Sunday, February 12
East Carolina 79, Wichita State 62 – Box Score
Tulane 69, Tulsa 67 – Box Score
Houston 71, South Florida 69 – Box Score
 
Recaps
East Carolina 79, Wichita State 62 – Box Score
GREENVILLE– The East Carolina women's basketball team led it from the jump, using their squelching defense paired with their highest scoring output in two months to run past the Wichita State Shockers, 79-62, Sunday afternoon in Minges Coliseum. Amiya Joyner and Danae McNeal did the things that have become their signatures for the Pirates: a double-double for Joyner, and a heap of steals for McNeal.
 
East Carolina (17-8, 8-4 The American) led for 39:13 of gametime on Sunday, holding Wichita State (14-11, 4-8 The American) to just five points in the first quarter. The Pirates never looked back from there, but really took the Shockers to task in the fourth quarter where the lead ballooned to as many as 19. 79 points was the team's best output since Dec. 19 against North Carolina A&T.
 
The turning point in the game may well have been on what could have been seen as a negative for the Pirates: a Kim McNeill technical foul. With 6:20 remaining in the ballgame, the ECU head coach was rung up for arguing a foul call. The margin was nine at the time. The Shockers failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
 
Conversely, McNeill used the tech to fire up a rowdy crowd of 1,537 in attendance in Minges. Less than a minute later came the sequence of the game: a Jayla Hearp triple which led to a thunderous Joyner block. In all, the Pirates went on a 20-8 run in the aftermath of the technical foul to game and put a pesky Shockers bunch away for good.
 
 
 
Speaking of Joyner, the freshman failed to look her age again. The Farmville native racked up 21 points and 10 rebounds on the game, good for her 10th double-double of the season. With a trio of rejections on the day, Joyner also moves into sole possession of fourth on the ECU freshman blocks list.
 
Not to be outdone, McNeal led all scorers with her 22 points on the day, living in transition where she has been simply unstoppable of late. The Swansea, S.C. native showed why she is a frontrunner for AAC Defensive Player of the Year with five more steals on the game, moving into the top 10 in a single season in program history.
 
Tulane 69, Tulsa 67 – Box Score
TULSA – A stellar shooting performance in the first half helped Tulane University Women's Basketball (14-11, 4-8 The American) hold off Tulsa (16-8, 6-5 The American) for a 69-67 win on the road Sunday. The Green Wave shot 65.5 percent from the field and hit 5-of-8 threes in the opening half to build the early advantage it needed to hold on down the stretch.
 
Sophomore Kierra Middleton had a career day as she led the Wave with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting including 3-of-4 from downtown. Marta Galic followed with 17 points and pulled down 10 boards for her fifth double-double of the season. Irina Parau also notched her first double-double of the year posting 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with a career-high three blocks.
 
Tulsa's Delanie Crawford led all scorers in the contest with 29 points and seven made threes. Maya Mayberry also scored double figures for the Golden Hurricane finishing with 16 points.
 
The offense came out firing on all cylinders for the Green Wave in the first quarter shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from downtown. A 13-2 scoring run gave Tulane the lead early in the frame and the Wave did not look back building a 28-14 lead at the end of the first.
 
Tulane pushed its advantage to as many as 20 points in the second quarter with another strong shooting performance from the floor hitting at a 63.6 percent clip. Galic and Middleton each posted 12 first half point to lead the Green Wave to a 48-33 lead at the half.
 
The shooting cooled a bit for the Wave in the third quarter, but Tulane still maintained its distance from the Golden Hurricane. Middleton led the way with six points in the frame as the Green Wave entered the final quarter with a 65-50 advantage.
 
Tulsa made its run to open the fourth trimming the Wave's lead down to two points, but Tulane managed to hold off the Golden Hurricane to secure the 69-67 victory.
 
Houston 71, South Florida 69 – Box Score
TAMPA – Laila Blair hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points to help Houston upset No. 24/21 South Florida 71-69 on Sunday for Houston's first win over a ranked opponent since 2021, also against South Florida, and its first road win over a ranked opponent since 2004.
 
Houston (10-13, 7-3 The American), which never trailed after a Blair 3-pointer made it 7-5 and led by 13 in the third quarter, never flinched when Sammie Puisis hit a 3-pointer for South Florida to tie the game at 58 with 7:35 to play.
 
South Florida (22-5, 11-1 The American), which had won 12 straight, was 12-0 at home and was trying to go 12-0 in American Athletic Conference play for the first time.
 
Blair, the reigning player of the week, scored 22 of her 30 points in the first half and made five of her six threes in the first half.
 
It was 40-31 at the half as Blair pulled up for a buzzer-beating 3 a couple steps inside half court.
 
 
Bria Patterson made one of two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to put Houston on top 70-66. Elena Tsineke converted a three-point play with 4.9 to go but after Patterson again made 1 of 2 foul shots at four seconds, USF had no timeouts left to get off a good shot.
 
Britney Onyeje scored 14 points for Houston which has won four straight. Tiara Young had 13 points and Patterson added 11.
 
The Cougars only shot 41% and were out-rebounded 41-24, but they made 11 of 24 from 3-point range and forced 19 South Florida turnovers.
 
Tsineke scored 24 points and Dulcy Fankam Me