UH delivers stunner
The University of Houston strengthened its case for an at-large bid in the NCAA women’s tournament Saturday, upsetting No. 13 South Florida 67-49 at Fertitta Center.
Laila Blair had 15 points, Dymond Gladney added 11 points and Britney Onyeje had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who picked up their signature win in seven seasons under coach Ron Hughey.
“We’ve put in a lot of hard work,” Hughey said. “It was time for it to show.”
UH extended its winning streak to seven games, beating its highest ranked opponent since knocking off No. 13 TCU 76-71 on Feb. 27, 2004. UH had lost 29 straight games against ranked teams.
Down 14-10, UH took control with a 19-4 run to end the second quarter and did not trail the remainder of the game.
Entering Saturday, UH (15-5, 12-4 AAC) was among the “Last Four Out” in ESPN’s bracket projections for the NCAA Tournament.
Elena Tsineke had a game-high 24 points for USF, which had its schoolrecord 13-game winning streak snapped.
OKLAHOMA 68 TEXAS 63 (OT)
Gabby Gregory scored 19 points to lead the Sooners over the Longhorns in overtime.
Taylor Robertson had 14 points for Oklahoma (1010, 7-8 Big 12). Charli Collier scored 23 points for Texas (16-7, 10-6).
RICE 64
LOUISIANA TECH 53
Sophomore wing Lauren Schwartz tied a season-high by scoring a game-high 19 points as the Owls won their 19th consecutive game at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Rice (15-2, 11-1) swept the weekend series from Louisiana Tech (13-9, 8-8).
HOUSTON BAPTIST 61 MCNEESE ST. 45
Timia Jefferson scored 19 points and N’Denasija added 17 to lead the Huskies to a win at Sharp Gym.
Kennedy Wilson contributed 11 points for HBU (9-8, 5-5 Southland).
ALABAMA ST. 81 TEXAS SOUTHERN 73
Jayla Crawford and Shmya Ward scored 21 points each as the host Hornets beat the Tigers.
Ataiya Bridges led TSU (4-8, 3-7 Southwestern Athletic) with 28 points.
ALABAMA A&M 74 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 51
Deshawna Harper had 23 points and six assists as the Bulldogs beat the Panthers at Huntsville, Ala.
Diana Rosenthal led Prairie View A&M (3-10, 2-8 Southwestern Athletic) with 19 points.
Men
TEXAS SOUTHERN 86 ALABAMA ST. 76
Michael Weathers matched his season high with 23 points as the Tigers beat the host Hornets.
Weathers made 10 of 11 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds.
John Walker III had 14 points and nine rebounds for Texas Southern (10-8, 7-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference).
MCNEESE ST. 85 HOUSTON BAPTIST 58
Dru Kuxhausen scored 20 points and A.J. Lawson had 19 points and five assists as the Cowboys beat the Huskies at Lake Charles, La.
Pedro Castros led HBU (4-16, 3-9 Southland) with 17 points.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 55 ALABAMA A&M 54
D’Rell Roberts’ threepoint play with 1:43 remaining provided the winning points as the Panthers beat the Bulldogs at Normal, Ala., for their 10th straight win.
Jawaun Daniels posted 12 points and seven rebounds and Faite Williams had 10 points for Prairie View A&M (11-4, 10-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference).
Jalen Johnson had 17 points for Alabama A&M (6-6, 4-6), which has lost four straight games.
LAMAR 88
S.F. AUSTIN 83 (2OT)
Kasen Harrison scored 22 points and Ellis Jefferson had 16 as the Cardinals beat the Lumberjacks at Beaumont.
Roti Ware had a gamehigh 24 points for Stephen F. Austin and Gavin Kensmil contributed 20 points and 17 rebounds.
TCU 76, IOWA ST. 72
RJ Nembhard scored 11 of his 19 points in the final seven minutes of the game, and the Horned Frogs snapped their threegame losing streak by holding off the Cyclones at Ames, Iowa.
Nembhard made four free throws in the final 11 seconds.
TCU (12-10, 5-8 Big 12) went a perfect 18 of 18 at the foul line in the game.