Wednesday, January 17
Tulane 64, UCF 50 - Box Score
Tulsa 69, Temple 57 - Box Score
Recaps
Tulane 64, UCF 50 - Box Score
ORLANDO – A 20-point third quarter spurred Tulane University Women's Basketball (12-7, 2-4 The American) to a come from behind 64-50 victory on the road over UCF (10-7, 1-4 The American) on Tuesday. The Green Wave shot 60 percent from the floor in the third and limited the Knights to just 20 percent in the frame to outscore UCF 20-6 and take control of the contest.
The leading trio for Tulane paced the team once again with all three scoring in double figures. Kyren Whittington led the way with 15 points including three makes from beyond the arc. Marta Galic followed with 13 points and nine rebounds while Dynah Jones posted 11 points.
The battle around the rim finished in favor of the Wave as Tulane outrebounded UCF 40-37 and scored 24 points in the paint to the Knights' 18. A 14-2 advantage in bench scoring also made a difference for the Green Wave. Irina Parau made an impact off the bench and on the glass matching her career high with 13 rebounds while adding seven points.
UCF was led by Mya Burns with 15 points and seven rebounds. Laila Jewett also finished with double digits for the Knights with 10 points.
Tulane fell behind early against the Knights in the first quarter as UCF scored the first seven points over the opening three minutes. The Green Wave began chipping away at the early deficit by exchanging buckets with the Knights. Galic and Rachel Hakes combined for nine points in the frame to help Tulane end the first trailing 14-17.
The two teams continued to go back and forth in the second quarter, but the Wave was never able to claim the lead. Galic, Jones, and Kahia Warmsley each tallied four points in the frame as Tulane hit the locker room down 28-33.
The Green Wave came out of the break and claimed control of the contest on both ends of the floor. Tulane shot 60 percent from the field in the third quarter to pour in 20 points on the scoreboard. On the other end of the court, the Wave defense stifled the Knights holding them to just six points on 20 percent shooting in the frame. A 9-0 scoring run closed the third for Tulane to give the Green Wave a 48-39 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
After UCF pulled within six, Whittington sparked and capped a run for the Wave that pushed its advantage out to 16 with under two minutes remaining. Whittington scored eight points in the final frame as Tulane closed out its first AAC road win 64-50 over the Knights.
Tulsa 69, Temple 57 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Four Tulsa players scored in double figures to lead the Golden Hurricane to a 69-57 win over Temple on Tuesday night at The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The Golden Hurricane moved to 15-3 on the season and 5-0 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Owls fell to 7-10 overall and 2-3 in the league.
Maddie Bittle had a team-best 13 points, while Delanie Crawford had 12, and both Temira Poindexter and Ahrray Young added 10.
Tulsa jumped out to a 12-4 lead at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter with Maya Mayberry scoring six of those points in the early going. The Golden Hurricane climbed to a first quarter best 20-point advantage (24-4) at the end of the frame. The four points were the fewest allowed by the Golden Hurricane in a quarter this season as they held the Owls to just 10 percent from the field, while shooting 60 percent.
Tulsa struggled to shoot the ball in the early part of the second frame, hitting just 25 percent of their attempts from the field and going 0-of-4 from behind the arc, but Maddie Bittle hit back-to-back threes to put the Hurricane up 36-12, with 2:59 remaining in the frame. Tulsa led by 24 three times throughout the second quarter, including a 41-17 advantage at the end of the frame.
Tulsa missed their first six shot attempts and had five turnovers to start the third quarter, but Temira Poindexter drained a three at the 5:32 mark to end the Hurricane's scoring drought. Temple owned an 18-12 scoring edge in the third frame, but Tulsa maintained an 18-point lead, 53-35.
Temple's Tarriyonna Gary came out on fire in the final stanza, hitting four treys in the first 4:46 off the clock, but Tulsa was able to counter, maintaining a 19-point advantage with just over five minutes to play in the contest.
Temple chipped away at their deficit, pulling to within 12, 69-57, with 0:44 to play, the closest the game had been since Tulsa had a 16-4 lead with 3:22 on the clock in the first quarter. Neither team would score in the final 44 seconds for the final score.