UTA Knocks Off Stephen F. Austin in First Round of WNIT
ARLINGTON, Texas – The UTA women's basketball team picked up a historic 60-54 win over SFA in the opening round of the WNIT on Thursday night at the College Park Center.
With the win, the Lady Mavs advance to the second round to face TCU in Fort Worth on Saturday, March 23 at 2 p.m. The win also gives head coach Krista Gerlich her 100th victory at UTA, secured the program's first postseason tournament victory and gave the Lady Mavs 24 wins on the season, which ties the program's all-time single-season win total (2006-07; 24-9 overall, Head Coach Donna Capps).
Cierra Johnson finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 from behind the arc and a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. C. Johnson also added five steals and three boards in 28 minutes. Daiane Machado chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Aysia Evans added seven points and a pair of assists. Katie Ferrell registered six points, six boards, three assists, three steals and a block.
The Ladyjacks (25-7) jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead on the second of two first-quarter treys by Chanell Hayes. SFA knocked down 80 percent of their shots in the opening quarter of play, but the Lady Mavericks (24-7) would stay in the game by doubling the number of shots SFA attempted and forcing the Ladyjacks into five first period turnovers. As a result, the game was tied 19-19 heading into the second quarter of play.
UTA opened the second quarter on a 15-2 run, increasing their lead to 34-21 with nearly five minutes left in the second quarter. SFA then used a 15-2 run of their own to tie the game at 36-36 with 23 seconds left in the half. A buzzer beating turn-around jumper from Ferrell gave the Lady Mavericks a two-point lead, 38-36, at the intermission.
The Lady Mavs would extend their lead to 47-41 midway through the third quarter, but a 5-0 run by SFA to close out the third quarter cut the UTA lead down to three points (49-46) heading into the fourth.
Trailing UTA 49-46 to start the final quarter, the Ladyjacks opened with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the contest since the opening quarter, as a pair of layups and a jumper forced UTA to call a timeout trailing 52-49.
C. Johnson's three-point play tied the game at 54-54, before Evans' jumper gave UTA a 56-54 lead (4:22). The Lady Mavericks would hold SFA scoreless the rest of the way to pick up the 60-54 victory.
Troy Falls Late to UAB in WNIT First Round
TROY, Alabama – In a wire-to-wire, back-and-forth affair UAB came out on top, 93-89, in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Thursday in Trojan Arena.
The game saw 26 lead changes and eight players finish in double figures as the Blazers (26-6) went on a 13-5 run to end the game and advance to the second round.
After a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, Troy (22-9) led 84-77 with 3:35 to play. UAB then hit three straight baskets, including a pair of three-pointers, to kick start an 14-2 run and take a 91-86 advantage. Harriett Winchester knocked down a three with two seconds to play, but time ran out on the Trojans as UAB iced the game with a pair of free throws.
In front of a Troy women’s record crowd of 2,451 fans, neither team separated itself throughout the course of the game as each squad only led by as many as seven during the contest. Troy shot 41 percent (34-83) for the game and 61.5 percent (8-13) in the final quarter, while UAB converted 52.2 percent (36-69) of its shots.
Jasmine LeBlanc turned in a near-career day with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, one point off her single game-best of 24 against Old Dominion when she was with Louisiana Tech. LeBlanc also turned in eight rebounds and four steals. The junior scored in double figures in six of the final 11 games of the year.
Katelynn Thomas was 12-of-17 from the field to finish with a game-high 25 points, while Deanna Kuzmanic had 22. Imani Johnson added 17 points and six boards and Angela Vendrell chipped in with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Junior guard Kayla Robinson returned to form turning in 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Japonica James was a rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine boards. Amber Rivers was the fourth Trojan in double digits with 11 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Troy says goodbye to three seniors, Sky’Lynn Holmes, Shaterrika O’Neal and Amahni Upshaw, but returns three starters and 82.4 percent of its offensive output.
Coastal Falls to Campbell in WBI First Round
CONWAY - Junior guard DJ Williams scored a career high 33 points for Coastal Carolina, but the Chanticleers' last-minute comeback attempt fell just short as Campbell earned a 58-54 victory in a first-round game of the 2019 Women's Basketball Invitational Thursday at the HTC Center.
Coastal trailed 55-52 before a pair of free throws by Williams put Coastal within two points with 37 seconds left in the game. Campbell had an empty possession and Coastal managed two contested shots in the lane in the final seconds. Neither hit the mark, and junior guard Hayley Barber made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to close the scoring. Barber finished with a team-high 17 points to lead the Camels, including 14 in the second half.
The loss finishes the Coastal season at 17-15, while Campbell improved to 22-12 and moves on to the second round of the WBI.
Williams made 12-22 shots (54%) but the rest of her team went just 9-25 from the field (36%). Williams also made 9-13 free throws and had seven rebounds and three assists. Williams was the only player in double figures for Coastal. Sophomore forward Janae Camp was the next highest scorer with six points.
Junior center Naheria Hamilton had nine rebounds to lead Coastal's 43-27 advantage on the boards.
Coastal used a 6-0 run early in the third quarter to take a 34-28 lead, but Campbell battled back to take the lead for good at 47-45 on Shy Tuelle's short jumper with 6:30 remaining. Campbell took its largest lead of five points at 53-48 with under three minutes left.
Williams hit a jumper to pull the Chanticleers within three, but they hurt their chances by making only 3-8 free throws down the stretch. Conversely, Campbell made 3-4 free throws in the final minute. Coastal finished just 12-20 from the line, while Campbell made 13-19.
Coastal also went without making a three-point shot for the first time all season. The Chanticleers were 0-8 from long range, while Campbell converted 7-17 from beyond the arch to make the difference.
Williams already had 14 points in the first half when Coastal looked like it had things going its way. Williams scored five of her points in a 7-0 run that gave the Chanticleers a 19-12 lead early in the second quarter. Campbell countered with a 13-5 run to close the quarter to take a slim 25-24 lead at the break.
PANTHERS END SEASON WITH WBI DEFEAT
FLORENCE, Ala. - Georgia State fell 64-57 at North Alabama in the first round of the Postseason Women's Basketball Invitational Thursday night in Florence.
With the loss, the Panthers end their historical 2018-19 season with a 17-14 record. Its the most wins in a season for GSU since the team won 18 games in 2003-04.
Georgia State fell behind early Thursday to the Lions, but rallied to tied the game at 18-18 in the second quarter. UNA retook the lead and didn't relinquish it.
The Lions got 20 points from Emma Wallen and 19 from Ivy Wallen. The Panthers had four players finish in double figures led by Allison Johnson with 13.
Kierra Henry finished with 12 points and Walnatia Wright and Janessa Murphy scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Georgia State stayed within five points for much of the second half, but couldn't get the big shot to even the score.
"It's a tough way for the season to end, but I want to thank all the fans that supported us all year wrong," first-year head coach Gene Hill said. "We're going to learn from this and keep building on this season."