Saturday, January 8
UCF (RV) 52, East Carolina 43
Another dominant defensive performance helped the UCF women's basketball team rebound from a slow start in a 52-43 win over ECU Saturday afternoon in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
UCF (10-2, 2-0 The American) forced ECU (7-7, 1-0 The American) into a season-high 28 turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Black and Gold. The Knights also limited the Pirates to a season-low 43 points, marking the ninth time UCF has held an opponent below 50 points this season.
The Knights found themselves down early as the Pirates scored the first 11 points of the game. The Pirates held a 13-7 advantage after the first quarter, but UCF closed the period on a 5-0 spurt to build some momentum.
The Knights continued to chip away in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 15-8 to take a 22-21 lead into the locker rooms.
The teams traded baskets out of halftime before a 9-2 spurt from ECU put the Pirates in front by seven, 34-27, with 3:24 left in the frame. UCF responded, outscoring the home team 12-2 for the remainder of the period to take a 39-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
A pair of free throws from Diamond Battles extended the UCF lead to five points early the final period, but a pair of ECU baskets pulled the Pirates back within a point with 7:52 remaining. The Black and Gold used a 9-0 run over a two-minute span, capped off with a three-pointer from Alisha Lewis that pushed the UCF lead to double digits, 50-40, with 3:53 remaining. The Knights held ECU to just seven points in the fourth quarter to secure a 2-0 start in league play for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Brittney Smith led UCF with 13 points in just under 20 minutes of action. Diamond Battles added 11 points, dished out five assists and had four steals. Destiny Thomas pulled down 11 rebounds for the second straight contest. Alisha Lewis matched her career high with six steals. Masseny Kaba filled the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, three steals and a season-high three blocks.
Temple 75, Cincinnati 68
Forwards Mia Davis and Alexa Williamson both scored 20-plus points for the Owls as the Temple women's basketball team (6-6, 1-0 AAC) opened up conference play with a win over Cincinnati (7-7, 0-2 AAC). The Owls raced out to a 19-4 lead in the first quarter and never looked back from there, maintaining the lead for the rest of the contest.
The Owls got out a hot start in the contest, starting the game on a 12-2 run thanks to six points apiece from Davis and Williamson. Midway through the quarter, a 7-2 run stretched the lead for the Owls as TU got out in front by 15 points. The Bearcats responded shortly after, however, as a 9-3 run closed the gap as the first quarter came to a close.
Two three-point baskets in the opening two minutes from guards Jalynn Holmes and Emani Mayo stretched Temple's lead to open the second period. Four points for sophomore Jasha Clinton kept the Owls rolling midway through the quarter. A 6-2 run for Cincinnati towards the end of half put the Bearcats within 10 points going into the third quarter,
The Bearcats came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter as an early 7-3 run made the contest a one-score game. However, seven consecutive points from Williamson weathered the storm for the Owls and kept TU in control. Four points near the end of the quarter for Davis gave the Owls a five-point lead going into the final quarter.
Six straight points for Davis to open the fourth quarter put the Owls back in front by eight points. Solid free throw shooting by Clinton maintained the lead for the Owls with just under five minutes remaining in the contest. Continued free throw shooting from Gourdine and Emani Mayo sealed the win for Temple.
SMU 63, Memphis 44
The SMU women's basketball team defeated Memphis 63-44 in its first American Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
The Mustangs started both the first and second quarters with 11-1 runs, taking a 32-18 lead at halftime. The Mustangs scored 25 points in the third quarter, essentially sealing the victory, holding a 22-point advantage with 10 minutes left to play. SMU stretched its lead to as many as 25 in the second half and never trailed in the game, improving to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Savannah Wilkinson and Jasmine Smith both recorded double-doubles, and Reagan Bradley matched her career-high with 18 points. For Wilkinson, the 16-point, 12-rebound performance was her ninth of the season. Smith scored 10 points with a career-high 12 rebounds for her fourth career double-double and the first at SMU. The point guard also had seven assists.
SMU's defense was locked in from the time the plane landed, holding Memphis scoreless from the field for nearly six minutes to start the contest. The Tigers (9-4, 0-2 AAC) managed just 21.4 percent shooting from the field, a season-low for a team that shoots just under 40 percent for the season.
Playing just over two hours from her hometown of Little Rock, Ark., Bradley was nearly percent on the offensive end of the floor. She made 3-of-4 3-point attempts, was 3-for-3 at the free-throw line and shot 66.7 percent overall.
Sydne Wiggins returned after missing time due to Covid protocols and scored 14 points, giving the Mustangs four players in double figures for just the second time this season, with four players scoring at least 10 in the 79-53 win at TCU.
Houston 80, Tulsa 67
Behind 18 unanswered points in the second quarter, the Houston women's basketball team beat Tulsa 80-67 on Saturday afternoon in the Fertitta Center.
The win for the Cougars (9-5, 2-0) pushed them to a six-game win streak as well as remaining undefeated at home and in conference play.
Laila Blair led all scorers putting up 23 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Tiara Young, Britney Onyeje and Julia Blackshell-Fair also reached double-digit scoring while Young led the team in rebounds with nine.
The Cougars opened the game with an early 3-0 lead. However, Tulsa got the best of Houston going on a 10-0 run making the score 16-9. Blair and Young got the last word shooting a 3-pointer and a jumper, respectively to close the quarter ahead 16-14.
Houston took control of the game in the second quarter starting with back-to-back 3-pointers from Blair and Young to make the score 20-16. The Cougars made a monumental statement scoring 18 unanswered points for a 44-23 lead. Blair closed the quarter with a 3-pointer to make the score 47-25 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, Houston maintained its double-digit lead but succumbed to a 15-0 run from the Golden Hurricane and Onyeje ended the half with a jumper making the score 54-43.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Cougars continued to score. Seven straight points pushed Houston to a 65-48 lead and Houston ultimately took the win 80-67.