East Carolina 70, Charlotte 56
The East Carolina women's basketball team threw the first punch and never looked back on Saturday afternoon as they downed the Charlotte 49ers, 70-56, in a pivotal American Athletic Conference contest. Danae McNeal and Amiya Joyner were phenomenal in the game as they stuffed the stat sheet and paced the Pirates to victory.
East Carolina (14-8, 7-4 The American) was up 12-0 with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter before Charlotte (13-11, 6-6 The American) finally found the basket in Minges Coliseum. It was a 10 point margin after a quarter of action before the Pirates used yet another spurt, this time 7-0, to take a 16 point lead into the halftime break, 35-19.
Charlotte made a bit of a run at it but never managed to draw close enough to make it too interesting as the Pirates would go on to lead by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter, closing the game strong and shutting the door on the visiting 49ers. In total, the Pirates led for 38:28 of the game after scoring 90 second into it.
McNeal and Joyner were the stars of the show with stat lines you had to see to believe. McNeal finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five blocks and three steals while Joyner posted 24 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and an assist - while drawing eight fouls on the 49ers. It was the 18th double-double of the sophomore's young career. Joyner also shot an efficient 11-15 (.733) from the field.
That dynamic duo had help, though, and Tatyan Wyche provided a lot of it with her nine points and six blocks. Those rejections gave the forward 13 in the last two games and propelled the team to 12 as a collective. 12 blocks is the second-highest total in program history (the team has had 13 twice).
At the end of the day, the Pirates simply had an answer for everything Charlotte threw at them and did it with remarkable efficiency, shooting 50 percent from the field and only shooting six triples on the day - though Karina Gordon's second-half make was critical and an absolute back breaker. The Pirates held a 44-20 edge on points in the paint and scored 18 second-chance points while out rebounding Charlotte, 39-28.
Wichita State 67, Florida Atlantic 56
Wichita State claimed its first true road win since Jan. 28, 2023, downing Florida Atlantic 67-56 Saturday afternoon in Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
Four Shockers finished in double figures, led by Daniela Abies's seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Jayla Murray put up a career-high 15 points, and Salese Blow and Raissa Nsabua finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Wichita State (7-17, 3-9 The American) forced 18 Owl turnovers and scored 21 points off those turnovers while only committing nine turnovers.
The Shockers dominated the paint scoring 36, over half, their points inside and continued to defend the three well, only allowing four Florida Atlantic (8-15, 3-9) triples (4-for-18, .222).
Wichita State opened the game on a 7-0 run with the help of a Nsabua three, and the Shockers got up by 10 with 2 and a half minutes left in the quarter, but the Owls cut the deficit to five, scoring the last four points of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Owls went on a 7-0 run of their own to take their first lead of the game, and a back-and-forth second quarter kept things close before half. It was a tied game with less than a minute, and FAU's Allie Tylka hit a three with 13 seconds left to give the Owls a three-point advantage. Down on the other end, Murray's shot didn't quite get off before time expired, so the Shockers went into the break down three.
Abies was held to just four first-half points but found a way to overcome the double team in the second half with 11 second-half points and four assists.
In the third quarter, FAU increased their lead to seven, before back-to-back buckets by Blow, a fast break layup by Nsabua and a rebound basket by Abies put the Shockers back on top.
The Owls took the lead right back, though, as leading scorer Mya Perry hit two-consecutive threes to put them up five.
Sierra Morrow responded with a Shocker three, and Wichita State held the Owls scoreless through the final three minutes of the quarter to head into the final quarter up two.
The Wichita State defense continued to get stops as the Owls didn't score again until the 7:23 mark of the fourth quarter.
Another Perry three tied the game with 6:35 remaining, but the Shockers made 11 free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
This marks Nooner's first road win as a head coach as the only non-home game won this season was a neutral site victory over Akron.
Memphis 80, Tulane 79
The University of Memphis women's basketball team got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon following the 80-79 overtime victory over Tulane University.
With today's win, Memphis moves to 8-14 overall and 4-7 in American Athletic Conference play.
After Tulane took a 24-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers came back with authority stringing together a 12-4 run to cut their deficit to 31-27 with just under five minutes left in the first half. While Tulane pushed its advantage back out to eight with less than a minute left on the clock.
Two free throws from Hannah Riddick and a buzzer-beater lay-up from Raven Sims made it a 41-37 game heading into halftime.
The Tigers and Green Wave opened the third quarter trading baskets before Memphis got consecutive scoring from Sims, Madison Griggs and Alasia Smith to take their first lead of the day at 49-47. Tulane would, once again, have an answer to Memphis' run with back-to-back lay-ups from Kyren Whittington in the final minute to take a one-point lead.
Ki'Ari Cain took a page out of Sims book and laid in a short jumper in the lane just as time expired to put the Tigers up 56-55 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Memphis extended its lead out to as much as 10 to open the fourth quarter with the trio of Griggs, Riddick and Sims all scoring.
A 13-3 run from Tulane late in the frame put them right back in the game.
Following a free throw from Tulane's Joy Madison-Key out the Green Wave up two with 23 seconds left in regulation, Kai Carter came in clutch with a turnaround jump shot deep in the paint to tie the game at 74-74. The Memphis defense held steady as Tulane was unable to get a shot off in time to send the game to overtime.
Tulane took a quick four-point lead in overtime after Whittington drained a three-pointer in the corner.
Memphis answered right back with Griggs drilling her sixth long-distance shot of the day before Smith got the game-winning lay-up with 25 seconds on the clock. The Tigers held on for the 80-79 win.
Madison Griggs led the team with 20 points while draining six three-pointers. Hannah Riddick and Shelbee Brown both came off the bench for 13 and 11 points, respectively, with Brown recording a career-high seven steals.
Alasia Smith was all over the boards tonight, racking up 11 rebounds with 10 of them coming on the offensive end.
As a team, Memphis forced Tulane into 27 turnovers and scored 40 of their 80 points in the paint.
Temple 59, South Florida 55
Tiarra East had her fourth game this season with 20 or more points and Tarriyona Gary came up with a game-clinching steal as the Temple Women's Basketball team (13-10, 7-4 The American) came up with a key 59-55 win against South Florida (14-11, 6-6 The American)
Neither team shot particularly well early on, but USF was able to grab the early advantage thanks to second chance points with a rebounding edge. The Owls defense also played a large part in a low scoring first quarter as they forced four South Florida turnovers in a five-minute stretch to end the period. South Florida held a four-point lead at the conclusion of the first frame.
East got the second frame off to a good start, connecting on a try during Temple's opening possession. That started a 9-0 run for the Owls, which included the first lead of the game for TU and forced a Bulls timeout three minutes into the quarter. As the offense started its ascent, the defense continued to smother USF, forcing it to an 0-for-13 start to the frame. The Bulls didn't tally their first points in the period until the 1:32 mark with those coming at the line. Once it did score, however, South Florida netted a quick seven in a row, but Temple maintained a 24-17 lead at intermission.
Opening the second half, USF started off strong from beyond the arc, hitting a trio of three-pointers in the opening five minutes, closing the gap to 34-33. Temple hung tough despite South Florida's offensive spurt, with the Bulls holding just a 42-38 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
It looked like USF would start to run away with the game, building a 47-40 lead 2:44 into the fourth, but Temple battled back, as Gary connected on a triple with 2:14 remaining, capping a 14-6 run that pushed the Owls up 54-53.
With the game tied at 55-55 and under 45 seconds remaining, Aerial Wilson found a cutting Inez Piper for a layup that gave TU the lead. On the ensuing defensive possession, Gary stepped into the passing lane and came up with a steal, leading to a fastbreak bucket by Nelson to seal the victory. on Saturday afternoon.
North Texas 78, SMU 65
The UNT women's basketball team defeated SMU for the second time this season, 78-65, Saturday afternoon inside The Super Pit.
It's just the third time in program history the Mean Green have beat the Mustangs twice in a single season, although the teams have only met twice in a season a handful of times. With the win, UNT snapped a two-game skid and improved to 18-5 on the season and 8-3 in American Athletic Conference play.
North Texas controlled the game from tip off holding the lead for 37:32 compared to SMU's 12 seconds. Dyani Robinson led the Mean Green with 22 points, including 15 in the first half. Robinson and Desiree Wooten, who added 12 points, combined to score 27 of UNT's 37 first-half points and nearly match SMU's total of 28.
A 10-0 run for the Mean Green gave them a 27-19 lead midway through the second quarter. The Mustangs were never able to close the gap as the UNT lead got as big as 18 when it led 63-45 at the end of the third quarter.
Tommisha Lampkin also reached double figures for the Mean Green. The senior center recorded her seventh double double of the season and second in-a-row with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams shot exceptionally well from the field with the Mean Green shooting 56% and SMU converting 50% of their attempts. A storyline coming into the game, North Texas was able to contain SMU's Tiara Young and Chantae Embry to 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Amirah Abdur-Rahim led the Mustangs with 21 points and nine rebounds.
The North Texas win marked DesiRay Kernal's 100th career victory. The graduate transfer recorded 82 of those wins at Texas A&M-Commerce and 18 in her lone season at UNT. The Mean Green are now 10-0 at The Super Pit this season, tying the program's second-longest unbeaten streak to start a season at home and extended the team's home win streak to 11 games dating back to last season.
Rice 78, Tulsa 66
The Rice women's basketball team took control in the second quarter and never looked back, taking a 78-66 win over Tulsa Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. The win moves the Owls to 14-9 (8-4 The American) on the season.
Hailey Adams led the Owls with a career-high 17 points while adding 12 rebounds, four assists and a block. Jazzy Owens-Barnett also added 17 points, three rebounds and two steals, while Emily Klaczek finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
As a team, Rice shot 28-of-63 (44.4%) and 9-of-19 (47.4%) from three-point range. The Owls added a 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the free throw line. The Owls out-rebounded Tulsa 40-32 and scored 41 bench points compared to nine for Tulsa.