Saturday, Jan. 16
Highlights
Houston 66, East Carolina 56
The University of Houston Women's Basketball Team earned its second straight victory in a 66-56 decision over ECU (5-7, 3-4 American) in Minges Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
Three Cougars (7-4, 4-3 American) score in double figures, as Britney Onyeje and Tatyana Hill each posted 15 points. Dymond Gladney added a 12-point effort for her second straight game in double-figures. Miya Crump did just about everything with eight points, a team-high eight rebounds and five assists.
Houston got out to a hot start, as Crump and Onyeje each tallied five points and five Cougars had scored after the first 10 minutes of play. UH was aggressive from the jump, hitting 5-of-6 from the free throw, ultimately taking a 18-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Tatyana Hill came alive in the second quarter, leading the team with eight points and going 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. The UH defense forced nine ECU turnovers to close out the half and headed into the half time break leading 33-20.
UH continue to score points in the paint during the third quarter, taking advantage of its size advantage over ECU. ECU was efficient from the field, capitalizing off Houston miscues and shooting 58.3 percent from the field. Britney Onyeje went 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line and Hill scored six points to help the Cougars take a 53-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
ECU turned things around in the fourth quarter, outscoring Houston 20-13. Although they scored more often than the Cougars, UH held things down on the defensive end and forced timely turnovers securing it second straight win in a 66-56 decision.
Tulane 65, Tulsa 54
The Tulane women's basketball team used a big third quarter to get a come-from-behind victory at Tulsa, 65-54.
Tulane (8-4, 4-3) outshot Tulsa (3-5, 2-5) .500-.382 from the field. The Green Wave also registered 35 rebounds and 11 assists, while the Golden Hurricane had 27 boards and 12 assists. Freshman Jerkaila Jordan led the way for the Olive and Blue with 22 points, which tied her career high. Jordan shot 8-9 from the field and 4-4 from three in the game. Senior Krystal Freeman added 16 points and eight rebounds for Tulane.
Tulane's defense stepped up in the third quarter only allowing the Golden Hurricane to score seven points. The Green Wave jumped out to a 16-2 start in the third quarter, including two threes from Freeman and one from Jordan, to take a 43-36 lead with 6:24 left in the period. The Olive and Blue held strong the rest of the quarter and finished it with a 51-41 lead.
After sophomore Irina Parau opened the quarter with a jumper, Tulsa used a 10-2 run to cut the Green Wave's lead to 55-51 with 6:26 left in the game. Junior Mia Heide and sophomore Salma Bates responded with jumpers from the left side to push the lead back to eight at 59-51 with five minutes left. The Green Wave held Tulsa to just three points the rest of the game to finish with a 65-54 win.
Heide led the Green Wave with nine rebound and three blocks. She also added five points and three assists on the game. Senior Arsula Clark logged nine points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists. Tulane dominated the paint scoring 30 points down low. Tulane forced 15 Tulsa turnover and capitalized on the change of possession with 22 points off turnovers.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter with the Green Wave coming out with a 14-11 lead after the first ten minutes. Sophomore Dynah Jones led the Olive and Blue with seven points in the opening quarter.
After the game was tied at 22, Tulsa used a 12-2 run to take a 34-24 lead with 2:16 left in the first half. The Green Wave finished with a layup from Jordan and a free throw from Heide to make the Golden Hurricane lead 34-27 at the break. Both teams shot well in the first half with Tulsa taking a slight edge .464-.458. Jordan led the Green Wave with 11 point in the first half, while Jones added seven for Tulane.