Saturday, January 22
Cincinnati 61, UCF (RV) 57
Junior point guard Akira Levy's three-pointer with 11 seconds vaulted the Cincinnati women's basketball team to a 61-57 victory over UCF on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats and Knights traded three-point baskets over the final two minutes of the game.
Trailing by one, Levy was fouled while swishing a go-ahead three-ball from the corner to put Cincinnati up two. Levy missed the ensuing free throw, but the Bearcats smartly used two fouls they still had and forced a turnover with five seconds remaining on an inbounds pass.
Sophomore forward Jillian Hayes drilled two free throws at the end to seal the second consecutive conference victory for the Bearcats, who moved to 9-9 overall and 2-4 in American Athletic Conference play. Cincinnati handed the Knights (12-3, 4-1) their first conference loss of the season.
Junior guard Caitlyn Wilson led four Bearcats in double figures with 17 points and five three-pointers, as Cincinnati shot a blistering 52.9% (10-of-19) from behind the arc. Levy added 13 points and five assists, while connecting on 3-of-4 from three. Freshman guard Braylyn Milton scored 12 points and tallied seven assists, while Hayes finished with 11 points.
The Bearcats opened the game strong, not allowing UCF to score until the 3:20 mark of the first quarter. UCF struck back to cut Cincinnati's lead 13-9 after the first quarter. Nine of Cincinnati's 13 points came off three-point shots - two of which were by Wilson.
UCF ended the second quarter on a 6-0 run, however, Cincinnati still led 27-22 at the half. The Bearcats forced nine turnovers and converted them into 10 points in the first half. UC also shot well from behind the three-point line going 50% (5-for-10) in the half. Cincinnati did not trail at any time the entire first half.
The Bearcats ended the quarter on a quick 5-0 run after a three from Milton with 35 seconds left and a layup by junior forward Jadyn Scott with four seconds remaining. Cincinnati led 41-40 after three quarters.
The final quarter was nothing short of exciting. The margin never got outside of two points until the final seconds. The biggest shot of the game came from Levy as she knocked down an and-one three pointer from the left wing to put the Bearcats up two with 11 seconds remaining. UCF committed a turnover on a side out of bounds play that gave Cincinnati the ball back, and that ultimately led to the clinching three throws from Hayes and a 61-57 victory.
Memphis 57, Houston 53
After two weeks of not playing in Elma Roane Fieldhouse, the Tigers came back to Memphis for an American Athletic Conference match-up with Houston. While the game was close for the entire 40 minutes, big defensive stops down the road would earn Memphis the 57-53 win over the Cougars.
Following today's game, Memphis moves to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in AAC play.
The fast pace was set early by both teams; by the first media timeout, the Tigers and Cougars had already had four lead changes. Houston would extend their lead out to four after two made free throws from Laila Blair, but Emani Jefferson and Alana Davis would turn on the jets and score on three consecutive possessions to tie the game at 18-18.
The Cougars would add in a jump shot at the buzzer to take a 20-18 lead into the second quarter.
Houston and Memphis would trade buckets in the second quarter before the Tiger offense was able to create a little space between the teams.
Back-to-back lay-ups from Davis and a free throw from Jamirah Shutes would give the Tigers their largest lead of the half at 32-26 with 2:28 left in the quarter. The Cougars would add in baskets in the last minute of play before Tyler Frierson closed out the half with a lay-up and put Memphis up 34-30 heading into halftime.
Memphis got their largest lead of the day right out of the break when Madison Griggs drained a three-pointer from the near side and put the Tigers up 37-30.
The Houston offense began to chip away at the Tiger's lead, going on a 9-2 run and regaining the lead with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cougars wouldn't go far as the Memphis offense continued to push. Jefferson, Shutes and Griggs would keep the Tigers within reaching distance of Houston and take the 49-45 deficit into the final 10 minutes of play.
It was all Memphis in the fourth quarter as they outscored Houston 12-4 and secured the 57-54 win with two made free throws from Tyler Frierson with 19 seconds left on the clock. Houston would get one last shot off, but a defensive rebound from Emani Jefferson sealed the deal.
Madison Griggs and Emani Jefferson led the way for the Tigers with 13 points each while Jamirah Shutes and Tyler Frierson both added in eight points. Lanetta Williams and Jefferson were a dominating force on the boards today with eight and seven, respectively, while Jefferson and Shutes combined for nine of the team's 11 assists.
As a team, Memphis 43% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
Tulane 67, Wichita State 52
Tulane University women's basketball (11-6, 3-3) grabbed its third straight American Athletic Conference victory this afternoon with a 67-52 win over Wichita State (10-7, 1-3). The Green Wave used a 17-4 run to open the second half to claim control of the contest and secure the victory to improve to 7-2 at home this season.
Redshirt junior Dynah Jones led the Tulane attack with 17 points, three steals and two assists. Redshirt senior Arsula Clark followed closely behind finishing with 16 points for the Green Wave to go with five rebounds and three steals.
As a team Tulane shot 41 percent from the field doing most of its damage in the paint and in transition. The Green Wave scored 36 points in the paint and converted 12 steals into 22 points off turnovers, 15 of those coming on fast breaks. Tulane also cleaned the glass against the Shockers outrebounding Wichita State 41-33 including 16-10 on the offensive glass.
The Green Wave came out flat to start the first quarter shooting just 29.4 percent from the field and committing five turnovers. Head coach Lisa Stockton turned to her bench to raise the energy with 3:42 remaining in the frame. Stockton got the spark she was looking for as Tulane scored six-straight points on buckets from Irina Parau, Kaila Anderson, and Marta Galic. The Shockers knocked down the final shot of the quarter, but the Green Wave bench had begun shifting the momentum as Tulane hit the break trailing 18-10.
Sierra Cheatham set the tone for Tulane early in the second quarter converting a WSU turnover into a quick layup to cut the deficit to six. A back-and-forth battle would ensure for the next eight minutes before Clark would pick off a Shocker pass and convert it into an and-one to give Tulane its first lead of the game at 28-26. However, WSU got the final points of the frame again and the Wave hit the locker room down by one, 29-28.
In the third quarter the Green Wave changed the tide for good to claim control of the contest. Tulane opened the second half with a 17-4 run and took 46-33 lead. Jones and Clark found their rhythm in the quarter to lead the attack for Tulane scoring nine and eight points, respectively, in the frame. Fellow starters Moon Ursin and Mia Heide also brought a spark to begin the second half each posting six points in the third quarter while Cheatham added another six off the bench. The Green Wave closed the third frame with 56-42 advantage and did not look back.
The final quarter began with four-straight points from Wichita State to cut Tulane's lead to 10, but the Green Wave responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Jones and Cheatham to extend its advantage to 62-46. Tulane forced the Shockers into five turnovers and only allowed them to attempt seven shots in the quarter. Redshirt senior Krystal Freeman gave the Green Wave its largest lead of the day with a three-pointer to put Tulane up 17 with 3:40 left to play before the Wave closed out its third consecutive conference victory 67-52.
South Florida (RV) 75, Temple 67 (OT)
Elena Tsineke scored a team-high 25 points, including 10 points in overtime, as the University of South Florida women's basketball team defeated Temple, 75-67, handing the Owls their first American Athletic Conference loss of the season. USF improves to 14-5 on the year and 4-1 in The American, while Temple falls to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu added 16 points, while Bethy Mununga and Elisa Pinzan chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Fankam Mendjiadeu and Mununga each grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, with Mununga hauling down the 800th rebound of her career. Pinzan finished the night with nine assists.
With the game tied at 59 at the end of regulation, Tsineke scored 10 of the Bulls' 16 points in the extra session as South Florida outscored the Owls 16-8. The sophomore guard put the Bulls up one, 62-61, on a driving layup with just under four minutes left in the contest, then went 8-for-8 from the field, including 6-for-6 in the final 36 seconds.
The Green and Gold led 25-24 at halftime and 45-40 at the end of the third, however, Temple outscored South Florida, 19-14 in the fourth quarter to force the overtime. Tsineke hit the second of two free throws with 28 seconds left to put the Bulls up two, 59-57, however, Temple's Mia Davis scored on a driving layup with seven seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 59-all. Davis finished the game with 26 points. Tsineke had an opportunity to win the game but her layup rolled off the rim as time expired.
The Owls scored the first two points of the overtime on a pair of Alexa Williamson free-throws, to take a 61-59 lead, but that was the largest advantage that Temple held before South Florida took control of the game.