Tuesday, November 15
UCF 62, Campbell 60 – Box Score
Houston 71, Texas A&M-Commerce 55 – Box Score
Baylor 58, SMU 55 – Box Score
Recaps
UCF 62, Campbell 60 – Box Score
BUIES CREEK, N.C.— The UCF women's basketball team turned in a close game on Tuesday, topping Campbell 62-60 in the Gore Arena.
UCF (2-0) recorded a season-best 14 steals and held Campbell (2-1) to 21-of-53 from the field.
The Black and Gold showcased a balanced offense as eight Knights scored and two – Laila Jewett and Taylor Gibson – finished in double figures.
The Fighting Camels scored first, but the Knights responded with a 9-0 spurt to go in front, 9-2, with 7:37 left in the opening frame. Once UCF took the lead, it never relinquished it. The Knights ended the first half with a one-point advantage, 35-34.
Campbell tied the game at 57 with 5:17 left in the fourth. Destiny Thomas answered with a layup followed by Mya Burns going 2-of-2 at the line to make it 61-57. The Camels hit a three to close the lead, 61-60 with 43 seconds remaining in the game. Ashton Verhulst made a free throw with 0.8 seconds left, 62-60.
UCF scored 30 points off 26 Campbell turnovers. The Knights held a 14-5 steal advantage and scored 23 bench points.
Jewett led the way with 12 points, shooting 100 percent (2-2) from the line. Gibson added a season-high 10 points and season-high five rebounds. Thomas added in an even stat line of nine points and rebounds.
Houston 71, Texas A&M-Commerce 55 – Box Score
HOUSTON, Texas – Senior Tiara Young's career-high 21 points led the University of Houston women's basketball team to its first victory of the season with a 71-55 win over Texas A&M Commerce Tuesday at Fertitta Center.
The Cougars (1-2) have now won nine-consecutive home opening games dating back to the 2014 season. Three Cougars dropped 10 or more points on the night with senior Bria Patterson and junior Laila Blair posting 11 and 10, respectively. Graduate Tatyana Hill was dominant on the glass with 15 rebounds while senior Britney Onyeje recorded a career-high six steals paired with eight points and seven rebounds.
The first quarter tipped off to a low-scoring affair as the Cougars broke out to a 6-5 lead midway through the period. Houston created some distance with a 6-3 run to end the first quarter with a 14-10 lead.
Entering the second quarter, the Cougars carried over momentum to spark a 6-0 run. Houston let loose with a string of runs to stretch the lead to 35-17 late in the first half. Despite a late push in the second by the Lions, the Cougars held on to a 36-23 lead at the half led by senior Tiara Young's 11 first half points.
The Cougars stifling defense limited the Lions offensive chances past half court as they forced 24 turnovers in the first half.
Houston outscored Texas A&M Commerce 13-4 in the opening six minutes of the second half, mirroring its defensive success in the first half and stretching the lead to 49-27.
In the fourth quarter, the Cougars rode a 10-0 run to extend the gap to 62-39.
Texas A&M Commerce pushed through a steady exchange of scoring through the length of the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 62-58.
Despite the Lions late push, the Cougars halted all the opposing momentum to close out the game at 71-55.
Baylor 58, SMU 55 – Box Score
WACO, Texas – Trailing by 11 after three quarters, SMU fell short in its comeback bid against No. 17 Baylor at the Ferrell Center Tuesday.
Facing a 45-34 deficit, the Mustangs utilized a 16-6 run to cut the margin to 51-50 on a jumper in the paint from Reagan Bradley, with 3:24 remaining.
SMU dropped to 1-2 on the season, while the Bears remain unbeaten at 3-0.
The Mustangs stifling defense clamped down, holding the home team to just two buckets on their final 13 attempts. Bella Fontleroy made a layup and Sarah Andrews converted a pair at the free-throw line, pushing the gap out to 55-50, with 1:41 left.
Jasmine Smith drained a three and Bradley laid in an uncontested layup in the final 90 seconds, but Fontleroy's triple with 67 seconds left resulted in the final margin.
In the opening half, Baylor closed each quarter strong and took a seven-point lead to the locker room.
In the first, the Bears closed with a 13-2 run over the final 4:35 of the first quarter, establishing a 20-11 advantage.
Trailing by nine after one quarter, SMU responded with a 10-2 spurt, trimming the deficit to 22-21. Baylor responded by tallying eight of the final 10 points, heading to the locker room leading 30-23.
The Bears opened their largest cushion of the contest with 27 ticks remaining in the frame but a Savannah Wilkinson jumper in the paint ended a three-minute scoreless streak in the third frame just before the horn sounded.