SMU 91, Memphis 86 (2OT)
Using Tiara Young's first double-double of the season, including a career-high 38 points and 15 rebounds, the SMU women's basketball team defeated Memphis 91-86 in double overtime on Thursday night in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Despite being down to only four eligible players after Tamia Jones fouled out with 56 seconds remaining, Donavia Hall, Aaliyah Henderson, and Jiya Perry made free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Young's 38 led SMU (8-7; 2-2 American Athletic Conference). Graduate guard Reagan Bradley scored 16 points, grabbed three boards, and passed out two assists. TK Pitts posted career-highs in rebounds (10) and steals (5) while adding six points.
Amirah Abdur-Rahim scored seven points and added two rebounds and a block. Tamia Jones tallied nine points and five rebounds, and Maya Chandler finished with five points and seven boards. Jiya Perry scored six points and grabbed three rebounds, and Donavia Hall chipped in three points and a rebound.
Young knocked down a free throw and finished an and-one layup to counter five straight from Memphis to start the first overtime. Another and-one from Young answered three Tiger free throws. Perry was fouled on Young's second free throw attempt and knocked down one from the charity stripe to bring SMU with one with 25 seconds to play. Chandler tied the game at 77 with a step-back jump shot, and the Mustangs held the Tigers on the other end to force a second overtime.
Bradley hit a jumper to spark six unanswered, giving SMU a one-point lead in the fourth quarter. Memphis hit a three-pointer to lead 61-58 with five minutes remaining. The final five minutes saw several ties and lead changes. Young hit a pull-up jumper that gave SMU a two-point lead but was answered on the other end by a Memphis triple with a little over a minute to play. Jones made a free throw that tied the game at 67. The Mustangs held Memphis on the other end, and the game went to overtime.
Bradley hit a triple to counter a 7-1 run from Memphis to start the second half. Young and Pitts finished driving layups in back-to-back possessions after three Mustang free throws to give SMU a 45-44 lead. Young made three free throws in four attempts to close the quarter with nine points and bring the Mustangs within one heading to the fourth.
Bradley converted in transition off Pitts' second steal of the night to spark a 10-0 run, finished off by a pull-up jumper from Bradley that gave SMU its first lead and forced a Memphis timeout. Young knocked down a pair of free throws out of the break to extend SMU's run to 12. Young hit two more free throws and finished in traffic to give SMU a four-point lead after Memphis tied it at 28. The Mustangs outscored the Tigers 18-10 while holding Memphis to 7.7% (1-13) shooting from the field, including a stretch of nearly seven minutes without a Memphis field goal in the second frame.
Memphis led 23-14 after shooting 57% (8-14) from the field in the first quarter.
Charlotte 61, Rice 54
The Charlotte women's basketball team picked up their fourth straight win to start play in the American Athletic Conference with a 61-54 victory on the road over the Rice University Owls on Thursday (Jan. 11).
The reigning AAC Player of the Week, Dazia Lawrence, once again stepped up in the big moments for Charlotte as she led the team with 24 points on the night while making 11 of her 12 free throws. Senior Tracey Hueston made several timely buckets for the Niners, particularly in the second half, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds in the contest. Keanna Rembert and Imani Smith had a team-high eight rebounds in the win, both playing 32 minutes. Olivia Porter led the team with four assists.
Despite 29 turnovers, Charlotte held strong for the victory. The Niners made up for the offensive miscues on the defensive end by limiting Rice to 30.1% shooting (22-73) and 10.5% from behind the arc (2-19). CLT had 10 steals from six different players, led by three from Dazia Lawrence. Offensively, Charlotte shot 40.4% (19-47) and 4-10 on threes (40%).
The lead changed 13 times with five ties, and neither team held a double-digit advantage at any point of the game.