Tulsa won its fourth straight game and SMU picked up its first conference win of the season during women's basketball action around The American on Saturday.
No. 2/2 UConn 80, Memphis 34
Freshman Kia Nurse had a game-high 18 points and classmate Gabby Williams chipped in a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds in UConn's 80-34 win over Memphis Saturday afternoon at FedEx Forum. Memphis played close with the nation’s No. 2 team most of the first half, trailing 16-14 with 6:55 on the clock. The Ariel Hearn-Mooriah Rowser tandem kept the Tigers close, combining for 10 of the squad’s first 14 points (Hearn six, Rowser four). The Huskies, though, ended the half on a 12-2 spurt for a 28-16 halftime lead. With UConn leading 16-14, Huskies guard Saniya Chong went on an 8-0 run of her own to extend the lead to 24-14. Hearn finished with a team-best 13 points for Memphis while Asia Fuqua-Bey pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
RV/RV USF 75, Cincinnati 36
USF won for the 13th time in the past 14 games and set a season-best by holding Cincinnati to 24.2-percent shooting from the field in a 75-36 win Saturday evening at the Sun Dome. Fifteen Bulls saw action for the second straight contest and Courtney Williams extended her 20-point streak to eight games by posting 20 points in 25 minutes of action. Alisia Jenkins added her 16th double-double of the year with 19 points and 15 rebounds. USF broke open the first half thanks to 13 unanswered points over the span of four minutes and 55 seconds. Williams scored eight of the Bulls' points during the run. The Bearcats were paced by Makenzie Cann, who reached double-digit points for the fifth time with 10, and Marley Hill. The sophomore turned in her 17th double-digit scoring effort of the season with 13 points.
SMU 70, UCF 60
Freshman Alicia Froling scored a career-high 27 points, and SMU used a late 17-2 run to top UCF, 70-60, at CFE Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs had a season-low 12 turnovers in the win and made 50-percent (13-of-26) of their field goals in the second half. Froling's 27 points were the second-most ever by a freshman at SMU and the most since Leann Shaw had 31 against UTSA on Feb. 2, 1983. Froling also had 10 rebounds, marking her fifth double-double and third in the last four games. UCF, who scored just two points in the final 4:30 of play, got a team-high 21 points from Zykira Lewis. The sophomore led three Knights in double figures with her 13th 20-point outing of the season.
Tulane 77, Temple 63
For the first time in over six years, Tulane hosted Temple at Devlin Fieldhouse and the Green Wave came away with a 77-63 victory. Four Tulane players scored in double digits, including a career-high 23 points from Chinwe Duru. Duru, Kolby Morgan, Leslie Vorpahl and Courtnie Latham combined for 61 of the team’s 63 points. Duru, who connected on her first six shots, finished a career-best 11-for-16 from the field. The junior fell one rebound shy of a double-double. Erica Covile led the Owls with 20 points while freshman Alliya Butts added 19 points with three steals. Tanaya Atkinson finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Tulane shot 49.2-percent for the game and limited Temple to 36.7-percent shooting and 12.5-percent from beyond the arc.
Tulsa 67, Houston 51
Mariah Turner had a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) and two others scored in double figures to lead Tulsa to a 67-51 win over Houston Saturday afternoon at Hofheinz Pavilion. Ashley Clark tallied a game-best 18 points for the Hurricane, who improved to 12-10 overall and 7-4 in The American with the win. The Cougars (6-17, 1-11) trailed by 11 points at the break, but scored just two points in the first seven minutes of the second half. Tulsa took advantage and stretched the lead to 20-plus points, an advantage that would hold for the remainder of the game. Bianca Winslow finished with 11 points for Houston while Marche’ Amerson added 10.