Memphis 54, Tulane 44
The University of Memphis women's basketball team earned its third straight win and the season sweep of Tulane after collecting the 54-44 win over the Green Wave today.
With today's win, Memphis moves to 11-15 overall and 7-8 in AAC play.
The Tigers controlled the first quarter from the jump, gaining a 7-2 lead just three minutes into the game.
Kai Carter extended the Memphis advantage out to six following a deep three-pointer from the wing. After Tulane cut into the Tiger lead to make it a two-point game, Hannah Riddick went crazy; the junior post player scored six points in the span of 76 seconds to put Memphis back on top with the 16-8 lead.
The Green Wave got a lay-up from Amira Mabry with 2:45 left on the clock to cut the Tiger vantage to a half dozen before Madison Griggs drained a triple from the top of the key for Memphis to take the 19-10 lead into the second quarter.
It was a defensive battle between the Tigers and Green Wave in the second frame; while Memphis took a 10-point lead with 5:08 left in the half, the Tiger defense held Tulane scoreless for nearly four minutes while taking a lead as much as 14 after Carter drained two free throws.
Tulane got one last basket before halftime from Mabry to make it a 29-17 Tiger lead going into the break.
While the Memphis offense excelled in the first half, the Tiger defense was spectacular, forcing Tulane into 19 turnovers while holding them to just seven second quarter points.
After Memphis got up by as much as 16 in the third quarter, Tulane made its comeback late in the frame.
An 8-2 run by the Green Wave to end the quarter made it a 44-37 Tiger lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
It was all Memphis in the final plays of the game; a 7-0 run to end the game that consisted of buckets from Griggs, Alasia Smith and Destyne Jackson locked in the season sweep of Tulane as the Tigers cruised to the 54-44 victory.
Madison Griggs led all players with 15 points and four steals while Kai Carter added in 11 points and six rebounds.
As a team, Memphis forced Tulane into 27 turnovers and held them to seven points in both the second and fourth quarters.
East Carolina 74, SMU 64
The East Carolina women's basketball team defeated SMU, 74-64, on Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum. The Pirates were led by Danae McNeal's 22 points and double-doubles by Tatyana Wyche and Amiya Joyner.
The Pirates (15-11, 8-7 AAC) led by as many as 20 points in the first half thanks in part to a frenetic effort defensively and some stellar shooting, finishing the half with a 50-percent clip from the field. The team also posted 12 points off of turnovers in the opening 20 minutes with 12 turnovers forced and seven steals.
One of those steals was by McNeal, the first of the game and, more significantly, the 200th of her career. That takeaway made the guard the fourth player in ECU history to record 1,000 points, 200 rebounds and 200 steals. The Swansea, S.C. native finished the half with a game-high 16 points and was absolutely dominant at times, including finishing two and-one buckets – two of six for the team in the first half.
After the Pirates took a 19-point lead into the halftime break, the Mustangs (13-13, 7-8 AAC) made a huge charge at it in the second half. The hosts cut the lead to as few as five and did so with a balanced attack which saw five players score in double figures.
Despite getting dicey for a stretch, ECU weathered the storm and pushed the lead back into double figures in the final minutes. The final dagger was a Khia Miller jump shot with 1:58 remaining which extended the lead to 10 and evaporated any remaining hope of an SMU comeback.
Wyche and Joyner played critical roles in the post in the game, going for 15 points and 12 rebounds and 11 points and 13 rebounds, respectively. This made the duo the first pair of Pirates to post double-doubles in the same game since Bre McDonald and Kristen Gaffney did so against Cincinnati on Feb. 22, 2017, just over seven years ago to the day.
North Texas 95, UAB 77
The UNT women's basketball team reached 20 wins in the regular season for the first time in program history with a 95-77 victory over UAB in Birmingham Saturday afternoon.
The Mean Green's offense was nearly unstoppable for the entire game en route to the program's third-most points in regulation of a conference game and most overall since 2016 in a 97-point overtime game against Rice.
Both teams started the game extremely hot from the field with UNT shooting 69% and UAB converting 75% of their attempts in the first quarter. North Texas knocked down all five 3-point attempts in the quarter, including two from Shamaryah Duncan. A 30-30 tie at the end of the first quarter set the stage for an offensive showdown the rest of the game.
UNT continued to put up points at an efficient rate in the second quarter. The Mean Green would take a 53-46 lead into halftime, marking their most points in a first half since Nov. 11, 2021, when they also scored 53 against Howard.
DesiRay Kernal and Tommisha Lampkin took over the game in the third quarter for UNT. Kernal posted nine points and seven rebounds, while Lampkin had seven points of her own. The frontcourt duo would both go on to post double doubles, marking the second time this season UNT has had multiple players record double doubles in consecutive games after doing so only six times in the program's history leading up to the season.
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Kernal would cap off her third-straight double double with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while needing just three assists to record a triple double. Lampkin led the Mean Green with 25 points and added 10 rebounds in her second-straight double double and 10th of the season.
Denim Deshields led UAB with 28 points, while her fellow backcourt star Mia Moore added 17.
North Texas was dominant on the glass outrebounding the Blazers 45-24 in the game and racked up 50 points in the paint.
After holding UAB without a field goal for the final 3:30 of the third quarter, UNT's defense would stay locked in as they limited UAB to just nine points in the fourth quarter on 21% shooting in the 18-point victory.
With the win, UNT improves to 20-7 on the season and 10-5 in American Athletic Confernece play, while UAB falls to 18-10 and 9-7 in conference.
Charlotte 74, Wichita State 48
The Charlotte women's basketball team (16-12, 9-7 AAC) cruised to a senior day win inside Halton Arena on Saturday (Feb. 24) by defeating the Wichita State Shockers by a score of 74-48.
Three Niners scored in double figures to lead Charlotte to victory. Dazia Lawrence once again led the way offensively with 22 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Jacee Busick showed out for her senior day by putting up a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Busick was efficient shooting (5-10) including tying a career-high with four made three-pointers. While playing sick, Keanna Rembert provided a boost with 10 points in just 16 minutes of action.
Charlotte trailed for just 56 seconds on Saturday, leading 37:19 of the game. After being out-rebounded in six consecutive games, the Niners ended that skid by beating Wichita State on the boards (43-26). Nia Young's two blocks led the team as the Niners finished with five for the game. Ball movement was key to Charlotte's success, with 21 of the 25 field goals being assisted on.