Sunday, Dec. 13
Highlights
Tulsa 69, Oklahoma State 62
Oklahoma State outscored Tulsa 21-12 in the final quarter, but the Golden Hurricane held on for a 69-62 win over the Cowgirls on Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. TU moved to 1-0 on the season, while the Cowgirls fell to 3-2 overall.
"It seems like it took forever to get here," Tulsa Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "Until you put your team out there against another team you don't know what you have. This game gives us a lot of confidence. We started two freshmen and a junior-transfer who hasn't play in a year, so we knew we'd have a group that would compete, but we didn't know what to expect with our first game of the year."
Tulsa was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, allowing OSU to go on a 15-0 run, until Wyvette Mayberry hit a big three-point basket at the 2:32 mark to keep the Hurricane on top, 60-56. Wyvette Mayberry hit another three and was 4-of-4 from the free throw line, while Rebecca Lescay added a field goal for the final 69-62 score. Ja'Mee Asberry had 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cowgirls' comeback bid that fell short.
Wyvette Mayberry tallied a team-leading 16 points in 11 minutes of play. She went 4-of-5 from the three, including two big three's and was 4-of-4 from the line in the final 2:32 of the game. Lescay added 15 points, while Maya Mayberry tallied 13 and Elin Hrafnkelsdottir posted 10 points and along with Desiree Lewis, a team-leading six rebounds.
"The real super star was Ella," Mossman said. "She hurt her knee in practice yesterday, but when Jessika picked up her two fouls we put her in and I don't think she came back out. She really did a good job of defending Natasha Mack."
Tulsa ended the game with a 38-percent field goal percentage, including 59-percent from behind the arc, and was 76-percent from the free throw line.
Tulsa had an 8-6 lead in steals, while Oklahoma State had a 45-40 advantage in rebounds. Both teams had nine assists and four blocks.
Tulsa claimed a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter on solid shooting, including 62.5 percent from the field, 57-percent from behind the arc and 100-percent (2-of-2) from the free throw line. Maya Mayberry had a team-best 10 points, while Wyvette Mayberry added six as the sister duo combined for more than half of TU's points in the frame.
The Cowgirls had a narrow 14-13 scoring edge in the second quarter, but Tulsa went into the locker room up 39-31.
OSU pulled to within four, 39-35, at the 8:54 mark of the third frame, but a pair of free throws made by KK Rodriguez at the 7:42 mark gave the Hurricane their first points of the quarter. Tulsa then outscored the Cowgirls, 16-6, to own a 57-41 advantage with one frame to play.
Asberry led OSU with 20 points, while Mack added 17 and Lexy Keys posted 10 points. The Cowgirls shot 33-percent from the field, six-percent (1-of-15) from three-point range and 71-percent from the free throw line.
No. RV USF 85, Stetson 43
The University of South Florida women's basketball team got a game high 16 points from Elena Tsineke, and 12 points from Shae Leverett, as the Bulls closed out their nonconference schedule in style with a dominating 85-43 win over instate foe Stetson on Sunday afternoon in the Yuengling Center.
USF, who improves to 3-1 on the year, placed four players in double figures in the victory. Joining Tsineke, a guard from Thessaloniki, Greece, and Leverett, a forward from Rincon, Ga., were Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Cristina Bermejo (Sant Just Desvern, Spain) with a career high-tying 10 points. Mununga's double-double marked the 11th of her career and the second of the season.
In the end, all 13 players that played on Sunday made their way into the scoring column.
After a slow start that saw the Bulls trailing Stetson (1-1) at the end of the first quarter, 14-12, USF took control of the game quickly in the second quarter outscoring the Hatters 29-9 to take a 41-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission. The Bulls didn't let up in the second half, allowing Stetson only 20 total points in the final 20 minutes of play.
USF shot 39 percent from the field (30-for-77) and just 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from behind the arc, however more than made up for it on the glass. The Bulls outrebounded Stetson 69-29, including a 28-6 margin on the offensive boards, with those 28 rebounds leading to 27 second chance points.
No. RV FGCU 70, UCF 57
The UCF women's basketball team dropped a 70-57 decision to FGCU on Sunday afternoon in Addition Financial Arena.
FGCU (4-2), who is receiving votes in the USA Today/WBCA Top 25 poll, scored the first eight points of the contest and maintained its lead for the duration of the game. The Eagles hit 14 three-pointers while shooting 53.8 percent from beyond the arc.
UCF (2-1) rallied in the second quarter to outscore the Eagles and pulled within single digits, 37-29, at halftime. In the third period, the Knights responded each time the visitors looked to put distance between the squads but trailed 50-40 entering the final 10 minutes.
Baskets from Diamond Battles and Kiera Brown pulled UCF within six, 50-44, in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but FGCU hit five three-pointers in the final frame to take the victory.
Eight of the nine Knights that saw action on Sunday registered at least two points. Masseny Kaba and Brittney Smith each had 11 points and eight rebounds. Kaba also had five assists for the Knights.
Kiera Brown came off the bench to score a career-best seven points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and had a steal in a career-high 31 minutes.