SMU 75, UTSA 58
Using Amirah Abdur-Rahim's fifth double-double of the season, including 15 points and 10 rebounds along with three other Mustangs scoring in double figures, the SMU women's basketball team picked up its second straight win with a dominant 75-58 victory over UTSA Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum.
Reagan Bradley led the way in scoring for SMU (10-10; 4-5 American Athletic Conference), tying her career-high with 18 points. The graduate guard added four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Chantae Embry reached double-digit points for the third straight game with 18 while adding seven boards and an assist.
Tiara Young scored 14 points, added five boards and five assists, and finished with three steals. Abdur-Rahim blocked a career-high five shots, and TK Pitts finished with seven points, six rebounds, and three assists. Freshman Aaliyah Henderson chipped in three points and a steal.
Another triple from Bradley and a finish from Embry kept the momentum rolling in the fourth. Two buckets from Young and one from Embry gave the Mustangs six straight, extending their lead to 11. SMU used seven unanswered to take control of the game down the stretch and seal the victory.
SMU forced eight turnovers in the first half of the third quarter to help extend its lead to eight. UTSA cut into the deficit in the last half of the period, but the Mustangs led by five heading to the final quarter.
SMU started fast in the second quarter, outscoring the Roadrunners 27-20, led by 10 points from Bradley. SMU finished 5-7 (71.4%) from the three-point line and shot 68.8% from the field. The Mustangs made their first four field goals of the period. UTSA fought back to take the lead, but an 8-0 run that included back-to-back three-pointers from Embry tied the game at 31 apiece halfway through the quarter. Young dished to Pitts, who finished in traffic to give SMU a 40-37 lead at the half. UTSA led 17-13 after the first quarter.
Memphis 73, Rice 66
The University of Memphis women's basketball team got back on the court Saturday when they traveled south to take on Rice. A strong offense from the Tigers in the second half gave them the 73-66 win over the Owls.
Following today's game, Memphis moves to 7-12 overall and 3-5 in American Athletic Conference play.
After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Rice take a 17-16 lead, the Memphis offense went off, stringing together an 11-4 run to take a 27-21 lead with 4:21 left in the half.
Kai Carter led the charge in the second frame, scoring six straight points for the Tigers while free throws from Raven Sims, Madison Griggs and Alasia Smith gave Memphis it's largest lead of the half at nine with just over a minute left on the clock.
Rice got to the free throw line one last time before halftime with the Tigers taking a 35-28 lead into the break.
The Tiger defense held Rice to no field goals for seven of the 10 minutes in the second quarter.
Memphis' offensive attack continued to start the third quarter; after a 6-0 run to open the half forced Rice to call a timeout, Sims added in back-to-back buckets to give the Tigers the 45-32 lead.
While the Owls cut their deficit to single-digits, Smith was a threat on both sides of the ball. A steal-and-score in the back court along with a bucket the next possession put Memphis up 49-39 with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter.
Aliyah Green scored the last five points of the quarter to extend the Tiger advantage to 56-41 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Rice attempted a comeback late in the fourth quarter, cutting their once double-digit deficit to as little as six with 26 seconds left in the game. A Ki'Ari Cain free throw with 10 seconds on the clock iced it for Memphis to give them the 73-66 win.
Alasia Smith led team with 15 points and 13 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season while Hannah Riddick came off the bench to chip in 11 points and 12 boards – nine of them coming on the offensive end. Kai Carter and Madison Griggs both reached double figure scoring with 12 and 11, respectively.
As a team, Memphis shot over 41% from the field while holding Rice to just nine second-chance points.
Tulsa 65, Charlotte 55
Delanie Crawford's 21 points led four Tulsa players in double-digits as the Golden Hurricane grabbed a 65-55 road win over the Charlotte 49ers Saturday afternoon at Halton Arena.
Tulsa improved to 16-5 and 6-2 in American Athletic Conference play, while Charlotte fell to 12-8 and 5-3. The victory gave Tulsa a 3-1 road record in league play and was the 50th win for Angie Nelp as the Golden Hurricane head coach, giving her a 50-29 mark.
Mady Cartwright, Caranda Perea and Temira Poindexter each added 10 points for the Hurricane. Tulsa had a strong performance on the boards as all 10 players grabbed at least two rebounds. Hadley Periman led the way with seven as the team had a 44-42 rebounding advantage over the 49ers.
Charlotte was led by Dazia Lawrence's 14 points and a double-double by Keanna Rembert with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Tulsa opened the game on a 10-2 run and took a 20-11 lead after one period. Charlotte outscored the Hurricane in the second quarter 18-11, but Tulsa still kept the lead heading into halftime with a two-point lead at 31-29.
Charlotte scored the first four points of the second half for a 33-31 lead, its first since a 2-0 lead at the start of the game. However, the 49er lead did not last long as Perea knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to put Tulsa back ahead 34-33. From that point, Tulsa went on a 9-3 run for a seven-point lead at 43-36 with just under two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Tulsa entered the fourth period with a 45-39 lead. Jessika Evans knocked down a three-pointer to give Tulsa an eight-point lead at 52-44 with 6:12 to play and Crawford followed with a fastbreak layup to put the Hurricane ahead by 10. Charlotte cut its deficit down to eight points before Perea hit a big trey at the 3:42 mark to make it an 11-point game, 57-46.
The Hurricane made eight of their 12 free throws in the final three minutes to preserve the double-figure lead and victory.
Florida Atlantic 63, Wichita State 56
Florida Atlantic women's basketball (6-13, 1-7 The American) picked up its first American Athletic Conference win, earning a 63-56 road win over the Wichita State Shockers (6-15, 2-7 The American) on Saturday inside Charles Koch Arena.
The Owls had a slow start, falling behind 9-4 early in the opening quarter. But the Owls bounced back, scoring eight unanswered, capped off by a steal from Aniya Hubbard and fastbreak layup from Kristina Godfrey, to take a 12-9 lead with just under three minutes to go in the first. The Shockers tied things up at 12, but the Owls closed the opening quarter on a 6-2 run to hold a four-point advantage after the first, 18-14.
Florida Atlantic and Wichita State traded baskets through the first three minutes of the second, leading to a two-point Owl advantage, 23-21. A Hubbard layup and a Mya Perry triple extended the Owls' lead to seven, 28-21, at the second-quarter media timeout. Florida Atlantic expanded its lead to eight through the 1:30-minute mark following a driving layup from Alexa Zaph, however the Shockers cut the Owls' lead in half after back-to-back baskets to close out the half, 34-30.
Janeta Rozentale opened up the second half for the Owls, pushing Florida Atlantic's lead back to six, 36-30. The Shockers battled back over the following five minutes of clock, eventually evening the contest at 40-40. Wichita State continued the momentum, outscoring the Owls 6-2 to hold a four-point lead, 46-42, with 1:51 remaining in the third. But the Owls answered back over the last two minutes of the period, scoring five unanswered, capped off by a Perry 3-pointer, to retake the lead 47-46 entering the fourth.
Hubbard extended Florida Atlantic's lead to three to open the fourth, but the Shockers responded on a 5-0 run to take a 51-49 lead with 7:49 to play. The Owls then retook the lead 52-51 after Perry's third triple of the day and another Hubbard free throw put Florida Atlantic's advantage at 53-51 at the final media timeout. The Owls continued their momentum, outscoring the Shockers 5-1 through the 2:41-minute mark, extending their lead back to six, 58-52. The Owls never let up the rest of the way, maintaining their advantage to eventually capture the 63-56 win.