Wednesday, February 22
East Carolina 88, Houston 83 – Box Score
SMU 69, Wichita State 51 – Box Score
South Florida 93, Tulsa 83 – Box Score
Memphis 64, Cincinnati 53 – Box Score
Recaps
East Carolina 88, Houston 83 – Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. – It was like it was scripted. The East Carolina women's basketball team came back from the dead once again after being down 12 points with under six minutes to play in regulation before the teams went on to play 21 more minutes of basketball as the Pirates defeated the Houston Cougars, 88-83, in front of a crowd of two-thousand-plus in Minges Coliseum Wednesday.
It seems hard to find a single player of the game in a 55-minute, high-stakes American Athletic Conference battle, but any list has to include the woman who played all 55 of those minutes while racking up 12 assists: Micah Dennis. Dennis ran the point with poise all game for the Pirates (20-8, 11-4 The American) as she tallied the ninth-most assists in a game in program history.
To get to overtime, though, it took another remarkable comeback. Trailing by nine with 2:59 to play in regulation, the Pirates went on a tear going on a 10-1 run to level the game at 62. ECU even had a chance to win it in regular time, but Danae McNeal's shot fell off the rim. The Pirates have now come back from deficits of 11, nine and 12 in the fourth quarter - the Pirates trailed by 14 in the third Wednesday - to win their last three games and have won six-straight overall, the longest streak since 2014-15.
Overall, the game was as advertised: a physical, defensive-minded matchup that took three overtimes for a team to even reach 88 points. The Pirates and Cougars (10-15, 8-5 The American) both ranked in the top three nationally in steals per game and delivered to the tune of 25 for ECU and 22 for Houston. Six Pirates recorded multiple takeaways on the day.
In terms of scoring, because despite the defense there was plenty. McNeal ran up another career high with 34 points to pace all scorers, knocking in 13 of her 15 attempts from the charity stripe. Synia Johnson added 16 points and seven boards of her own while adding a trio of steals.
Amiya Joyner also notched another double-double, adding 15 rebounds to her 14 points on the day. The double-double was the seventh in a row for Joyner, tying the longest such streak in program history with Rosie Thompson's run in 1978-79. Joyner also put up an impressive five blocks to go with five assists. The five blocks tied the 15th most in program history.
Special kudos should be given to Iycez Adams. The sophomore forward absolutely played her heart out, finishing with a career-high 10 rebounds to go with six points, four assists, and a block.
More than individual stats, the game had major team implications. With a win at Tulane on Saturday (or a loss by Memphis in any of their final two games) the Pirates can officially clinch the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. When all was said and done, the second-longest game in ECU history was a massive win which will not be soon forgotten.
SMU 69, Wichita State 51 – Box Score
DALLAS (SMU)-- Three Mustangs scored in double figures as SMU extended its home record to 12-1 with a 69-51 victory over Wichita State Wednesday night in Moody Coliseum.
Jasmine Smith's 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals led SMU (16-9, 7-6 American Athletic Conference). Savannah Wilkinson reached double-digits for the ninth consecutive game, scoring 14 points and adding seven rebounds. Chantae Embry tallied 12 points and grabbed four boards. Jessica Peterson finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. The Mustangs totaled 22 assists on 30 made field goals in the contest.
SMU pulled away in the second half after outscoring Wichita State 31-20 in the final two quarters. Tamia Jones posted seven points, two rebounds and six assists in the second half to propel SMU to the victory. Jones finished with a career-high eight assists.
Wichita State cut the deficit to eight in the third. SMU countered the comeback with an 8-0 run led by a pair of three-pointers from Smith and Jones that extended the Mustang advantage to 16 heading into the fourth.
After holding the Shockers to a three minute scoring drought, another 6-0 run extended SMU's lead to 36-25 and forced a Wichita State timeout late in the second. The Mustangs led 38-31 at the break.
Smith dropped in a floater as time expired to give SMU a 24-16 advantage after the first frame. SMU made five out of its last six field goals to end the quarter while holding the Shockers scoreless for the last 2:30 of the first period.
South Florida 93, Tulsa 83 – Box Score
TAMPA (Feb. 22, 2023) — The University of South Florida women's basketball team closed out its 2022-23 home schedule in impressive fashion on Wednesday as the Bulls defeated Tulsa, 93-83, on Senior Night in the Yuengling Center. South Florida, the 2023 American Athletic Conference regular season champions, improve to 25-5 on the year and 14-1 in The American while the Golden Hurricane fall to 16-11 and 6-8 in league play.
The Bulls got two big-time performances from Sammie Puisis and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu en route to the win. Puisis scored a game-high 27 points, one point shy of equaling her career-high, and Fankam Mendjiadeu – who along with Elena Tsineke were recognized during a Senior Night ceremony before the game – added 25 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and a dished out a career-high tying four assists.
Tsineke added 15 points and handed out a career-high nine assists, and Marina Asensio chipped in with a career-high 14 points off the bench. Carla Brito rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
The Bulls trailed after one quarter, 21-18, however, came back and took a 42-38 advantage into the locker room at the break behind 19 of Puisis' 27 points.
South Florida continued to hold the lead in the third quarter finishing the stanza by hitting five of its final six shots. Included in those five made field goals were two crucial three-point field goals in the final three minutes by Asensio.
The Bulls eventually took over in the fourth quarter, getting its advantage to double figures with just under five minutes left in the game on a Brito free throw, and then extended its lead to as many as 14 points late in the fourth on a Fankam Mendjiadeu fast break layup for her final points in the Yuengling Center. Fankam Mendjiadeu and Tsineke were then pulled from the game with 46 seconds left to a standing ovation.
South Florida handed out a season-high tying 25 assists on the night on 31 made field goals, and outrebounded Tulsa, 39-30, including a 10-5 margin on the offensive glass leading to nine second-chance points.
Memphis 64, Cincinnati 53 – Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After two games on the road, the Memphis Tiger women's basketball team came back to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse to take on the University of Cincinnati. The Tigers would extend their winning streak to five games after they took down the Bearcats 64-53.
Following tonight's game, Memphis moves to 17-9 overall and 9-4 in American Athletic Conference play.
The Tigers got out to a quick start, taking a lead as large as 10 in the opening quarter after Destiny Thomas laid in a second chance bucket with just under two minutes left. Memphis would extend their lead out to 18-7 heading into the second quarter following two made free throws from Madison Griggs.
Cincinnati would make a run at the Memphis lead in the second quarter, but the Tigers held steady.
While the Bearcats cut their deficit to single digits, the Tigers would get big performances from Emani Jefferson and Jada Wright to stay ahead.
Wright would get a short turnaround jumper to fall with 2:04 left in the half to give Memphis the 34-24 lead. Cincinnati would hold the Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, but the Memphis defense would give their offense a break and hold the Bearcats to just three points the rest of the half and take the 34-27 lead into the break.
Cincinnati continued to chip away at the Tiger's lead in the third quarter, getting as close as two.
With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Wright and Destyne Jackson would give Memphis a bit of breathing room with back-to-back baskets for the 50-44 lead. Cincinnati's Jillian Hayes would get one last basket before the end of the quarter and Memphis would take the four-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
The Tiger's scoring would come alive in the fourth quarter, getting a 6-0 run with baskets from Thomas, Shutes and Shelbee Brown. A lay-up with 3:02 left in the game would be the last Cincinnati field goal Memphis would allow as they closed out the game on a 7-2 run to regain their double-digit lead. The Tigers would secure the 64-53 win.
Emani Jefferson led the team with 14 points and nine rebounds while Jamirah Shutes and Madison Griggs added in 13 and 12, respectively.
As a team, Memphis shot 41% from the field and dominated on the boards, 44-33.