Florida Atlantic 68, Rice 63
A dominant fourth-quarter performance lifted the Florida Atlantic Owls (7-14, 2-8 The American) to a 68-63 comeback win over the Rice Owls (12-9, 6-4 The American) on Saturday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
Saturday's win marked the program's 500th all-time win during its 40-year history.
Rice opened the contest on an 8-3 run, however the Owls answered back off a layup from Janeta Rozentale and a 3-pointer from Alexa Zaph to even things at eight through the five-minute mark of the first. Rice closed the opening quarter on a 6-2 run to hold a 14-10 lead after the first.
The Rice Owls scored five unanswered to open the second, extending their lead to nine, 19-10. The Owls battled back through the 1:31-minute mark, producing a 15-6 run to bring the contest even at 25-25 after a Jada Moore layup. The Owls took a two-point advantage at 29-27 after a pair of free throws from Dyllan Hanna, however Rice netted an and-1 to close out the opening half to take a slight 30-29 lead into the break.
The second half was a tale of two quarters. Rozentale scored the first field goal of the third to bring things even at 31-31 at the 8:51-minute mark, however Rice outmuscled the Owls in the third, outscoring the Owls 18-7 over the remainder of the quarter to lead 49-38 heading into the fourth.
Staring down an 11-point deficit with 10 minutes to play, the Owls had one mission, continue fighting until the final buzzer. The Owls started quick in the fourth, scoring eight unanswered points over the first two minutes of the period to close the gap to just three at 49-46. Rice got two back off a pair of free throws to extend its lead back to five, 51-46, however the Owls scored on back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Maria Myklebust, Rozentale, and Alexa Zaph to take a 55-53 lead with 4:11 to play. Florida Atlantic battled through four ties through a 61-61 stalemate with 49 seconds to play. Aniya Hubbard hit a clutch jumper from just barely inside the 3-point arc, pushing the Owls back in front 63-31. Moore knocked down a pair of free throws and Hubbard tallied one as well to push the Owls lead to five, 66-61, with 19 seconds to play. Rice got two more free throws, but it wasn't enough as Jada Moore tacked on two more for the Owls to seal the 68-63 win.
SMU 81, Memphis 73
Behind Chantae Embry's career-high 26 points, the SMU women's basketball team defeated Memphis 81-73 on Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum.
SMU shot 62.5% (30-48) from the field, tying the second-best shooting performance in program history and the best in Moody Coliseum.
Embry's 26 led SMU's (11-11; 5-6 American Athletic Conference) four double-digit scorers. Embry added three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. Tiara Young finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Reagan Bradley scored 14 points and passed out eight assists, and Amirah Abdur-Rahim logged 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two assists.
TK Pitts scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, and added two assists and two blocks, and Maya Chandler turned in seven points, four assists, and three steals. Jiya Perry chipped in two points and two rebounds.
SMU countered an early Memphis three-pointer with an 8-0 run. The Mustangs finished the quarter making seven of their nine attempts from the field, including triples from Embry, Young, and Chandler, to lead 21-16 after the first quarter.
The Mustangs' strong shooting performance continued as they forced a Memphis timeout after starting the second quarter on a 10-3 run. Memphis made its last four field goals of the half to cut their deficit to six at halftime. SMU shot 68% (17-25) from the field and 67% (4-6) from the three-point line in the first half.
The Tigers climbed within one in the third, but SMU countered with eight straight points to take a 57-48 lead and force a Memphis timeout halfway through the period. Bradley and Young each converted and-one layups to extend the lead back to double digits. The Tigers made another run, but Embry drilled her second triple of the night to give SMU an eight-point lead entering the fourth.
South Florida 72, UAB 69
Freshman guard Vittoria Blasigh led all scorers with 21 points in South Florida women's basketball's (14-9, 6-4 The American), 72-69, victory against UAB (16-6, 7-3 The American) on Saturday at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Ala. The victory marked USF's third straight win in American Conference play.
Redshirt junior forward Romi Levy added 18 points, marking her 14 double-digit performance of the season. Sophomore wing Carla Brito (15 points) rounded out the Bull in double-figures. Senior forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt and Sophomore forward evenly split 18 points.
A layup by the Blazer's Denim Deshields put UAB in front, 69-68. Eighteen seconds later Lutje Schipholt made a field goal and the Bulls were back up, 70-69 with under a minute to play. Coming back after a South Florida timeout, Gonzalez was fouled by UAB's Maddie Walsh. Gonzalez then connected on both makes at the line with 16 ticks to go, ultimately securing the Bulls victory.