Tuesday, Dec. 1
Highlights
Tulane 77, South Alabama 73
The Tulane women's basketball team took a 77-73 win at South Alabama Tuesday afternoon.
"It is always nice to win on the road," head coach Lisa Stockton said. "In that fourth quarter, we really played well and shot well. We were able to finish free throws at the end to get the win."
Tulane (2-0) shot 44.0 (11-25) percent from three and grabbed 42 rebounds, while South Alabama (1-1) was 40.7 (11-27) percent from the three and logged 41 rebounds. The Green Wave posted 12 assists and 11 steals on the day. Freshman Jerkaila Jordan logged a season and team-high 20 points on 2-3 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line, including the final two free throws to seal the game. Senior Krystal Freeman added 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Fellow senior Arsula Clark chipped in 17 points, five rebounds and two assists.
After South Alabama opened the second half with a 4-0 run, Tulane reeled off 11 consecutive points to extend its lead to 46-38 with 4:01 left in the third quarter. Both teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter and the Green Wave grabbed a 50-45 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars started the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 55-52 lead. Jordan responded for the Green Wave by hitting a three to end the run and tie the game with 7:42 left in the game. The teams traded blows until Clark scored five-straight for Tulane to take a 64-63 lead with 3:15 left. South Alabama responded with a layup, but Freeman hit back-to-back threes to give the Olive and Blue a 70-65 lead with 1:54 remaining. The Green Wave did not give up the lead the rest of the game and took a 77-73 win.
Sophomore Salma Bates led Tulane in assists for the second consecutive game with four.
The first quarter started slowly for both sides, but Freeman was able add five points and five rebounds. Jordan also had four points for the Green Wave in the opening 10 minutes. South Alabama led 16-12 after the first. Tulane used a 9-0 run to start the second quarter to take a 21-16 lead with 7:44 left in the first half. Both sides traded blows the rest of the half and Tulane held a 35-33 lead at the break. Jordan led the way for the Green Wave in the first half with 13 points, while Freeman added nine points and a team-high five rebounds.
Redshirt junior Devyn Lowe led South Alabama with a game-high 22 points, while senior Antoinette Lewis grabbed a game-high 12 boards.
The Green Wave will continue the road trip Thursday, Dec. 3, as they travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT at McCamish Pavilion on Georgia Tech's campus.
No. 4 Baylor 67, No. RV USF 62
Maria Alvarez returned to action in a big way as the Bulls proved they can hang tough with one of the nation's top teams in a 67-62 loss to No. 4 Baylor at the Yuengling Center on Tuesday night.
Alvarez (Bal Harbour, Fla.) scored 16 of her team-high 18 points in the second half to help the Bulls (1-1) erase a 10-point deficit in their first of two top-10 matchups of the week. The sophomore guard went 5-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from long range in her season debut after missing most of 2019-20 campaign with a knee injury.
Forward Bethy Mununga also was a force with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the 10th double-double performance of her career. The senior from Zellik, Belgium tied things up twice in opening minutes of the fourth quarter and her second three during the stretch made it a 53-53 ballgame with 7:58 to play.
Baylor (2-0) went an 8-0 run, but the Bulls answered back with five straight points, including a pair of free throws from Sydney Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.). The junior guard finished with 11 points in her second straight double-digit scoring game of the season.
A jumper by Cristina Bermejo (Sant Just Desvern, Spain) and layup by Elena Tsineke (Thessaloniki, Greece) made it a three-point game again with 1:01 to play. The Lady Bears held on to become the 15th women's program in Division I history to reach 1,000 wins.
Before an exciting finish, USF led for nearly 12 minutes of the first half, but Baylor scored 15 points off 14 turnovers by the Bulls and held a 29-28 advantage at the break.
Baylor opened the second half on a 10-2 run and led by 10 with 4:12 to play in the third quarter. From there, Alvarez caught fire and scored 11 of her 13 points in the period to spark the Bulls' late comeback.
Little Rock 61, Memphis 52
Although the Memphis women's basketball team fell to the Little Rock Trojans 61-52 in the 2020-21 season opener, tenured leadership proved to be an asset among this squad. Senior forward Alana Davis led the team in scoring with 20 points and sophomore guard Madison Griggs followed with 11 points.
The Tigers opened the game well defensively against the Trojans. Davis executed on both sides of the ball as she was responsible for nine of Memphis' 15 points in the first quarter and forced two turnovers. Little Rock's offense did not give up easily. At the conclusion of the first quarter the Trojans totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds to clinch their 19-15 lead over the Tigers.
The second quarter started with a three-minute scoring drought which was snapped by sophomore forward Lanetta Williams. Her jumper brought the score to 19-17. Balanced scoring kept the two teams neck-and-neck for the duration of the quarter, and a three-pointer by Griggs at the buzzer left the Tigers leading at the half 30-29.
The Trojans came back after halftime and regained their lead with a jumper by junior guard Mayra Caicedo. A three-pointer by Griggs with 6:44 left on the clock put the Tigers back in the game. Little Rock went on to extend their lead by seven points by the end of the third quarter to bring the score to 44-37.
The Trojans opened the final quarter with scoring contributions by forwards Brianna Crane and Krystan Vornes. A three-pointer by junior guard Jatyjia "Tye" Jones brought the score to 48-40 with 8:33 left on the clock. Little Rock continued to score efficiently and posed a threat defensively on the final stretch. Lead by Crane and Caicedo with 6 points each, Little Rock totaled 17 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block in the fourth quarter alone. Their efforts in the second half ultimately lead to their 61-52 victory over Memphis at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.