FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 4 seeded Houston’s stifling defense propelled the Cougars to a 52-33 win over fifth-seeded SMU in the quarterfinals of the 2023 American Women’s Basketball Championship Tuesday, March 7 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
The Cougars (14-15) advance to the semifinals and will take on No. 8 Wichita State, which stunned No. 1 seed South Florida, on Wednesday, March 8 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
SMU (16-12) scored the first five points of the game, but went scoreless for over 10 minutes as Houston scored 18 unanswered points and led 24-11 at the halftime break.
 
Houston pushed the lead to as big as 22 in the fourth quarter.
 
Laila Blair led the Cougars with 12 points and eight assists, while Tatyana Hill added eight points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
 
Savannah Wilkinson scored nine points for the Mustangs.
 
The latest tournament information can be found online at The American's Championship Central by visiting www.TheAmerican.org/wbb. Tickets for the championship are on sale through Ticketmaster.
 
2023 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship
 
First Round | Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 8 Wichita State 71, No. 9 Temple 61
Game 2: No. 10 UCF 69, No. 7 Tulsa 53
Game 3: No. 6 Tulane 61, No. 11 Cincinnati 52
 
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, March 7
Game 4: No. 8 Wichita State 65, No. 1 South Florida 53
Game 5: No. 4 Houston 52, No. 5 SMU 33
Game 6: No. 10 UCF vs. No. 2 Memphis (19-9) | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 7: No. 6 Tulane vs. No. 3 East Carolina (20-9) | 9 p.m. | ESPN+
 
Semifinals | Wednesday, March 8
Game 8: No. 8 Wichita State vs. No. 4 Houston | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
 
Final | Thursday, March 9
Game 10: Semifinal Winners | 9 p.m. | ESPNU and ESPN+
 
All times are Eastern.