Friday, November 19-Saturday, November 20
Utah 78, Cincinnati 45
Sophomore Taziah Jenks had a season and career high 14 points in the Bearcats' 78-45 loss on the road to the University of Utah Friday night.
The Bearcats shot 30% from the field, 25% from three point range, and went 4-7 from the free throw line. Utah out-rebounded the Bearcats 59 to 33. The Bearcats fall to 2-2 on the season.
Taziah Jenks led the team with 14 points, a new career and season high for the sophomore, going 6-10 from field goal range. Both Akira Levy and Jillian Hayes scored nine points and were 4-12 from field goal range. Jada Scott saw action for the first time all season after recovering from an injury. She scored one point from the free throw line.
Houston 89, New Mexico 60
Behind 12 3-pointers, the Houston women's basketball team beat New Mexico 89-60 Saturday afternoon in the Fertitta Center.
Laila Blair led all scorers with 19 points, tying her career-high while adding two rebounds and two steals. Tatyana Hill brought down eight rebounds to go along with five steals and three blocks while also contributing eight points. Britney Onyeje connected on four treys while Blair added three with two from Dymond Gladney and one apiece coming from Bria Patterson, Eryka Sidney and Tiara Jones.
The two teams traded points to start the game before a 5-0 run gave the Lobos a 10-6 lead. But, the Cougars answered back with a 7-0 run to take the lead and closed out the quarter 19-16.
Onyeje scored all four of her 3-pointers in the second quarter, including three straight unanswered treys late in the quarter. Onyeje's nine-point run pushed Houston to a 38-27 lead. However, New Mexico brought the score to 34-38 to go into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Cougars blew the game open. A 20-2 run gave Houston a 20 point lead which was broken up by a 3-pointer and a layup from New Mexico before the Cougars scored another eight unanswered points. The third quarter closed with Houston ahead by 20 points, 66-46.
Houston solidified its win in the fourth quarter maintaining a 20+ point lead for the majority of the quarter. Five back-to-back baskets gave the Cougars a 30 point lead at 85-55 and a layup from Tamara Nard closed the game as Houston took the win 89-60.
Memphis 75, Florida A&M 46
Bouncing back from their loss at Little Rock on Thursday night, the Tigers (3-1) welcomed the Rattlers of Florida A&M (0-3) to Elma Roane Fieldhouse. An offensive boom in the first half pushed Memphis out early, which fueled the Tigers to a 75-46 win.
After gaining an early 10-3 lead to open the game, Memphis' defense would hold the Rattler offense scoreless to the last three minutes of the quarter while finishing the opening frame on a 12-0 run that was capped off by a three-pointer from Makayia Brooks and a layup from Aliyah Green.
The Tigers would open the game going 10-15 from the field and 4-5 from long range while holding FAMU to just eight first quarter points.
The Memphis offense continued to shine into the second quarter on a 14-2 run that saw buckets from multiple Tiger players; Emani Jefferson, Jatyjia Jones, Coriah Beck, Callie Wright, Tyler Frierson and Hannah Riddick all scored in the 5:39 span to extend their lead out to 45-19. Late points added in by En'Dya Buford and Jamirah Shutes would give Memphis the 51-19 lead going into halftime.
It was all Memphis in the second half; the Tiger defense held FAMU to just 28% shooting in the third and fourth quarters while increasing their lead to as much as 38 before taking the 75-46 win.
"I'm really excited that the team took what we worked on in practice and had a good bounce back in the first quarter," said head coach Katrina Merriweather. "We were locked in and the team made sure that we were defending and rebounding the ball."
Coriah Beck led the way for the Tigers offensively with 14 points on 5-6 shooting from the field. Alana Davis picked up her second consecutive double-digit performance with 10 points while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
As a team, Memphis shot just over 48% from the field and went 14-18 from the charity stripe.
No. 23/22 South Florida 77, Syracuse 53
The 23rd-ranked USF Bulls overcame a slow start to earn a 77-53 win over Syracuse in the second game of the Inaugural Bad Boy Mowers Women's Battle 4 Atlantis Saturday afternoon inside Imperial Arena.
After trailing 18-13 at the end of the first quarter, USF turned up its defensive effort to outscore Syracuse 20-8 in the second quarter to take a 33-26 lead into halftime. A pair of layups from Bethy Mununga knotted the score at 22-22 and a 3-pointer by the senior forward a few moments later gave the Bulls a 27-22 lead to cap a 14-2 run.
USF, the preseason favorite in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), had a clear size advantage in the post and the squad made the most of it, out-rebounding the Orange, 50-30. The Bulls grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and held Syracuse to four while scoring 22 second-chance points and limiting the Orange to two.
"I think the most important thing we needed to do was bounce back after the loss at Tennessee," said USF head coach Jose Fernandez. "We talked about what happened there and we wanted to do a great job on the glass today. On the other end of the floor, I thought we got the ball where we wanted it to get to.
"I told our guys that there aren't many teams that are going to play a five-game stretch like this. Tennessee (SEC), Syracuse (ACC), UConn, possibly Oregon or South Carolina and then Stanford (in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, Nov. 26, 12 p.m.). So, we're definitely going to find out a lot about ourselves in this five-game stretch to get us ready for March."
Mununga led a balanced scoring attack for the Bulls with a game-high 18 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to record her first double-double of the year. Elena Tsineke and Sydni Harvey each scored 17 points, both on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor for USF.
Syracuse was led by Christianna Carr with 14 points, as she knocked down four 3-pointers and drained a pair of free throws.
The Orange cut the Bulls lead to five (35-30) in the third quarter, but Harvey answered with a 3-pointer and a layup on a fast break to push the USF lead back to 10 at 40-30.
Mununga's 12 rebounds mark the second double-figure rebounding performance of the season and the 37th of her career … In addition, her 18-point, 12-rebound double-double is her first of the season and the 21st of her career.
Elisa Pinzan dished out a season-high nine assists against the Orange, leaving her just seven assists shy of 40 for her career.
Temple 59, Bucknell 46
The Temple women's basketball team (2-2, 0-0) bounced back in a big way on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Bucknell Bison (1-2, 0-0) 59-46. The Owls put together their best shooting performance of the season, draining seven threes. Freshman Tiarra East and graduate Mia Davis led the team with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Tiarra East led the team with a career-high 16 points. Mia Davis and Kyra Wood combined for 19 of the teams 41 rebounds. Mia Davis forced two steals of Bucknell's 11 turnovers.
Tulane 86, South Alabama 53
Tulane women's basketball put on an offensive clinic to roll to its first 4-0 start since the 2014-15 season, as the Green Wave defeated South Alabama 86-53 Saturday at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
All 14 players on the Tulane roster got into the scoring column in the victory with three finishing in double figures. Arsula Clark led the Wave with 17 points along with seven rebounds and three assists. Krystal Freeman and Moon Ursin followed with 10 points apiece.
As a team, Tulane took care of business inside and out against the Jaguars. The Green Wave outscored USA 36-22 in the paint and dominated the glass with a 60-27 advantage. Redshirt sophomore Marta Galic led the Wave on the boards pulling down 10 rebounds to match her career high. From the outside, the Olive and Blue shot 37 percent (10-of-27) from downtown as eight different players made at least one three.
Tulane came out on fire in the opening quarter to take the early advantage. The Green Wave shot 71.4 percent from the field including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, on the other end of the floor the defense limited USA to just 35.7 percent from the field. Kaila Anderson knocked down her first triple of the afternoon at the buzzer to give Tulane a 31-14 advantage at the break.
This marks the first time the wave has scored at least 30 points in a quarter since posting 30 points in the third quarter against Temple on Jan. 30, 2021. The last time Tulane scored 30 points in the first quarter of a contest came at home against Troy on Dec. 21, 2017.
The shooting stroke cooled off a bit for the Green Wave in the second quarter, but the lead expanded as the Olive and Blue's defense held the Jaguars to single digits at just nine points. It's the second time Tulane has held its opponent to fewer than 10 points in quarter this season and the 21st time since NCAA moved to the four quarters format in the 2015-16 season. Clark paced the Tulane offense with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half. Ursin and Freeman each chipped in eight points as Tulane hit the locker room up 46-23.
The Wave and the Jaguars traded baskets in the third quarter, but Tulane ended with the final bucket as Kahia Warmsley scored her first points with the Olive and Blue on a put-back layup with 20 second remaining in the quarter. Warmsley's basket gave the Green Wave the 15-13 advantage in the quarter to head into the final 10 minutes up 61-36.
With the score well in hand in the fourth quarter, Coach Stockton turned to the bench to get everyone involved. The Green Wave bench outscored the Jaguars 19-17 in the quarter as Tulane closed out the win with 25 points in the final 10 minutes. Five different players for the Green Wave scored their first points of the season as Tulane defeated USA 86-53.
Northern Iowa 87, Wichita State 55
Northern Iowa outscored Wichita State by 30 in the second half to run away with an 87-55 win Saturday afternoon, handing the Shockers their first loss of the season.
Wichita State (3-1) trailed by just two at the half, but the Panthers turned that into a 19-point cushion with play heading to the final period.
Trajata Colbert recorded her second straight game in double figures with a team-high 10 points.
Northern Iowa caught fire in the second half and never looked back. They finished the game shooting a season-high 55 percent overall, while cashing in 12-of-25 attempts from beyond the arc.
Nicole Kroeger led four Panthers in double figures with a game-high 16 points.
Colbert scored six of the Shockers' first 10 points of the game to give Wichita State an early 10-7 lead. Wichita State continued to hold a three-point margin until a late UNI three-pointer tied the game at 18 to end the first quarter.
Wichita State grabbed its largest lead of the half at 30-25 with 4:14 remaining only to see the Panthers score eight unanswered to go up 33-30. Seraphine Bastin snapped the run with a free throw and layup, but UNI came right back down to score in the final seconds, giving UNI a 35-33 lead at the break.
DJ McCarty gave the Shockers a spark off the bench, scoring all nine of her points before halftime. The first half featured seven ties and five lead changes.
UNI extended its lead to seven just a little over three minutes into the third quarter behind a 6-0 spurt. That run would then turn into a 12-2 margin to put the Panthers up by 11, forcing a second Wichita State timeout in the quarter.
The Panthers kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the third, extending their lead to as many as 21. UNI outscored Wichita State 29-12 in the third to take a commanding 64-45 lead into the final frame.
A 12-4 start to the fourth quarter put the game firmly out of reach with the Panthers holding a 76-49 lead with 4:18 to go. UNI eventually led by as many as 34 in the fourth.