Saturday, December 4
Towson 66, East Carolina 51
For the first time this season, the East Carolina women's basketball team dropped a home game, falling to Towson 66-51 on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum.
East Carolina drops to 4-5 on the season with a 4-1 home ledger while Towson improves to 7-1 this year.
The Tigers jumped out to an early advantage in the first quarter behind the play of Allie Kubek. Kubek shot 4-of-5 from the floor, making one triple and a free throw, to give her 10 points in the opening frame. On the other end, Tylar Bennett was a bright spot for East Carolina, scoring six points and blocking a shot in the first 10 minutes. But 47.4% shooting for the Tigers helped them take a 23-14 lead at the end of the first.
It was the Pirates who controlled the second quarter. East Carolina got back into the game through defense and getting to the free throw line. After a Towson field goal to open the quarter made it 25-14, East Carolina allowed just one Towson point for the next six minutes. East Carolina went on an 11-1 run over that span to pull back within one. Xianna Josephs was a major piece of that, hitting six shots from the free throw line. The Pirates eventually took a 31-30 lead on a Synia Johnson pull-up jumper, but Towson scored the final bucket of the half to lead 32-31 at the break.
Unfortunately for ECU, the Pirate defense could not keep Towson off the scoreboard in the third quarter. The Tigers shot 9-of-18 from the floor in the frame, rattling off a 9-0 run that took it from a 39-35 game to a 48-35 contest. Tarriyonna Gary was the main engine for Towson, scoring 10 points in the quarter while Josephs had four points and four rebounds for ECU. The Pirates eventually went into the fourth quarter trailing 52-41.
ECU's offense could not get much going in the fourth quarter, shooting just 4-of-18 from the floor. Da'Ja Green tried to spark the team, scoring six points, but ECU never got closer than nine points.
Josephs was the only Pirate in double figures, scoring a career-high 10 points thanks to an 8-of-8 performance from the free throw line. Josephs also tied her career-high with six rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
South Dakota 71, Wichita State 59
Wichita State saw its four-game win streak come to an end, falling at South Dakota, 71-59, Saturday afternoon.
Wichita State (7-2) fell behind from the opening tip and just couldn't string together enough stops to make a comeback bid. The Shockers held the Coyotes to 5-of-23 from beyond the arc, but a season-high 25 turnovers was the big difference in the game, as South Dakota was able to turn those miscues into 26 points on the other end.
Jane Asinde set a new career high with 20 points to go with 11 rebounds. She has double-doubles in four of the last five games. Mariah McCully added 13 points and Seraphine Bastin chipped in nine points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Wichita State had no answer for South Dakota's Hannah Sjerven who scored 35 points – a season high for an opposing player.
The Shockers finished the game shooting 38.6 percent overall and 4-of-19 from long range.
South Dakota scored the game's first five points and pushed its margin to as many as 13 in the opening quarter. Asinde (7), McCully (5) and Bastin (5) were the only Shockers to score in the first, as the Coyotes led 24-16 after 10 minutes.
The Coyotes led by as many as 15 in the second quarter, but a brief 6-0 Shocker run made it a nine-point game with 2:56 left until half. Asinde was responsible for five of the six on a layup and three-pointer.
South Dakota came out of the timeout and outscored the Shockers by five over the final 2:56 to take a 43-29 lead into the locker room. Asinde (12) and McCully (8) were responsible for 20 of the 29 points.
A lot of South Dakota's damage came out the foul line and in the paint. They were 12-for-15 at the charity stripe, and another 22 came inside the paint.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Shockers outscore the Coyotes by one, but weren't able to make enough stops to trim the deficit to single digits.
It wasn't until the 6:40 mark of the fourth quarter that the margin would shrink below 10. Asinde's 20th point of the game made it 63-54 and then on the ensuing possession Asia Strong made it 63-56.
That seven-point margin would be as close as it would get. South Dakota strung together stops on the defensive end and stretched the lead back to double digits in the final minute.
Memphis 57, Southern 50
After four games on the road, the Tigers came back to Elma Roane Fieldhouse to defend their unbeaten streak at home. The Tigers did just that as they came away with the 57-50 win over Southern University (0-5) to record their fourth win in the Fieldhouse this season.
Following today's win, Memphis moves to 7-2 overall.
It took the Tigers a bit to get used to being back in the Bluff City, facing a 14-10 deficit after the opening 10 minutes of play and being held to just 36% shooting from the floor.
Memphis came back with a vengeance in the second quarter; while they opened the frame on an 11-0 run with buckets from Tyler Frierson, Emani Jefferson, En'Dya Buford and Maya Stovall, the Tiger defense held the Jaguars scoreless for over six minutes.
The Tigers would end the first half with back-to-back baskets from Frierson and Coriah Beck to take their largest lead of the half at 28-20.
Memphis went 7-8 from the field and outscored the Jaguars 18-6 in the second frame.
Southern kept it close in the third quarter, tying the game for the third time off a lay-up from Kayla Watson with 3:59 remaining. Memphis would regain their lead after two made free throws from Jamirah Shutes and baskets from Frierson and Jefferson to take the 38-33 lead into the final quarter.
The Tiger offense would catch a break to open the fourth quarter with six consecutive made free throws from Shutes, Stovall and Alana Davis to take their largest lead of the day at 11. While the Jaguars would continue to chip away at the Tigers lead, Memphis' defense held steady as they claimed the 57-50 win.
Jamirah Shutes led the way for Memphis with 12 points and six rebounds while Tyler Frierson and Emani Jefferson both added in nine points.
As a team, Memphis shot 41.7% from the field and forced the Jaguars into 22 turnovers.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 79, Tulane 74
A furious second half rally from the Tulane University women's basketball team comes up just short as the Green Wave dropped its matchup against Arkansas – Pine Bluff at the Miami Holiday Classic on Saturday.
Redshirt senior Moon Ursin led the attack for Tulane recording her fourth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds. She also added three assists and knocked down a career-high five threes in the game. Dynah Jones and Miami, Florida, native Arsula Clark joined her in double figures each finishing with 12 points.
The offensive glass proved to be the difference in the contest as UAPB converted 13 offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points. The Lady Lions outscored the Wave 16-11 on second chance points.
The Green Wave got the first bucket of the contest on a pull-up jumper by Krystal Freeman, but UAPB was quick to respond and take the lead. The teams traded baskets for the first several minutes as Tulane held its final lead of the half at 10-9 with 4:43 on the clock. The Wave struggled to get shots to fall throughout the opening quarter shooting 28.6 percent as a team when it hit the first break trailing 18-12.
In the second quarter, Tulane knocked down its first three-pointer of the game when Kaila Anderson drained her first shot attempt from beyond the arc. Ursin added a pair of triples in the quarter to post a team-high 10 points and five rebounds at the half. The Green Wave hit the locker room trailing the Lady Lions 36-28.
UAPB pushed its advantage out to as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but Jones and Ursin led the response for the Green Wave. The duo combined to lead Tulane on a 12-1 run with Jones accounting for nine-straight points to pull the team within six. The Wave cut the deficit all the way down to two points before heading into the final quarter down 55-51.
Tulane continued to turn up the heat and battle back in the final 10 minutes. Trailing 66-57 with 6:07 on the clock, the Wave mounted a 12-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Anderson to take the lead 69-66. UAPB responded with 11 unanswered point to hold an eight-point advantage with 1:16 to play. Tulane scored five points from the charity stripe to make it a one possession game with 34 second remaining, but the Green Wave was unable knock down another triple to tie the contest before ultimately falling 79-74.