Friday, November 25
Wichita State 78, Montana 69 (OT) – Box Score
South Florida 63, Georgia Tech 50 – Box Score
Tulane 78, Central Michigan 66 – Box Score
UT Arlington 72, Cincinnati 58 – Box Score
Long Beach State 64, Tulsa 45 – Box Score
St. John’s 61, Memphis 57 – Box Score
Recaps
Wichita State 78, Montana 69 (OT) – Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Wichita State completed another double digit second half comeback to defeat Montana in overtime in the opening game of the LMU Thanksgiving Classic, 78-69, Friday afternoon.
Wichita State (4-1) won its third straight game and second straight facing a double digit deficit in the second half. It marked the second overtime contest of the season through the first five games for the Shockers.
Jane Asinde was dominant for Wichita State, finishing with 20 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. It marked her second double-double of the season. Trajata Colbert just missed a double-double with 20 points and nine boards. Her 20 points were one shy of a career high.
Wichita State may not win the game without the red-hot shooting from Shamaryah Duncan in overtime. Duncan cashed in a trio of three-pointers and scored 10 of her 17 points in the extra session.
The trio of Asinde, Colbert and Duncan combined for 57 of Wichita State's 76 points.
Wichita State outscored Montana 20-11 in the overtime period and forced OT after holding the Lady Griz scoreless the final 3:24 of regulation.
Wichita State shot 42 percent from the field and outrebounded Montana by 11. Sixteen of Wichita State's 47 rebounds came on the offensive end, which led to 23 second chance points.
A low scoring first half saw Montana hold a lead for essentially the entire 20 minutes but couldn't never get any separation. They would lead by just two at the break, 28-26, despite Wichita State going 1-for-7 from three-point range and shooting 31 percent overall.
Asinde and Colbert would score six points apiece to lead the Shockers in the first half.
With the game tied at 36 with 4:52 left in the third quarter, Wichita State would not score again in the frame and Montana would close on a 9-0 run. The Lady Griz extended their run to 11-0 to begin the fourth quarter, giving them a double digit lead.
A 10-4 run for Wichita State pulled them within three, 49-46, at the 6:18 mark. Montana would lead by hold a four-point lead with 3:24 to go, but would not score again in regulation. The Shockers got the game tied at 58 behind a Colbert layup and DJ McCarty jumper with 1:42 remaining but neither team could find the basket, leading to OT.
In the extra session Colbert gave Wichita State the lead and then Duncan caught fire, splashing in all three of her triples. In the blink of an eye, Wichita State led 68-60 at the 2:26 mark and then an Asinde fast break layup pushed it to 73-62, effectively putting the game away.
South Florida 63, Georgia Tech 50 – Box Score
ESTERO – The South Florida women’s basketball team defeated Georgia Tech 63-50 in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday night. With the win, the Bulls improve to 7-0 on the season.
The Bulls lead from the beginning, outscoring the Yellowjackets 25-12 in the opening frame. Defending American Player of the Week Elena Tsineke scored 24 points, while Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu set a tournament record with 21 rebounds, while adding 19 points for dominating double-double performance.
South Florida shot 45.5 percent from behind the arc and 32.2 percent from the field, while holding Georgia Tech to 27.9 percent from the field and just 10 percent from deep.
The Bulls outrebounded the Yellowjackets 50-34, which included 21 offensive rebounds.
Tulane 78, Central Michigan 66 – Box Score
CANCUN – The duo of Rachel Hakes and Marta Galic paced Tulane University Women's Basketball to close out the Green Wave's trip to Cancun with a 78-66 win over Central Michigan Friday night in the Cancun Challenge. Hakes and Galic combined for 41 points as the Green Wave outscored the Chippewas in three of the four quarters.
Four players scored finish with double figures in scoring for the Green Wave with Hakes leading the way with 23 points on 6-of-8 shooting including three three-pointers. Galic followed by posting her third double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rounding out the top scorers for Tulane were Anijah Grant and Kyren Whittington with 13 points each. The scoring total for Grant set a career-high for the redshirt junior out of Orlando, Florida.
Galic was also named to the Cancun Challenge Riviera Division All-Tournament team following Tulane's victory. The graduate from Croatia averaged 13.5 points and 10 rebounds in two games in the tournament.
After falling behind by five early in the first quarter, the Green Wave began going back-and-forth with the Chippewas exchanging buckets throughout the frame. With just under three minutes to play in the quarter Grant gave Tulane its first lead 15-13 converting an offensive rebound into points. The Wave finished the quarter on 14-5 scoring run to hold a 22-18 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Tulane extended its lead to as many as eight points in the opening minutes of the second frame before Central Michigan mounted its response to reclaim the lead 35-32 with 3:58 on the clock. Grant scored on a pair of smooth assists from Dynah Jones down the stretch to lead the Wave into the locker room tied 36-36.
The second half began with a 14-4 run by Tulane sparked by eight points and a pair of threes by Galic to build a 50-40 lead four minutes into the third quarter. As a team the Wave shot 50 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc outscoring the Chippewas 21-13 in the quarter to take a 57-49 advantage into the final frame.
Hakes converted a four-point play early in the fourth to give Tulane a double-digit lead at 61-51 with 8:35 to play. The Green Wave did not look back extending its lead to as many as 16 before closing out the victory from the charity stripe for a final score off 78-66.
Cincinnati 72, UT Arlington 58 – Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH. – Three Bearcats finished in double-figures as the Cincinnati women's basketball team defeated UT Arlington 72-58 in game one of the Daytona Beach Invitational inside Ocean Center on Friday.
With the win, Cincinnati improves to 4-2 on the season.
Jillian Hayes finished with her third double-double in the last four games with 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Mya Jackson turned in her sixth straight double-digit outing to open the season, leading the team with 15 points and five assists.
Cincinnati recorded a season-high 28 bench points on the afternoon. Clarissa Craig posted a career-high 12 points on 3-5 from the field and 6-8 from the line in 25 minutes off the bench.
With the game tied at 19 after the first quarter, the Bearcats outscored the Mavericks 16-6 in the second period. A'riel Jackson scored all five of her points in the frame to spark a 9-2 Cincinnati run over the first half of the period and open up a 28-21 lead with 4:36 remaining before half. Mya Jackson split two defenders and finished at the rim to beat the buzzer as the Bearcats took a 35-25 lead into the break.
Malea Williams added a season-high eight points and eight rebounds as the Bearcats earned a season-best 44 points in the paint.
UT Arlington responded with a 10-2 run out of the half to cut the lead to two with 4:34 left in the third period before the Bearcats answered with a 13-4 burst of their own heading into the fourth.
Cincinnati would end the game an 8-0 run, holding their opponent to one field goal over the final 8:39 of action, as the margin would not get any closer than six points before the final horn.
Long Beach State 64, Tulsa 45 – Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO - Ahrray Young tallied season-highs and team-bests of 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals, but it wasn't enough as Tulsa dropped a 64-45 decision to Long Beach State on Friday afternoon in the USF Thanksgiving Classic at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco, Calif.
Tulsa will return to action at the tournament against South Carolina State beginning at 2:00 pm Central on Saturday.
Long Beach State jumped out to an 11-0 lead, but a layup by Maya Mayberry ended TU's scoring drought with 6:12 on the clock in the first quarter. LBSU climbed to a first quarter high 17-point lead (23-6) at the end of the frame. TU was just 2-of-14 for 14.2 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game, while the Beach was 11-of-21 for 52.3 percent.
Tulsa scored the first seven points in the second quarter to cut their deficit to just 10 points (23-13), but the Beach scored the next seven points to retake the 17-point advantage (30-13) at the 6:43 mark. LBSU took a 37-22 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Long Beach State climbed to a 24-point lead (52-28) with 3:18 on the clock, but Maddie Bittle and Ahrray Young both scored two free throws to close out the period as TU trailed by 20 (52-32).
LBSU struggled to find the basket to start the final quarter, tallying their first points in the frame at the 4:56 mark, but TU wasn't able to make up much of the deficit as the Golden Hurricane only posted five points in the first five minutes. The Beach climbed to a game-high 25-point advantage (64-39) with 2:00 left in the contest and came away with the 19-point victory.
St. John’s 61, Memphis 57 – Box Score
LAS VEGAS – The Memphis Tiger women's basketball team opened up the Las Vegas Invitational today, facing off with St. John's University. While the Tigers staged a late game comeback, Memphis was unable to hold on as they faced the 61-57 loss.
Following today's game, Memphis moves to 4-2 for the season.
It was a defensive battle to open the game, looking at a 6-6 tie going into the first media timeout after Shelbee Brown picked up a steal just across half court for the easy fast-break layup. The Tigers would take their first lead of the game with 3:34 left in the quarter after Emani Jefferson sank a free throw out of a timeout.
Jefferson's free throw would start a 2:34 scoring drought for the Red Storm as Memphis forced them into three turnovers during the drought and seven in the entire quarter.
Memphis would take a 12-11 lead heading into the second quarter after St. John's Mimi Reid sank two free throws with less than 30 seconds left in the opening frame.
The Red Storm offense would continue to push in the second quarter, going on a 6-0 run to start play and put the Tigers down 17-12. Buckets from Destyne Jackson and Hannah Riddick would keep the team within reaching distance of St. John's.
While Memphis attempted to claim their way back in front, Unique Drake would score eight points in the quarter to keep St. John's on top. Jamirah Shutes would sink a free throw with 39 seconds left in the half to put the Tigers down 31-24 going into the locker room.
The Tiger offense got some gas in them to open the second half; after Jefferson made one of her team-high eight free throws, Madison Griggs would drain a transition three-pointer to make it a 33-30 game with just under eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Memphis and St. John's would trade buckets for the next 10 minutes, Memphis would make their comeback late in the fourth quarter.
Jefferson would go for five straight points in a 60-second span to give Memphis their first lead since the end of the first quarter. The Tigers and Red Storm would go back-and-forth with baskets and the lead with Shutes draining a pull-up jumper putting Memphis on top 55-54 with 2:46 left in the game.
While St. John's would gain a three-point lead following two made free throws from Mimi Reid, Jackson would answer right back with back-to-back makes from the charity stripe with 1:22 on the clock. The Tigers would be held scoreless the rest of the way and faced the 61-57 loss.
Emani Jefferson led the team with 14 points and six rebounds while Jamirah Shutes added in 11 after going 5-6 from the free throw line. Along with Jefferson, Shelbee Brown grabbed six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.
As a team, Memphis shot 36% from the field and forced the Red Storm into 21 turnovers.