Wednesday, January 18
East Carolina 61, Cincinnati 53 – Box Score
Wichita State 73, SMU 65 – Box Score
South Florida 58, Houston 56 – Box Score
Recaps
East Carolina 61, Cincinnati 53 – Box Score
GREENVILLE - The East Carolina women's basketball team defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 61-53, on Wednesday in Minges Coliseum. Three Pirates scored in double figures as ECU used a 9-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.
East Carolina (13-6, 4-2 The American) got yet another stellar output from senior guard Danae McNeal with 18 points, six steals and a career-high three blocks on the day. McNeal entered the game six points away from 500 for her career and reached the milestone early with six of the first eight points for the Pirates in just the first two minutes and 34 seconds of the game. Cincinnati (7-11, 0-5 The American) would respond, however, with a run of their own before taking an 18-11 margin to the first quarter break.
As they have done often of late, the Pirates responded, outscoring Cincinnati in each of the three remaining quarters with unrelenting effort and stellar defense.
With the game on the line, up two with 8:17 remaining in the game, ECU took charge, registering a 9-2 run over two minutes and 57 seconds led by Micah Dennis with five points. The lead was one the Pirates would hold, never dipping under seven the rest of the way thanks to strong leadership from the likes of Dennis and McNeal handling the ball and closing out the contest.
Speaking of, Dennis, making her fifth-straight start, had another strong day at the point, registering 12 points, three assists and just one turnover. Representing the youth of the team, Amiya Joyner bounced back in the game with another double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds of her own, bringing her season total to six.
The Bearcats were led on the day by Jillian Hayes with 15 points. Hayes started the game on fire with seven points in the first quarter alone but went on to only score eight points the rest of the way.
As a whole East Carolina's defense stepped up and gave another opponent fits. The Pirates forced 33 turnovers, scoring 30 points off turnovers and 16 points on fast breaks, to just seven and two for Cincinnati.
At 4-2, the Pirates are off to their best start through six games in conference play since starting with the same mark in 2014-15. The same is true of the team's 13-6 overall record as the '14-15 squad started the same.
Wichita State 73, SMU 65 – Box Score
WICHITA – Wichita State trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but controlled the second half in route to a 73-65 win over SMU Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State (12-7, 2-4 The American) snapped a season-long four game losing streak with the win.
Shamaryah Duncan led four Shockers in double figures with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Curtessia Dean finished two points shy of a season high with 16 points, but added six rebounds a season-high four steals. Jane Asinde scored 15 points and DJ McCarty added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The quartet of Duncan, Dean, Asinde and McCarty combined for 63 of Wichita State's 73 points on the night.
Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor, but Wichita State went 15-for-20 at the free throw line compared to just 6-of-8 for SMU. The Shockers also committed only 13 turnovers and turned SMU's 14 turnovers into 18 points.
The game also turned on the glass. SMU had nine offensive rebounds in the first half but finished with 14.
Wichita State out-shot the Mustangs from beyond the arc 6-for-13 to 3-of-17.
SMU came out running and gunning on the offensive end. The Mustangs finished the opening quarter with 24 points on 52 percent shooting and also scored 10 second chance points off seven offensive rebounds.
SMU built an 11-point lead behind a 7-0 run before a Daniela Abies layup beat the buzzer to make it 24-15 after 10 minutes.
The Mustangs' continued its hot start offensively in the second quarter as they pushed their lead to as many as 15 with 3:48 to go until half. Following a Wichita State timeout, the Shockers put together a little run going into halftime. Wichita State made its final five field goals of the half to trim the lead to 42-34.
Asinde and Dean led Wichita State with eight points apiece, while SMU had three players in double figures at halftime.
Wichita State carried the momentum into the start of the third quarter behind a 10-4 run, trimming the deficit to two. After SMU grabbed a 38-23 lead with 3:48 left in the second quarter, Wichita State outscored the Mustangs, 24-10.
The Shockers grabbed the lead on a Dean pull-up jumper with 3:24 remaining in the third. After trading the lead on back-to-back possessions, Duncan splashed in a corner three to make it 54-52 at the end of the period.
With 6:56 remaining, SMU's Savannah Wilkinson converted a three-point play to put the Mustangs back in front by a point, but Wilkinson was called for a technical for taunting. That led to an 8-0 Wichita State run behind back-to-back triples from McCarty, giving Wichita State its largest lead, 64-57.
SMU would come no closer than three the rest of the way. When the Mustangs cut it to 66-63 at the 3:30 mark, Wichita State responded with four straight points from Asinde and then three free throws from Duncan to ice it with less than a minute to go.
South Florida 58, Houston 56 – Box Score
HOUSTON — The University of South Florida women's basketball team knew coming into tonight's game against Houston knowing that it would have a battle on its hands against the Cougars at the Fertitta Center, and that's exactly what it got. But in the end, the Bulls held on for a heart-stopping 58-56 win over Houston for their seventh-straight win. The Green and Gold improve to 17-4 on the year and 6-0 in The American, while the Cougars fall to 6-12 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and Sammie Puisis had 14 points in the win. Elena Tsineke recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
The Bulls, who led at the half, 27-23, extended their lead to a game-high 16 points, 43-27, on a free-throw by Maria Alvarez with 3:15 left. South Florida eventually took a 46-33 lead into the beginning of the final quarter.
The Bulls held a double-digit advantage for the majority of the fourth quarter and led by 10, 56-46, with just under two minutes left in the contest. Houston, however, didn't go quietly outscoring South Florida, 8-0, over a 29-seconds and 12-2 over 2:24 to cut the Bulls' lead to two, 56-54, with 28 seconds left on the clock.
South Florida then got free throws from Sammie Puisis and Elena Tsineke in the final 18 seconds to help secure the victory.
With the win, South Florida Head Coach Jose Fernandez recorded his 114th career conference win in The American, just four shy of tying UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma's 118 league wins in the AAC, and five from becoming The American's all-time leader in conference wins.