Thursday, Dec. 17-Saturday, Dec. 19
Highlights
UCF 53, Tulsa 42
Four Knights scored in double figures as the UCF women's basketball team earned a 53-42 win over Tulsa in the Reynolds Center on Saturday afternoon.
UCF (4-1, 2-0 The American) rallied from an early deficit to earn its sixth straight win over Tulsa (1-1, 0-1 The American). The Golden Hurricane led by as many as nine points, 15-6, in the first quarter. The Knights responded to cut the deficit to four, 17-13, at the end of the first frame and opened the second quarter on a 5-0 spurt to take their first lead of the day, 18-17.
The squads kept it close in the second period before a three-pointer from Asia Todd put the Black and Gold ahead 23-21 at the break.
The Knights maintained their lead in the third quarter, going up by as many as seven points on a three-point play from Todd, and led 37-32 heading into the final frame.
The Golden Hurricane cut UCF's lead to three, 42-39, midway through the fourth quarter. An 11-1 run - that included five points from Courtajia Sanders - over the next four minutes gave the Black and Gold a 13-point advantage in the final minute of the game.
Diamond Battles led all scorers with 12 points and dished out six assists. Masseny Kaba recorded her first double-double of the season and the third of her career with 10 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Courtajia Sanders added 11 points and Asia Todd chipped in a season-high 10 points.
Tulane 70, Southeastern Louisiana 54
Senior forward Krystal Freeman recorded a monster double-double with 25 points to complement a season-high 17 rebounds as the Tulane women's basketball team defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 70-54, in non-conference play Saturday evening at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Freeman shot 11-of-17 from the floor while recording her 19th-career double-double and second of the season. She posted 23 points and 10 boards in the season-opening victory over Nicholls State on Nov. 25.
Arsula Clark and Dynah Jones also reached double-figures with 13 points apiece, while Salma Bates handed out a game-high six assists coming off the bench.
The Green Wave (4-2) finished the night shooting 27-of-59 (.458) overall and owned scoring advantages of 42-28 in the paint and 14-3 on second chances.
Southeastern Louisiana (1-2) scored the first five points of the game behind some quick baskets and scrappy defense before extending their lead to as many as six on multiple occasions in the first quarter. The Green Wave worked the ball into the paint where they got four baskets and as many free throws made to cut the deficit to one, 16-15, after one quarter of play.
Tulane continued its battle in the back-and-forth nature of the first five minutes of the second quarter, but the Lions went on a 7-1 scoring run down to the two-minute mark to open up a 29-21 advantage.
The Green Wave responded in a big way with a pair of three-point plays on consecutive possessions by Freeman and Jones to ignite an 8-0 run to close the half and tie the game at 29 at the intermission.
The Wave shot 9-of-28 (.321) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while the Lions shot 12-of-35 (.343) and held a 25-21 rebounding edge as well as a 10-0 scoring advantage on fast breaks.
Tulane wasted little time taking its first lead of the game when Clark scored the first basket of the third quarter, and that was the first of three lead swaps in just over three minutes of action. The third change came on a Freeman basket at the 6:50 mark, jump-starting a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to give the Green Wave a 40-34 lead.
The Lions roared back with eight of the next 10 points to knot the score at 42 with 2:51 remaining in the period, but the Wave reclaimed the lead and did not surrender it for the rest of the quarter to take a 49-47 edge into the final 10 minutes.
Tulane was dominant at both ends of the court in the fourth quarter, while holding the Lions to just 3-of-14 (.214) shooting in the final period. The Green Wave outscored the opposition, 21-7, in the fourth quarter while closing out the game with 12 straight points as part of a 17-3 scoring run.
Southeastern was led by Morgan Carrier's 18 points, as Jaylen Huderson chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Alabama 74, Memphis 68
The Memphis women's basketball team fell to Alabama, 74-68 on Saturday at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The Tigers are now 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the American Athletic Conference.
Alabama raced out to a 44-29 lead by the end of the first half, but the Tigers returned to the court with a vengeance. Memphis kept the scoring margin to just 10 points for the majority of the third quarter and went on a 6-0 run early in the fourth to further close the gap.
"I hate to repeat myself, but I think we played our butts off – at least in for the last three quarters," said head coach Melissa McFerrin. "We just simply couldn't survive a 25-point quarter, but I think our team did a great job of adjusting after that."
Memphis battled its way back into the contest to make it a one-point game with less than two minutes left on the clock, but a series of made free throws by Alabama in the final seconds of regulation solidified the win for the Crimson Tide.
"The difference in the first and second halves for us as a team was just our hunger," said junior Jatyjia 'Tye' Jones. "Everyone came back on the court after halftime ready to win. We decided as a team to just come together and get it done although sadly, we fell short."
Senior Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu led the team with 19 points and nine rebounds, marking her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season. Jones and Alana Davis were the only two other Tigers to score in double-digits against Alabama. Jones totaled 15 points and six rebounds while Davis had 13 points and five rebounds.
"Obviously Dulcy and Alana played well for us, but I thought Tye Jones was absolutely outstanding," said McFerrin. "She made so many great plays today."
Typically praised for her defensive presence on the court, Jones has proven to be an offensive weapon for the Tigers as well. She scored 11 of her 15 total points in the final quarter alone.
"I've just been able to find the empty spots where the opposing team isn't guarding or doesn't have anyone and I use that to get my offense going," said Jones.
Memphis is optimistic moving forward, looking only to improve as it leaves non-conference play in the past.
No. 5/4 South Carolina 103, Temple 41
The Temple women's basketball team fell to #5 South Carolina 103-41 Thursday evening at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks improve to 5-1 on the year while the Owls fall to 0-3.
How It Happened
> Temple shot just 23.3% from the floor and 17.4% from three-point range.
> The Gamecocks shot 53.4% (39-73) from the field while knocking down eight threes.
> South Carolina used 20 second-chance points and 30 points off turnovers to fuel their way past the Owls.
Statistical Leaders
> Senior Mia Davis led the Owls with 17 points and seven rebounds.
> Emani Mayo was the second leading scorer for Temple with 11 points. The senior guard added four rebounds and a steal to her stat line.
> Sophomore Asonah Alexander led Temple in the assists column with three while classmate Rayniah Walker recorded a career-best three blocks.
First Quarter: South Carolina 21, Temple 14
> A pair of foul shots followed by a three-pointer by E. Mayo gave Temple an early 5-2 lead to start the game.
> However, the Owls turned the ball over eight times in the opening 10 minutes, giving South Carolina 13 points off turnovers.
> The Gamecocks finished the first quarter on a 7-0 run to hold the edge heading into the second frame.
Second Quarter: South Carolina 44, Temple 25
> The Owls struggled in the second quarter, shooting 25% (4-16) from the floor. South Carolina outscored Temple 23-11 to create a large gap heading into the break.
> Davis was stuck on the bench for the final five minutes of the half due to foul trouble.
> The Gamecocks scored eight second-chance points on their four offensive boards of the second quarter.
Third Quarter: South Carolina 76, Temple 37
> South Carolina opened the second half on a 7-0 run to put even more distance between them and the Owls.
> The shooting woes continued for Temple as they shot 4-20 (20%) from the field.
> The Gamecocks shot 57.1% from long range, led by Zia Cooke's 3-for-4 effort beyond the arc.
Fourth Quarter: South Carolina 103, Temple 41
> The Owls were held to only four points in the final quarter, shooting 8.3% from the field.
> South Carolina's bench scored all of the 27 points in the final frame.