Saturday, January 15
SMU 67, Tulane 62 (OT)
SMU outlasted Tulane to win 67-62 in overtime in Moody Coliseum Saturday afternoon. The victory was the fifth consecutive for the Mustangs, who are 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference.
With 22 seconds left in overtime, SMU (9-6, 3-0 AAC) held a 64-62 lead with Savannah Wilkinson going to the free throw line. She calmly sank each of the two free throws to give SMU a four-point lead. Ten second later Wilkinson grabbed a defensive rebound to seal the win.
Kayla White scored five of her 19 points in overtime, including a free throw in the waning seconds for the final point of the game. Wilkinson posted her 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
Tulane (8-6, 0-3 AAC) sent the game to overtime with a last-second field goal by Arsula Clark. The Mustangs had a chance to extend their two-point lead with 23 seconds left, but missed a pair of free throws, giving Tulane the opportunity to hold for the last shot.
The Mustangs trailed by three at halftime, 31-28, but outscored the Green Wave 20-11 in the third quarter. SMU led by as many as eight points, 47-38 with 1:36 left in the third quarter, forcing a Tulane timeout. The Green Wave scored 10 of the next 12 points to cut the lead to one, 49-48 three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Tulane took an early three-point lead in overtime with a free throw then a field goal, but White sank a three, catching the pass from Keanna Warthen who pulled down an offensive rebound. The Mustangs never trailed again, outscoring Tulane 8-3 for the win.
Warthen posted the first double-double of her career with 10 points and 11 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end of the floor. SMU totaled 20 of its 50 rebounds on the offensive end, leading to 18 second-chance points. Sydne Wiggins also reached double figures, finishing with 11 points, giving SMU four players in double digits.
The five-game win streak for SMU is the longest since the Mustangs won seven straight to start the 2013-14 season. SMU is 3-0 in to start league play for the first time since starting 9-0 during the 2012-13 season which ended with the Mustangs winning the C-USA regular-season championship.
Temple 62, Houston 54
Forward Mia Davis scored 20-plus points again for the Owls as the Temple women's basketball team (7-6, 2-0 AAC) picked up their second conference win over the Houston Cougars (9-7, 2-2 AAC). The Owls had a strong first half thanks to 14 points from Mia Davis, Temple got in front by eight points at the break. In the second half, the Cougars were never able to take the lead as the Owls pulled out the victory.
The Owls got off to a hot start in the contest, starting the game on a 7-2 run in the first three minutes. Davis and Williamson scored the first 12 points for the Owls, as Williamson had an and-one and had two in the quarter. Davis dominated in the first frame, as she scored 12 points and picked up five rebounds. Temple had a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter, but the Cougars continued to battle, as they went on a 9-5 run to end the period.
Both teams had a slow start to the quarter, as each side only scored two points in the first three minutes. Emani Mayo scored an and-one three-point basket midway through the period, during an 8-0 run for the Cherry and White. The Owls ended the quarter on a 10-5 run. Mayo had five points during the stretch.
Houston came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter as they had a 6-2 run. Davis and Williamson led the scoring in the quarter combining for 10 points. TU quickly responded, ending the quarter on an 11-6 run to hold the lead going into the fourth quarter. Temple's solid free throw shooting played a large role in keeping the lead as the Owls went 5-6 from the line.
Sophomore guard Jasha Clinton scored or assisted on the first seven points for Temple in the quarter, including a three-pointer to give the Owls a double-digit lead. Houston's full-court pressure defense cut the lead to five in the final minute. The Cherry and White continued to do well from the line, as several Owls made free throws in the last minute to seal the win.