Saturday, February 11
Cincinnati 74, Temple 66 (OT) – Box Score
Memphis 50, UCF 48 (OT) – Box Score
 
Recaps
Cincinnati 74, Temple 66 (OT) – Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – Four Bearcats scored in double figures for the sixth time this season to lead the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team to a 74-66 overtime win over Temple inside Liacouras Center on Saturday.
 
Junior guard Jillian Hayes flirted with a double-double behind 18 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore forward/center Clarissa Craig turned in a career-high 16 points on 7-9 from the field. The senior guard pair Mya Jackson and Caitlyn Wilson added 18 points and 14 points, respectively.
 
Craig made her presence in the paint felt early with the Bearcats' first four points and Hayes added two more with a jumpshot from the top of the key before the first media timeout. Wilson connected on a corner three to cut the deficit to 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Bearcats went on an 11-2 run with eight straight points from Wilson and an and-one finish from Craig to take a 21-19 lead at the 7:42-minute mark of the second quarter. The Owls responded with a 7-0 spurt of their own before Wilson drained her third three of the first half to halt the run.
 
Cincinnati went 4-8 from behind the arc, behind Wilson's barrage, in the first half.
 
A pair of free throws from junior forward/center Malea Williams provided the Bearcats a 31-30 lead with 2:44 remaining before the half. The Bearcats went 8-9 from the line in the first half. Hayes corralled an offensive rebound and finished around the rim to tie the contest at 34 all heading into the locker room. The Bearcats dominated the boards in the first 20 minutes, recording 10 second chance points off seven offensive rebounds.
 
The Bearcats went on a 7-0 run over 1:16-minutes of game time to tie the contest at 44 with 3:12 left in the third quarter. Sophomore forward/center Taziah Jenks finished a slip-screen layup to take a 48-46 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Mya Jackson found a lane in transition and split a pair of defenders to secure a 52-48 lead at the fourth-quarter media timeout. Craig connected with Hayes for an inside-out jump shot from the key to make it 61-58 with 1:42 remaining in regulation.
 
With the score locked at 61, the Bearcats' defense forced a deep step back attempt that fell wide to take the game to overtime.
 
Mya Jackson controlled the loose ball off the tip off and beat the Owls' defense to give the Bearcats the first basket of overtime. Craig made extend the margin to 69-66 with four straight points. Mya Jackson hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 72-66 with 18 seconds remaining in overtime.
 
The Bearcats outscored their hosts 13-5 in overtime to secure the road win.
 
Memphis 50, UCF 48 (OT) – Box Score
MEMPHIS – Looking to pick up another American Athletic Conference win, the Tigers welcomed the Knights from UCF to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. A defensive battle between the teams would send the game to overtime where Memphis would come away with the 50-48 win.
 
Following today's game, Memphis moves to 14-9 overall and 6-4 in American Athletic Conference play.
 
The Tigers got out to a slow start, finding themselves down 15-7 after the opening quarter. Destiny Thomas, Jamirah Shutes and Madison Griggs all picked up buckets in the first quarter while the team forced the Knights into three turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Memphis' offense would ignite in the second quarter, cutting their lead to single digits and taking the lead back with just over three minutes left in the half. A Tiger 10-0 run that was capped off with three consecutive free throws from Makaiya Brooks would put Memphis up 20-19.
 
After Jefferson sank two free throws, Shutes would get a transition lay-up at the buzzer to give the Tigers the 24-19 lead.
 
UCF would make a comeback in the third quarter, holding the Tigers to just nine points and taking a 34-33 Knights advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
A low-scoring affair between the Knights and Tigers would bring it down to the wire; Memphis and UCF would trade buckets to open the quarter before facing a 41-41 tie with 6:05 left. Both teams would go scoreless until the 1:21 mark when the Knights got a lay-up from Anzhane' Hutton. Shutes would tie the game back up at 43 all after a pair of free throws with just over 60 seconds left in the quarter. Both team's defense would shut the other's offense down and take the 43-43 tie into overtime.
 
It would be the Memphis offense that pulled ahead in OT. Jefferson scored five of her game-high 19 points in the final five minutes to give the Tigers the 50-48 win.
 
Emani Jefferson led all scorers today with 19 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line, while Jamirah Shutes added in 12. Jefferson would pick up her first career double-double while leading the team with 11 rebounds. Destiny Thomas would grab 10 boards as well with nine of them coming on the offensive end.
 
As a team, Memphis grabbed 58 rebounds today, the second time the Tigers have done so in the Katrina Merriweather era. They also forced UCF into 27 turnovers while holding them to under 30% shooting.