Friday, Dec. 4
Highlights
Wichita State 57, Southern 53
Wichita State held off a late fourth quarter rally to pick up its third straight win to start the season, defeating Southern, 57-53, Friday night in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State is 3-0 to begin the season, marking the second time under head coach Keitha Adams the Shockers have won three straight to start a campaign.
Seraphine Bastin and DJ McCarty scored a team-high tying 11 points. McCarty dished out six assists, tying her career high, which she set last game. Asia Strong tallied her third straight game to start the season with 10 or more points, finishing with 10 on just 4-of-13 shooting.
The Shockers shot just 38 percent in the second half to finish at 44.7 percent for the game, and connected on only 2-of-10 attempts from three-point range. Wichita State also struggled at the line, going 13-of-25. All were season lows, along with being outrebounded by seven.
Genovea Johnson led all players with 23 points for Southern. Amani McWain added 14, but need 20 attempts to get there.
After the first 10 minutes of play Wichita State held a slight 17-15 lead behind 54 percent shooting and five Southern turnovers. Neither team led by more than four in the first quarter, which saw five ties and three lead changes.
McCarty scored five of the team's first nine points to open the second quarter, helping the Shockers take their largest lead, 26-17, with 4:30 left until halftime.
The Shockers would then score only four points over the final 4:30, but would still take a 30-24 lead into the locker room. Southern was just 1-for-11 over the final 4:08. McCarty and Colbert had a team-high eight points in the first half.
Wichita State finished the half shooting 50 percent, but was only 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Jaguars were 4-of-14 from long range, but only 30 percent overall. Both teams took care of the ball with Wichita State only turning it over three times and Southern six.
Both teams came out sluggish to start the second half. Neither team had more than four points over five minutes in, as Wichita State held a 34-28 lead with 4:35 remaining. Southern went more than five minutes without a score after pulling within four 1:25 into the period.
The Jaguars' drought finally allowed Wichita State to grab a double-digit lead, 39-28, with 3:17 to go in the third. Just when it looked like the Shockers were going to pull away, Southern clawed back. Wichita State's 11-point lead was cut to five at the 1:19 mark before a Rachel Johnson three-pointer pushed it back to eight.
Southern would score the final bucket of the period, making it 44-38 through three quarters.
The sloppy play continued in the fourth quarter, as the two teams were still searching for their first points for more than four minutes. A Carla Bremaud layup finally put the Shockers in the scoring column at the 5:38 mark.
The Jaguars finally scored with 4:13 to go on a pair of Genovea Johnson free throws. Bastin would score four straight points, extending the margin back to double digits at the 2:30 mark, but Southern would not quit.
A 7-0 run for the Jaguars saw them creep back within five and 41.4 seconds remaining. Southern would come as close as four before McCarty iced it at the free throw line with 11.8 seconds left.
UCF 58, LSU 48
The UCF women's basketball team earned a 58-48 win over LSU in the Maravich Assembly Center in the SEC/American Athletic Conference Challenge on Friday evening.
Defense was key once again, as UCF (2-0) held LSU (0-3) to just 12.5 percent from the floor in the first half and 27.3 percent for the game.
LSU scored the first three points of the contest, but UCF responded with 13 unanswered, including eight from Courtajia Sanders, to lead 13-3 after the first quarter.
The Knights continued to build their lead in the second period, pushing out to as many as 22 points, 28-6, on a pair of free throws from Jnaya Walker, and carried a 30-12 advantage into the locker rooms.
The Black and Gold maintained its double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game, despite a late flurry of three-pointers from the Tigers. The Knights shot 63.6 percent in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Sanders led all scorers with 22 points and had three steals. Brittney Smith added a season-high 13 points. Diamond Battles pulled down a career-best and game-high 10 rebounds, dished out four assists and just missed a double-double with nine points. Alisha Lewis came off the bench to tally five assists and two steals.
Saint Louis 82, Memphis 74 (OT)
Senior forward Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had her first double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and grabbing 17 rebounds as the Memphis women's basketball team fell to Saint Louis 82-74 in overtime on Friday.
Memphis got off to a quick start with scoring contributions by sophomore guards Aerial Wilson and Madison Griggs along with Fankam Mendjiadeu in the first three minutes as the Tigers took a 9-2 lead. A three-pointer by Saint Louis' Peyton Kennedy closed the scoring gap as the Tigers only led by five points with 5:38 left on the clock. This gave the Billikens momentum that carried through the majority of the period.
Two made free throws by Saint Louis' Myriama Smith Traore gave them the lead with only 1:46 left on the clock. With less than two minutes left in the period, Griggs went 1-2 at the free-throw line to tie the game. A basket made by Fankam Mendjiadeu at the buzzer secured a 19-14 lead for the Tigers at the conclusion of the first period.
Saint Louis got a three from Natalie McNeal immediately followed by a layup from Myia Clark early in the second period to tie the game, but Memphis later answered with a jumper by Julan McDonald to bring the score to 21-19. Momentum kicked in for the Tigers during the second half of the period as Fankam Mendjiadeu made back-to-back layups with less than four minutes left on the clock. After a made layup by senior forward Alana Davis, the Tigers led at the half 30-22.
The third period was one of many three-pointers, as Memphis made 80% of its shots taken.
Saint Louis opened the second half with a jumper by Smith Traore, but the Tigers answered with a layup and one by Davis to bring the score to 33-24. With 6:51 left on the clock, Wilson and Davis scored consecutive threes to bring the score to 40-26. The Billikens gained momentum and scored 13 points in less than two minutes. A three-pointer by Saint Louis' Rachel Kent with less than a minute on the clock closed the scoring gap to just two points as the Tigers led 51-49 at the conclusion of the period.
Wilson started the final period with back-to-back layups bringing the Tigers to a 56-49 lead with 8:02 left on the clock. A three-pointer late in the period by Saint Louis' Ciaja Harbison brought the score to 70-68. A layup by the Billikens with four seconds left on the clock tied the game and a missed three at the buzzer by Griggs sent the game into overtime.
The Billikens opened overtime scoring five in a row. While Saint Louis was on a scoring spree, Memphis had three starters – Fankam Mendjiadeu, Davis and Jones – foul out of the game. Memphis just couldn't seem to recover, and Saint Louis went on to defeat the Tigers 82-74.
Villanova 90, Temple 72
The Temple women's basketball team opened the modified 2020-21 season with a 90-72 loss to visiting Villanova in afternoon action at McGonigle Hall on Friday. The Owls start their campaign at 0-1, while the Wildcats improve to 3-0 on the year.
How It Happened
> In their first game back on the court since last season was cut short, Temple showed its rust, shooting just 41% from the field and connecting for just three from long range.
> Two large 11-0 Villanova runs in the first half set the tone, as the Wildcats led by 14 points at the half.
> A huge third quarter (33-17) for the visitors then put the game out of reach for Temple.
> The Owls had the edge in the fourth, but it was too late to finish a comeback.
> Villanova shot 51% from the field and had a 48-36 rebounding edge, as the Wildcats remained unbeaten on the season.
Statistical Leaders
> Senior Mia Davis picked up where she left off last season, scoring 22 points and pulling down seven boards.
> Freshman Jasha Clinton and grad transfer Jada Graves each shined in their Temple debuts. Clinton scored 16 points, while Graves added 11 with five rebounds.
> Senior Emani Mayo had seven points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Asonah Alexander added six points and a game-high six assists.
> Rookie Kash Ayuso rounded out the box score with six points in her first collegiate game.
First Quarter: Villanova 23, Temple 17
> Villanova stuck first and built a 12-6 advantage midway through the action.
> Temple answered with a steal and layup from Graves and a pair of Davis buckets, tying things at 12-12 with 3:45 on the clock.
> The Wildcats got hot again down the stretch, using an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 23-12.
> Temple closed the gap in the final 30 seconds, scoring five straight to make it a six point deficit.
Second Quarter: Villanova 42, Temple 28
> The Owls narrowed the lead to four at the outset of the quarter, but Villanova kept pace.
> Leading by six, the Wildcats used another extended run, this one also 11-0, to lead 35-21 with three minutes to play.
> Temple broke the scoring drought with a Davis jumper, but Villanova pushed the lead to 42-22 with 1:35 left.
> The Owls, however, scored the final six points of the half to again close the gap to 14 points.
Third Quarter: Villanova 75, Temple 45
> Temple got the lead down to 12, as Clinton opened up the quarter with back-to-back buckets.
> However, another Nova run pushed the lead to its largest of the game, 58-37, halfway through the action.
> The Wildcats kept the pressure on, closing the frame on a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 75-45.
Fourth Quarter: Villanova 90, Temple 72
> Temple outscored Villanova 27-15 in the fourth frame, including closing on a 17-2 surge, but the Wildcats' lead was too large to overcome.