Rice 80, East Carolina 67
The Rice women's basketball team opened their three-game road trip in style with an 80-67 victory over East Carolina Wednesday morning. The Owls earned back-to-back wins over the top two American Athletic Conference preseason teams, defeating preseason favorite South Florida last Sunday, improving to 10-6 (4-1 The American) on the season.
Dominique Ennis led the way for Rice with 19 points, including five three-pointers, with three rebounds, a steal and an assist. Shelby Hayes tied a career-high with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Destiny Jackson finished with 13 points, seven assists, two steals and two rebounds. Malia Fisher recorded her third double-double in four games with 10 points and 10 rebounds while adding three assists and two blocks.
As a team, Rice shot a scorching 30-of-60 (50%) from the floor and 9-of-26 (35%) from three-point range. The Owls added an 11-of-13 (85%) showing from the free throw line. The Owls forced 23 ECU turnovers, scoring 23 points off those turnovers.
Charlotte 66, Tulane 64
The Charlotte women's basketball team used a strong third quarter to defeat the visiting Tulane Green Wave on Wednesday (Jan. 17), bouncing back from a devastating double overtime loss last weekend at UTSA. With the win, the Niners sit on top of the American Athletic Conference standings with a 5-1 record, ahead of 4-1 UAB and 4-1 Rice.
For the second consecutive game, Tracey Hueston led the Niners in scoring with 19 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. Her five rebounds were second most for the night, behind Keanna Rembert's six boards. After a sluggish 3-for-17 performance last weekend at UTSA, Dazia Lawrence bounced back with 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting while leading the team with 11 assists and four steals.
As a team, Charlotte created 11 steals and forced 20 turnovers. This was the seventh game in which the Niners forced 10+ steals, and sixth game that their opponent had 20+ turnovers.
Four different players made a three-pointer tonight, combining to shoot 8-23 collectively. Tamia Davis provided a great spark off the bench, converting on three of her six three-point attempts in 12 minutes of play.
Wichita State 71, Memphis 66
Four Shockers finished in double figures as Wichita State snapped its four-game losing streak, defeating Memphis, 71-66, Wednesday evening in Charles Koch Arena.
Sophomore Daniela Abies recorded her third double-double of the season, leading the Shockers (6-12, 2-4 The American) with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. She shot 9-for-11 (.818) from the field for the second time this season.
Tre'Zure Jobe finished the game with 17 points, Jayla Murray tied her career high with 12, and freshman Salese Blow scored 11 for the Shockers.
The WIchita State defense held Memphis (5-12, 1-5 AAC) to just 24-for-69 (.348) from the field and 3-for-19 (.158) from three. The Shockers contained Memphis's Madison Griggs, who averaged 17.3 points per game coming into the night, to just 11 points, and Wichita State won the battle of the boards, 47-35.
The Shockers dominated the paint, scoring 50 points inside to claim their second American Athletic Conference victory and move up two spots to 11th in the conference standings.
North Texas 76, SMU 61
he UNT women's basketball team took down SMU, 76-61, Wednesday night for its first win in Moody Coliseum since 1989.
With the win, the Mean Green improved to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in American Athletic Conference play. The road win snapped a streak of seven consecutive games won by the home team in the series and was UNT's first win in its last 18 attempts at Moody Coliseum.
North Texas took control early with a 7-0 run and went on to lead the entire game. The Mean Green started 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter that helped them build the advantage.
Jaaucklyn Moore and DesiRay Kernal led the Mean Green with 15 points apiece. It was Moore's highest-scoring outing since Nov. 25 against North Dakota at The Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic.
The Mean Green dominated a smaller SMU lineup on the glass with a 43-23 advantage in rebounding. Tommisha Lampkin recorded her fourth double double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Eight of Lampkin's 10 rebounds were offensive rebounds, which matched SMU's total for the game. In addition to Kernal's 15 points, she also nabbed double-digit rebounds for her sixth double double of the season.Coming out of halftime with a 37-29 lead, North Texas strengthened its grip on the game on the defensive end of the floor. UNT held SMU to 14.3% shooting in the quarter and just nine points. North Texas was also able to contain Tiara Young for the most part, holding the SMU star to 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Entering the game, Young was second in the conference in scoring at 19.0 points per game and had consecutive 30-point games.
Dyani Robinson had 12 points, while Desiree Wooten provided nine points off the bench in the win.