South Florida back on court, routs Tulsa after month away
TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 14 SOUTH FLORIDA 67, TULSA 46
TAMPA, Fla. — Bethy Mununga had 19 points and 15 rebounds and No. 14 South Florida played its first game in a month, beating Tulsa 6746 on Saturday.
USF (11-1, 8-0 American Athletic), which hasn’t played since Jan. 13 due to covid-19 issues within the program, won its program-best 10th consecutive game including eight by double digits.
Sydni Harvey made four three-pointers and scored 14 points for the Bulls. Elisa Pinzan had 13 points and matched a career best with six steals. The pair each had seven of the Bulls’ 19 assists. Mihaela Lazic added 10 points.
Wyvette Mayberry scored 18 points off the bench to lead Tulsa (5-9, 4-9), which is winless against the Bulls (0-9). The Golden Hurricane missed 14 of 15 from long range and finished 18-of-62 shooting (29%) from the floor.
Mununga had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first half as USF closed on a 10-0 run for 33-20 halftime advantage. The Bulls held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
NO. 17 GONZAGA 67, SANTA CLARA 50
SPOKANE, Wash. — Melody Kempton and twins Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth each scored 12 points and No. 17 Gonzaga used a big second quarter to defeat Santa Clara.
Jill Townsend added 10 points for the Bulldogs (18-2, 13-0 West Coast), who have won 17 in a row.
Gonzaga, which bolted to a 27-10 lead after one quarter en route to a 71-52 victory in the first meeting, matched its lowest opening quarter of the season on Saturday for a 12-8 lead.
The teams swapped three-pointers in the first 70 seconds of the second quarter before the Bulldogs took over on both ends, scoring 19 in a row to lead 34-11 at the half. Gonzaga was 8 of 14 from the floor with Kempton scoring eight points while the Broncos missed nine shots and had six turnovers.
Santa Clara (12-8, 8-6), which had won four of five, made a push in the third quarter, using an 11-0 run to outscore the Zags 24-12. The Broncos pulled within 41-33 on a three-pointer by Lana Hollingsworth to cap the run at the 2:17 mark. Abby O’Connor answered with a three-pointer and Cierra Walker hit a pair of free throws for Gonzaga before Santa Clara pulled within 46-35 when Ashlee Maldonado laid it in as time ran out.
Gonzaga quickly regained control with Jenn Wirth scoring the first points of the fourth quarter and LeeAnne Wirth the next four.
The teams matched up statistically except for rebounding where the Bulldogs had a 43-24 lead. With an 18-5 difference in offensive rebounds and the Zags going plus-5 on turnovers, Gonzaga put up 17 more shots.
Merle Wiehl led Santa Clara with 11 points.
NO. 23 S. DAKOTA STATE 82, ORAL ROBERTS 60
TULSA — Myah Selland scored 18 points, Sydney Stapleton had all nine of her points in a stunning second quarter and No. 23 South Dakota State rolled to a victory over Oral Roberts.
The Jackrabbits (16-2, 9-1 Summit) bolted to their 13th consecutive win by hitting all 11 of their field-goal attempts, seven from three-point range, to outscore the Golden Eagles 32-13 in the second quarter. They were 3 of 4 from the foul line.
Eight different players scored, five hitting a three-pointer and Stapleton hitting three.
Despite that dominating quarter, the Jackrabbits finished 10 of 24 from three-point range and 42% overall. That was enough with a 51-28 rebounding advantage and 39% shooting by Oral Roberts.
Tori Nelson contributed 12 points and Madysen Vlastuin 10 for South Dakota State. Selland, Nelson and Paiton Burckhard all grabbed seven rebounds and Selland had five assists.
Tierney Coleman and Keni Jo Lippe scored 16 each for Oral Roberts (1611, 4-5).
NO. 25 MISSOURI STATE 73, ILLINOIS STATE 72
NORMAL, Ill. — Brice Calip scored with 1.4 seconds left to give No. 25 Missouri State a victory over Illinois State for the Lady Bears’ ninth consecutive victory.
Missouri State (13-2, 9-0 Missouri Valley) fell behind by 16 early in the second quarter and trailed 54-47 after three but grabbed the lead with a 7-0 run midway through the final period. There were three ties and four lead changes after that.
Sydney Wilson stole the ball off an inbounds and put the Lady Bears up one with 14 seconds remaining. Juliunn Redmond responded with a drive down the middle. Following a timeout, Calip took the inbounds and drove the right side, putting in a short one-hander while falling backward with 1.4 left.
Calip finished with 11 points and eight assists. Jasmine Franklin (Fayetteville) scored 15 points, Elle Ruffridge 13 and Abby Hipp 12 for Missouri State, which also rallied from 16 points down to beat then-No. 12 Maryland on Nov. 28.
Illinois State (9-6, 6-6), which fell behind 24-9 after the first quarter in a 69-52 loss to the Lady Bears on Friday, went on an 11-0 run early in the opening quarter on Saturday and led 23-17 at the end of the period. The Redbirds opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run with six points from Redmond to lead by 16. They led 40-29 at halftime.
Terrion Moore scored a career-high 22 points and Redmond added 19 along with a game-high nine rebounds. Mary Crompton scored 10 points.
The Redbirds shot 54% to the Lady Bears’ 43% but were bested on the offensive boards 11-3 which gave Missouri State nine more second-chance points.