Women's Basketball: Nov. 28 Scoreboard
Abilene Christian 88, George Mason 86
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 57, Kent State 47
Southern California 88, Sam Houston State 67
UC Riverside 90, Stephen F. Austin 62
Fordham University 74, UIW 42
Abilene Christian 88, George Mason 86
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An off-balance fadeaway jumper by junior Whitney West with six seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner as Abilene Christian women's basketball held on to beat George Mason of the Atlantic 10, 88-86, Friday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center on the campus of UMKC during day one of the Plaza Lights Classic.
The Wildcats (4-1) led by 10 at the break and by as many as 15 points during the early stages of the second half, but the Patriots (3-3) proved to be relentless during the second half, coming back twice from double-digit deficits.
After a 3-pointer from West put the Wildcats ahead by 11 points at 80-69 with 4:22 remaining, George Mason countered with a trey by Jasmine Jackson, and then converted back-to-back Wildcat turnovers in four points.
ACU freshman Alyssa Echols then hit a jumper in the paint to make it a six-point game, but soon afterward the Patriots took off on a 5-0 run and then tied the score at 84-84 on a wide-open three by Qierra Murray.
With the score tied for only the third time all game and first since the 13:11 mark of the first half, West hit the first of her two tie-breaking jump shots with :41 seconds to go. That lead did not last long, however, as the Patriots' all-conference selection Taylor Brown buried her final two free throws of the game to finish with 18 points.
On the ensuing possession, West dribbled down into paint despite Brown providing a fair amount of defensive pressure, took a step back to create some room, and let fly a off-balance shot that hit off the glass and through the hoop.
Brown attempted one final shot with two seconds remainign to finish with 21 tries, but it was blocked by West and into the arms of Lizzy Dimba.
ACU went into halftime ahead by 10 points at 43-33 as the Wildcats received 20 points on 7-12 shooting (4-8 3-pointers) from sophomore guard Alexis Mason. The Wildcats also got help from a rare technical foul on the George Mason bench for listing a wrong uniform in the scorebook, and ultimately, those two free throws made by Lizzy Dimba proved to be the difference in the ball game.
ACU shot .486 from the field For the game and were .346 from 3-point range with four starters finishing in double figures: Mason (28), West (15), Sydney Shelstead (19) and Suzzy Dimba (18).
Shelstead and Suzzy Dimba also posted double-doubles for the second consecutive game with Shelstead collecting 11 rebounds and Dimba with a game-high 12. Lizzy Dimba had 10 rebounds to go along with her six points.
Brown tied for her team in lead in scoring (18 points) with Jasmine Jackson. Sandra Ngoie had a double-double for the Patriots with 11 rebounds and 13 points.
The Wildcats complete their stay in Kansas City Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. home game vs. the host Roos. UMKC downed the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State earlier today, 62-46, to improve to 2-3 on the young season, while the visiting Devils remain winless at 0-4.
Mason and Mississippi Valley State will meet Saturday at 1 p.m.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 57, Kent State 47
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Shay Weaver scored a career-high 25 points in a 57-47 Islanders victory over Kent State in the opening game of the Cal Poly Holiday Tournament Friday afternoon.
The Islanders (1-3) lead by as many as 12 points in the second half. Kent State was able to cut into the lead thanks two shot behind the arc and a pair of free throws. The Islanders stifled the Golden Flashes' 8-0 run as
Kassie Jones hit a running jumper with 4:23 left in the game. Weaver then hit a three as the shot clock expired to end any chance of a Kent State comeback.
A&M - Corpus Christi picked up the offense in the second half as they outscored the Golden Flashes (1-4) 31-to-27, but more importantly the team shot a solid 46.2 percent from the field after a less-than stellar shooting performance in the first half.
Weaver hit four 3-pointers in the contest, leading the Islanders. The transfer junior also chipped in three steals to go along with three assists.
Olivia Fouty recorded 13 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Jennifer Ramirez dished out four assists to go with her season-high seven points while
Camesha Davis chipped in five points and grabbed five rebounds in the game.
Montia Johnson led the way for the Golden Flashes with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
At the break, A&M - Corpus Christi led Kent State, 26-20. It was the first time this season that the team took a lead into the locker room thanks in part to the Islanders two leading scorers. Fouty finished the first half with a game-high nine points while Weaver finished with eight.
A&M - Corpus Christi was able to outscore Kent State in the paint 16-to-8 at the break. Fouty recorded several point-blank layup in the half to help the Islanders to an early 12-6 lead. Outside of the paint not much fell for either team. The Golden Flashes shot just 32 percent while the Islanders shot just a hair better at 32.4 percent.
The Islanders will wrap up the holiday tourney Saturday as they take on host school, Cal Poly at 7 p.m. CST.
For the latest team information, like the team on Facebook (Islanders Women's Basketball), and follow the Islanders on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersWBB).
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Southern California 88, Sam Houston State 67
Dallas, Texas – Led by junior guard Shernise Robertson, the Sam Houston women’s basketball game had its best offensive performance of the young 2014-15 season in an 88-67 loss to Southern California Friday on the first night of the SMU Thanksgiving Classic at Moody Coliseum.
Robertson totaled 17 points and four other Bearkats scored in double figures. The SHSU women posted season best 43 per cent shooting (26-of-60) from the field and scored a team high total points.
Saundra Guillory and Taylor Dorsey each scored 11 points while Morghen Day and Jasmin Anderson added 10 points apiece.
McKenzie Calvert led both teams with 19 points while Courtney Jaco added 14 more for USC. The Trojans upped their season mark to 4-1 while the Kats fell to 0-4.
Sam Houston kept things close for most of the first half, trailing by three points 16-13 after a layup by Dorsey nine minutes into the game and down six points 24-18 following a Robertson three-pointer nine minutes before half.
But Southern California went on a late 16-4 run to build a 40-22 lead and went into the locker room at halftime ahead 45-28.
The SHSU women never got closer than 14 points in the second half. USC’s biggest lead was 29 points.
Sam Houston will take on the loser of the SMU-Florida A&M matchup Friday in the tournament’s third-place game Saturday at 5 p.m.
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UC Riverside 90, Stephen F. Austin 62
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team fell behind early in the first game of the New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic on Friday night and couldn’t recover, falling 90-62 to UC Riverside. The game was played on the campus of the University of New Mexico in ‘The Pit’.
Senior guard Brittney Matthew led the Ladyjacks (3-2) with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and knocked down a game-high four triples. The total was a season-high for the Houston native.
Senior center Porsha Roberts tallied 14 points and six rebounds for SFA while sophomore guard Taylor Ross chipped in 12 points. The duo each went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to help the Ladyjacks go a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe overall in the game. Junior Paulletta Powell knocked down the other pair of free throws.
The Highlanders (4-0) started hot and kept the pace for the entire game, connecting on 63 percent of their shots including a 57.1 percent mark (8-for-14) from three-point range. Junior guard Brittany Crain led UCR with 35 points (13-for-21 shooting) in 35 minutes. She currently ranks fifth in the nation with 28.5 points per game.
UCR scored the first six points in the game and got out to a 14-2 lead before sophomore Brentney Branch recorded the first field goal for SFA – a deep three-pointer from the left wing. Branch hit two threes for the Ladyjacks on the night.
The Highlanders used an 18-0 advantage in points off turnovers to take a 45-26 lead into the break.
SFA shot the ball better in the second half, dropping in 44.4 percent of its shots with a 4-for-8 mark from beyond the arc. The Ladyjacks cut the deficit to 15 with 11:41 to play on a pair of free throws by Powell, but couldn’t cool off the Highlanders’ shooters the rest of the way to the 90-62 final.
SFA will play either New Mexico or Boston University on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. CT depending on the result of Friday’s late game. For updates on Saturday’s contest, follow the Ladyjacks on Twitter @SFA_WBB.
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Fordham University 74, UIW 42
Recap to follow,