Saturday, November 26
UCF 79, Samford 74 (OT2) – Box Score
SMU 72, Oral Roberts 55 – Box Score
Tulsa 92, South Carolina State 57 – Box Score
East Carolina 72, Liberty 64 – Box Score
Wichita State 69, LMU 57 – Box Score
Florida 77, Houston 73 (OT) – Box Score
Charlotte 59, Cincinnati 58 – Box Score
Michigan 63, South Florida 58 – Box Score
Indiana 79, Memphis 64 – Box Score
Recaps
UCF 79, Samford 74 (OT2)– Box Score
ORLANDO – Through the UCF women's basketball team's first three games of the new season, the Knights weathered an irregular schedule and a clinched a narrow 2-point victory in their first road game of the season. What they hadn't yet overcome was being pushed to the brink on their home floor.
Trailing by as many as four points with 23 seconds left in regulation, the Knights (4-0, 0-0 American) dug deep and found a way to overcome the visiting Samford University Bulldogs, 79-74, on Saturday afternoon in the program's first time embarking in a double-overtime contest since 2013.
Playing its second game in five days after taking the court just three times in the season's first three weeks, UCF forced overtime tied at 60 courtesy of a pair of Destiny Thomas layups within the final 10 seconds of regulation.
The Knights quickly found themselves once more on the wrong side of the scoreboard in the extra frame, down 65-63 with 2:50 on the clock, but four combined points from Taylor Gibson and Mya Burns aided UCF in sending the contest to a second overtime period, with the affairs evened again at 67.
Jewett took center stage for the Knights in the game's second overtime, adding a key insurance field goal that gave UCF a 75-70 lead with 47 seconds left and tacking on two final free throws to finish with a career-high 34 points.
Indeed, the affairs at Addition Financial Arena remained close throughout the afternoon in the second game of the first day of the UCF Thanksgiving Classic. The largest lead either team enjoyed was the Knights' 38-28 advantage with seven and a half minutes to play in the third quarter.
Bryana Hardy led her team with six points in a first quarter UCF lost 14-12, and Jewett starred with eight consecutive points during a 13-0 UCF run that turned a 21-15 deficit into a 28-21 lead halfway through the second frame.
Jewett answered a Samford 2-point jumper immediately with her fourth of five eventual 3-point shots before adding another layup to extend her team's lead to 10, and added three points down the stretch to give the Knights a 45-41 lead entering the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Jewett's 34 points came via an impressive 56 percent shooting from the field (9-of-16), including five made triples on nine tries from beyond the arc. Ranke joined her teammate in double-digit scoring with 10 points and Thomas collected 12 rebounds to pace UCF in the category.
SMU 72, Oral Roberts 55 – Box Score
TULSA, Okla. – SMU overcame a slow start to defeat Oral Roberts at Mabee Center Saturday.
The Mustangs' offense sputtered early, turning the ball over and settling for jumpers. Head Coach Toyelle Wilson called a time out 1:51 into the contest and her team responded.
Changing gears and making a concerted effort to work the ball inside, SMU methodically increased its cushion to 13, the largest of the half at 34-21, with 2:50 left before intermission. Oral Roberts utilized a pair of 3-point buckets in the closing seconds, reducing the deficit to three possessions at 46-37.
Chantae Embry paced the offense in the opening twenty minutes, with 13 points, draining 6 of 9 from the field, including 1 of 2 behind the arc.
In the third quarter, SMU went back inside, tallying 10 of its 18 points in the paint and adding five more at the charity stripe. The Mustangs defense held Oral Roberts to 5 of 15 from the field, including 0 of 6 from three-point range.
Holding a 14-point advantage with ten minutes remaining, SMU continued to execute the game plan, matching the Golden Eagles bucket for bucket, until the final 75 seconds. Jasmine Smith and Savannah Wilkinson buried a jumper each for the final margin.
Tulsa 92, South Carolina State 57 – Box Score
San Francisco, Calif. - The Tulsa women's basketball team earned a dominating 92-57 win against South Carolina State on Saturday afternoon in the USF Thanksgiving Classic at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco, Calif. The Golden Hurricane moved to 4-2 on the season, while the Lady Bulldogs fell to 0-8 overall.
Tulsa will return to action on Thursday, December 1 against Duquesne beginning at 5:00 pm at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tulsa jumped out to a 13-3 lead at the 5:52 mark, climbed to a 19-point advantage (31-12) with just 56 seconds to play and had a 31-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
TU continued to inch ahead in the second frame, including a first half best 27-point advantage (50-23) over the Lady Bulldogs with 3:08 to play. The Golden Hurricane then took a 55-31 edge into halftime.
The two teams were pretty even in the third quarter as TU has a slight 16-14 lead in the frame and owned a 71-45 advantage with one quarter to play.
The Golden Hurricane climbed to a game-high 38-point lead (91-53) with 3:43 to play in the contest and claimed the 35-point victory, 92-57.
East Carolina 72, Liberty 64 – Box Score
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The East Carolina women's basketball team beat the Liberty Flames 72-64 in the team's first game of the Cavalier Classic on Saturday at Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena. Four Pirates scored in double figures on the day, led by Alexsia Rose with 18 while Brittany Franklin notched the second double-double for an ECU player on the season.
The game was one of spurts. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the Pirates (5-1) edging out to a narrow lead at 20-18. In the second quarter, the team used stellar defense – highlighted by an Amiya Joyner block which forced a shot clock violation and a pair of steals by Rose – and a trio of long-range buckets by Rose to run out to a 12-point lead with under three minutes to play in the period before a rapid 10-0 Liberty run cut the lead back down to 2 at the break.
The Flames (2-3) used their proficiency from downtown to get back into the game, though, knocking down five first-half triples.
The Pirates locked in further defensively in the third quarter, holding Liberty to only seven points – including allowing not a solitary single Flames field goal for the final 7:29 of the period. ECU scored 11 of their own in the quarter to push the margin to six. The Pirates did so largely through the offensive glass where the team collected nine offensive rebounds and scored nine second chance points in the third.
In the second half, though, the story was simple: Brittany Franklin reminded everyone why she's here. Franklin was, simply put, phenomenal. In only 11:40 minutes, she collected 10 rebounds and scored put the ball in the basket with confidence scoring 11 points. Four of Franklin's rebounds came on the offensive glass. Not to stop with simply offense, the senior forward blocked a pair of shots and recorded a steal in the second half of the ballgame. In a moment when ECU was looking for a spark in a close game, they found it in Franklin.
Down the stretch, the Pirates put the game away from the charity stripe. With Liberty forced into difficult positions, ECU earned 20 shots from the foul line in the fourth quarter and converted 16 of them. 38 free throw attempts on the game are the most for ECU since Dec. 13, 2013 in a contest against Alcorn State.
The Pirates out rebounded a typically dominant rebounding team 45-44, including a whopping 24 offensive boards which resulted in 25 second chance points for the game. The team scored 23 points off turnovers while coughing up the ball only seven times themselves - the lowest total in a game since March 12, 2014 against Florida International..
The win moves the Pirates to 5-1 on the season, the program's best start since 2018-19 when the team got off to the same record through six games.
Wichita State 69, LMU 57 – Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Wichita State picked up its fourth straight win and wrapped up the LMU Thanksgiving Classic 2-0 after defeating Loyola Marymount, 69-57, Saturday night.
Wichita State (5-1) once again faced a halftime deficit and trailed by as many as 13 in the game before mounting another second half rally.
Jane Asinde recorded her second straight 20-point game and third double-double of the season behind 22 points, 15 rebounds and four steals. She has double-doubles in three of the four games she's played in this season.
Nhug Bosch Duran set a new career high with 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. DJ McCarty was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, finishing with 14 points and three steals. Curtessia Dean chipped in 12 points to round out the double figure scorers.
For the first time this season Wichita State failed to win the rebound battle and were held to a season low four offensive rebounds. They were able to make up for it in the turnover category, forcing 20 miscues and turning those into 23 points on the other end.
Wichita State overcame a slow start offensively to shoot 44.6 percent from the field and converted at the charity stripe as well, making 15-of-19 attempts.
LMU's Nicole Rodriguez frustrated Wichita State in the first half to the tune of 14 points but scored only three after intermission.
Late in the opening quarter, LMU used an 8-0 run capped by back-to-back three-pointers to take a 22-12 lead. Bosch Duran would score Wichita State's next five points to make it a seven-point game after 10 minutes.
Neither team could find the basket for the first half of the second quarter until a pair of LMU three-pointers gave the Lions a 36-23 lead with 2:04 remaining in the half. But it would be Wichita State entering the locker room with a little momentum as they scored the final six points to make it 36-29.
Despite being outrebounded and missing 10-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc, Wichita State was fortunate to only be down by seven. The Shockers were able to convert nine LMU turnovers into nine points.
Dean led Wichita State with 10 first half points.
Wichita State would outscore the Lions 15-9 in the third quarter, sending the game to the final quarter trailing by just a point. The Shockers looked like they would take a lead into the fourth on Asinde's layup with only 14 seconds left, but LMU raced back down the court to convert a layup at the buzzer.
A Bosch Duran triple and four straight points from Asinde capped a 7-0 run to begin the fourth, giving Wichita State its largest lead to that point.
The Shockers would stretch the lead to double digits just 3:30 into the quarter and as many as 12 at the 4:59 mark behind a 15-2 run. LMU made one last push, cutting the margin to 61-55 and just 2:05 on the clock, but Wichita State put the game away at the free throw line in the final minute.
Florida 77, Houston 73 (OT) – Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Despite a career-high 23 points from senior Tiara Young and a season-best shooting performance, the University of Houston lost in overtime, 77-73 against Florida on Saturday in the St. Pete Showcase.
Young became the first Cougar since Dorian Branch in 2019 to score 20-plus points in back-to-back games thanks to a career-high 23 points on Saturday and 20 points against Portland on Thursday. For the fourth-straight game, both junior Laila Blair (16 points) and senior Tiara Young (23) scored in double digits. Blair has now scored in double digits for in five-straight games. Redshirt senior Britney Onyeje posted a season-high 12 points for Houston.
Houston (1-5) continued to force opponents to turn the ball over at a high rate, forcing Florida (6-1) to commit 30 turnovers in the game. Houston ranks fifth nationally in forced turnovers per game (27.0).
The foul and free throw disparity showed the difference between the two teams. Florida shot 27 free throws and made 20 of its attempts and Houston shot 10 free throws and made seven of its charity stripe attempts. The Cougars committed 27 fouls to just 13 for Florida. The Gators committed just two fouls in the first half.
Young was rewarded for her efforts by being named a St. Pete Showcase All-Star. The Shreveport, La., native averaged 21.5 points per game, shot 55.9 percent from the field, averaged 3.5 rebounds per game and collected four steals in the tournament.
Charlotte 59, Cincinnati 58 – Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team fell 59-59 to Charlotte in game two of the Daytona Beach Invitational inside Ocean Center on Saturday.
The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for the Bearcats, who are now 4-3 on the season.
Jillian Hayes finished with a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds as four players scored in double figures on the night. Mya Jackson turned in her seventh straight double-digit game with 11 points and two assists, while Braylyn Milton added 10 points on 4-7 from the field.
Clarissa Craig posted another double-digit affair off of the bench with 10 points, her second straight 10-plus point game as a reserve. The sophomore scored 22 points over the two invitational games, converting on 7-11 from the field and 8-10 from the line.
Trailing 12-21 at the end of the first quarter, the Bearcats used a 13-2 run as a part of a 19-9 second quarter to command a 31-30 lead the break. The Bearcats held the 49ers without a field goal over the first 3:29 of the period while Jackson turned in seven of her 11 points in the period on 3-4 from the field.
The Bearcats converted on a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line in the first half.
After trailing by more than six after the half, Cincinnati stormed back to take the lead with a 10-0 run, their largest of the game. Cincinnati held their opponent scoreless over the 4:57-minute run to take the 49-53 lead with 3:46 remaining in regulation.
Charlotte would respond with an 8-0 run of their own to take the eventual lead and secure the win.
Michigan 63, South Florida 58 – Box Score
ESTERO, Fla. — The University of South Florida women's basketball team dropped its first game of the 2022-23 season falling to No. 22/23 Michigan, 63-58, on Saturday night in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla. The Bulls, who fall to 7-1 on the year, will now face No. 23/RV Villanova in the third-place game on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Florida State transfer and former McDonald's All-American Sammie Puisis scored a team-high 22 points, the fourth 20-point game of her career – all at South Florida – while Preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the year Elena Tsineke had 14 points and Carla Brito added 12 points. American Athletic Conference Preseason First Team selection Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Bulls led by as many as seven points late in the fourth quarter, 50-43, on a driving layup by Brito with just over nine minutes left in the game.
The Wolverines, however, put together a 12-4 run to retake the lead, 55-54, with 4:37 left in the contest, and despite Michigan not leading by more than three points until the final margin, South Florida was not able to take advantage of opportunities to regain the lead down the stretch.
Indiana 79, Memphis 64 – Box Score
LAS VEGAS - The Memphis women's basketball team fell to No. 6 Indiana on Saturday night in Las Vegas, 79-64.
Memphis had a strong first quarter, outscoring the Hoosiers 21-15. The Tigers shot 47 percent from the field in the opening frame to take the lead.
Indiana flipped the script in the second quarter, holding the Tigers to just 22 percent from the field, while making 66 percent of their own shots. The Hoosiers would score 30 points and take a lead into halftime.
The remaining two quarters of the game were even as the teams traded blows, with Indiana outscoring Memphis by just three combined points.
Jamirah Shutes scored 15 points for Memphis, while Jada Wright added nine. Hannah Riddick grabbed ten rebounds.