SMU 88, Wichita State 84
Three Mustangs scored 18 plus points as the SMU women's basketball team defeated Wichita State 88-84 in overtime on Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.
Tiara Young's 25 points led SMU (14-13; 8-8 American Athletic Conference). Young added five rebounds and three assists. TK Pitts scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed nine boards. The sophomore guard added two assists, a block, and a steal. Chantae Embry finished with 18 points, six boards, and two assists.
Reagan Bradley filled the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Maya Chandler logged seven points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Jiya Perry tallied four points and six rebounds, and Donavia Hall scored four points and added three rebounds and two assists.
The teams went blow for blow in overtime, but Young hit a free throw and finished a drive to put SMU up four with 13 seconds to play. Pitts stole a pass to seal the victory.
Chandler nailed a three-pointer to give SMU back the lead after Wichita State tied it at 58 apiece early in the fourth. WSU used eight unanswered to tie the game again at 70. Young knocked down two free throws, and Chandler recorded a steal and then a bucket on the other end to give SMU a four-point advantage with a minute to play. The teams went back and forth down the stretch, and the Shockers hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
SMU finished the first quarter on a 16-2 run, led by six points from both Pitts and Embry during the stretch to lead 26-18 after the first quarter. The Mustangs rattled off six in a row after Wichita State hit a three-pointer to start the game. The Mustangs momentum rolled into the second quarter. Five more points from Pitts helped the sophomore guard set a new career high and highlighted seven unanswered that gave SMU an 11-point lead at the second-quarter media timeout.
Tulsa 76, Temple 67
The junior duo of Temira Poindexter and Delanie Crawford strike again as the pair combined for 54 points in Tulsa's 76-67 decision Wednesday over the first-place Temple Owls Wednesday in the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. The Golden Hurricane rose to 21-8 overall and 11-5 in American Athletic Conference play to tie with North Texas and Temple atop the league standings.
Poindexter had her fifth game of 30 or more points as the Sapulpa, Okla., native dropped 30 against the Owls Wednesday night. She now has 604 points on the year, joining Allison Curtin and Taleya Mayberry as the third player in program history to surpass 600 in a season. Conversely, Crawford's 24 points move her to 11th place on the Tulsa career scoring chart with 1,093 points.
Free throws made a huge difference for the Hurricane as Tulsa went 19-for-22 at the line, putting up a season-best percentage of 86.4 percent.
Another new season-high was set on defense as Tulsa registered a whopping 12 blocks on the night, five of which came from Hadley Periman, two from Poindexter and one by five other Hurricane.
Poindexter and Hadley Periman each had nine boards to lead Tulsa's rebounders. Mady Cartwright chipped in 11 points for her 10th double-digit scoring game, while Periman and Crawford each led with three assists.
Though Temple went only 2-of-16 in three-pointers, three Owls reached double-figures in points, including Tiarra East (16), Aleah Nelson (16) and Demi Washington (15).
Florida Atlantic 80, Tulane 67
Alexa Zaph's career-defining performance helped lead the Florida Atlantic Owls (10-17, 5-11 AAC) to a huge 13-point victory over the Tulane Green Wave (10-17, 3-13 AAC) on Wednesday night at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
Zaph became the first Owl in program history to go perfect from 3-point range shooting seven or more 3-pointers, tying a career-best 22 points in the win.
The Owls got off to a slow start, falling behind 16-11 to open the contest, but a triple from Maria Myklebust closed out the opening period to cut the Owls' deficit down to just two after one, 16-14.
Alexa Zaph's second 3-pointer of the day sparked a 12-0 Florida Atlantic run to open the second, giving the Owls' their first lead of the day, 26-16. Tulane then went on an 11-4 run to cut the Owls' lead to just three, 30-27, but Devyn Scott knocked down her first triple of the day to close out the half, sending the Owls into the locker room leading by six, 33-27.
The Green Wave battled over the first five minutes of the third period, mounting a 12-5 run to retake the lead, their first since the opening period, 39-38, however Dyllan Hanna knocked down a free throw at the 3:37-minute mark to tie the game at 39. The Owls locked in over the final three minutes of the third, producing a 13-4 run to close out the third and push the Florida Atlantic lead back to nine, 52-43, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
Hanna extended the Owls' lead back to double figures to open the fourth, 54-43. The Owls continued to pressure the Green Wave, outscoring Tulane 14-9through the 4:53-minute mark, which was capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Zaph, to push the Owls' lead to their largest of the contest at 16, 68-52. The Green Wave tried to battle back, cutting the Owls' advantage to just nine, 75-66, with 1:43 to play, but it wasn't enough as Florida Atlantic would ride a 4-1 run over the final minute of play to capture the 80-67 win.
Memphis 60, UTSA 53
The University of Memphis women's basketball team picked up its fourth-straight win Wednesday night following a 60-53 victory over UTSA.
With the victory, Memphis moves to 12-15 overall and 8-8 in American Athletic Conference play.
After the Tigers faced a 14-13 deficit after the first quarter, Memphis jumped out to as much as a seven-point lead after Ki'Ari Caindrained a transition three-pointer from the near wing in the second frame.
Memphis was able to string together a 6-0 run midway through the quarter after Madison Griggs maneuvered her way through UTSA defenders for the easy bucket before Kai Carter sank a free throw and Layken Cox laid in a second-chance putback in the paint.
While the Tigers held the Roadrunners scoreless for nearly three minutes, UTSA got one last basket from Cheyenne Rowe to end the half as the Tigers took a 29-24 lead into halftime.
UTSA opened the third quarter with two quick buckets to tie the game at 29-29.
In response, Memphis put together a 7-0 run over the next 60 seconds to regain the lead following a short jumper from Cain. While the Tigers tried to slow down the Roadrunners, UTSA's offense surged late in the frame, taking its first lead since the opening tip.
With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, Memphis fought to get back in front.
Baskets from Carter, Alasia Smith and Hannah Riddick kept the Tigers within reaching distance as they took the 43-42 disadvantage into the final 10 minutes of the game.
An explosive 10-2 run to open the fourth quarter gave the Tigers the surge they needed.
The trio of Carter, Griggs and Riddick smashed the Roadrunners thoughts of making a comeback as they forced UTSA to take a timeout with 5:41 left in the game.
With the 52-45 lead, Memphis relied on defensive pressure and clutch free throws from Riddick and Destyne Jackson in the final seconds as it claimed the 60-53 victory for the team's fourth win in a row.
Madison Griggs led all players with 13 points while Alasia Smith picked up her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Kai Carter was the only other Tiger to reach double figures with 11 points – seven of which came from the charity stripe.
With just two games left in the regular season, Memphis now sits in a five-way tie for 7th place in the AAC.