarter.
Houston chipped away at Tulsa's 12-point lead after three quarters for the final two-point margin. Tulsa wasn't in the bonus until the final 0:03 on the clock as Poindexter's two free throws gave Tulsa a five-point cushion before Laila Blair's trey with 0:01 on the clock made the final score 70-68.
After trailing 2-0, Tulsa went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead before Houston's next basket. The Cougars responded with a 9-2 run of their own to make the score 14-11 with 4:11 remaining in the first quarter.
Tulsa ended the first quarter with its third-most points in the first period with a 28-15 lead.
Houston tightened the score in the second quarter, cutting a 15-point deficit at 30-15 to three points at 33-30 at the 4:18 mark. The three points was as close as the Cougars would get in the second quarter as the Hurricane would expand its lead to 10, 42-32, before ending the first half with a 42-34 lead.
Tulsa opened the second half on a 12-4 run to take a 54-38 lead at the 5:54 mark of the third quarter. The Cougars responded on a 5-0 run to cut its deficit to 11 points at 54-43 with 4:17 left on the third-period clock, but Tulsa responded with a 10-7 run to close out the third quarter ahead 64-50.
Houston cut its 14-point third-quarter deficit to five points, 64-59, by starting the final stanza on a 9-0 run as Tulsa missed its first six field goals until a Bittle layup at the 7:01 mark.
The Cougars made a valiant come-from-behind bid in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Hurricane 18-6. Tulsa made just 2-of-14 field goals in the final period, while the visitors made 7-of-17 from the field and hit two of its five three-pointers for the game in the final stanza.
Memphis 78, Cincinnati 58 - Box Score
CINCINNATI – Returning to her alma mater, head Memphis Basketball coach Katrina Merriweather and her crew made the trip up to Ohio to take on the Bearcats. A fast start for the Tigers would give them the early advantage and help them to the 78-58 win over Cincinnati.
Following tonight's game, Memphis moves to 10-8 overall and 2-3 in American Athletic Conference play.
The Tigers got out to a fast start, scoring on consecutive trips down the floor with Destiny Thomas leading the charge. Thomas would lay in an offensive put back and get an -and one heading into the first media timeout to give Memphis a 12-6 lead.
Memphis would continue to run through the Cincinnati defense, getting quick lay-ups from Jamirah Shutes, Hannah Riddick and Emani Jefferson to take a 20-14 lead heading into the second quarter.
Cincinnati would make a run in the second quarter, cutting the Tiger lead to a little as two heading into the halftime break.
Madison Griggs would sink a short jumper with 6:22 remaining in the half and it wouldn't be until Shutes laid in stepback jumper nearly four minutes later that Memphis got their next field goal. The Bearcats would get two free throws from Malea Williams at the end of the half to cut the Tiger lead to 30-28 going into the break.
The Tiger offense would explode in the third quarter; the duo of Shutes and Griggs would string together a 7-2 run to take a 49-39 lead with just under two minutes left in the quarter. Memphis would add in a lay-up from Riddick and two free throws from Shutes to take a 53-40 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
Memphis would run away with the game in the fourth quarter getting 10 of Jamirah Shutes game-high 22 points. Shutes would kick-start an 8-0 run that saw baskets from Lanetta Williams and Destiny Thomas to take their largest lead of the game at 76-52 with less than two minutes left in the game. The Tigers would cruise in the final minutes of the game to take the 78-58 win.
Jamirah Shutes and Madison Griggs led the team with a combined 41 points while Hannah Riddick picked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, Memphis shot 53% from the field and 22-30 from the charity stripe today while forcing the Bearcats into 24 turnovers. The Tigers would go on to convert 33 points off Cincinnati's turnovers while also winning the battle on the boards.
SMU 68, East Carolina 66 (OT) - Box Score
DALLAS - Using Chantae Embry's double-double, the SMU Mustangs defeated the ECU Pirates 68-66 in overtime Saturday at Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs are 9-0 at home, tying the program records for best home start and longest home winning streak. Embry finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The victory helped the Mustangs tie the program's longest home unbeaten streak to open a season (2004-05) and longest home winning streak (1999-00, 2004-05).
The Mustangs led by as many as 18 early in the second half, but the Pirates came back to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter. There were a pair of lead changes in the final 90 seconds before Embry tied the game at 59-59 with a free throw with 40 seconds left. After the squads exchanged turnovers, a last-second ECU shot fell short to send the game to an extra period.
There were more lead changes in OT than in the game preceding it, but Ella Brow's driving layup proved to be the deciding bucket, as swarming defense from the Mustangs was able to finally close the door on the Pirates in the final seconds. Danae McNeal (who had a game-high 26 points for ECU, along with six steals) missed what would have been a game-winning three-point shot as time expired. Savannah Wilkinson had 17 points and eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals, including being a perfect 4-4 from the field in the opening quarter. Brow was the third Mustang in double figures, with 14 points, alongside eight assists and six rebounds. She was also 3-5 from three-point range.
SMU led 17-10 after the opening frame and maintained control throughout the first 20 minutes. The Mustangs finished the first half on a 12-2 run, including a 9-0 sprint to the buzzer which built the large lead to 38-22. ECU used an 18-6 run to get back into the game, capped by three from McNeal, which brought the Pirates within four. SMU was outscored 20-11 in the third period. The fourth quarter went back and forth as Wilkinson restored a seven-point lead before back-to-back baskets from Jayla Hearp brought ECU to within a single point. McNeal gave the Pirates the lead from the free-throw line, as turnovers blighted the Mustangs down the stretch. After a chaotic finish, featuring numerous turnovers, OT ensued, and Embry and Brow scored the final six points for the Mustangs to secure the win.
The Mustangs moved to 12-5, 3-2 in American Athletic Conference play, as East Carolina falls to 12-6, 3-2 in conference. SMU return to action Wednesday night at Wichita State, before returning home – looking to break the home win streak record – against the Houston Cougars on Saturday the 21st.
South Florida 66, Tulane 53 - Box Score
TAMPA — The University of South Florida women's basketball team got a career and game-high 28 points from Sammie Puisis, including 19 points in the second half, and Elena Tsineke added 14 points as the Bulls defeated Tulane, 66-53, on Saturday night at the Yuengling Center. South Florida improves to 16-4 on the year and 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference, while also moving to 10-0 on its home floor this season. The Green Wave fall to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in The American.
Puisis and Tsineke were one half of a quartette of double-figure scorers for the Bulls. The tandem was joined by Carla Brito with 12 points and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu with 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
South Florida, who trailed 31-29 at the half, seemed to come on in the third quarter behind a 10-0 run to make the score, 41-33, off a fast-break three-pointer by Puisis with just under six minutes left in the third stanza.
The Green Wave had one last run in them cutting the Bulls' lead to just one point, 44-43, with 3:20 left, however, the Green and Gold didn't break closing out the quarter scoring eight of the last 10 points to take a 52-45 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play. South Florida pushed its lead back to double-digits – leading by as many as 15 points, 66-51 – on a driving layup by Brito with under two minutes left in the contest.
With the win, South Florida Head Coach Jose Fernandez recorded his 113th career conference win in The American, just five shy of tying UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma's 118 league wins in the AAC, and six from becoming The American's all-time leader in conference wins.