UCF knocks off top-seeded SMU in Conference USA women's tournament
BY MIKE MOGUIN World Correspondent
Friday, March 15, 2013
3/15/13 at 3:04 AM
Get complete coverage of the C-USA Tournament.
Gevenia Carter scored 20 points, Briahanna Jackson added 18, and Sara Djassi chipped in 11 as UCF knocked top-seeded SMU out of the Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday with a 70-66 victory.
The No. 8 seed Knights (15-17) lost to the Mustangs by 15 points Jan. 13 in Dallas.
"The key things were defense and rebounding," UCF coach Joi Williams said. "In the second half, we did that a lot."
UCF thrived on thefts against the Mustangs, mostly in the first half, setting up some scores with fast breaks. It had 10 by halftime and finished with 13.
With the Knights up 69-66 and five seconds left, Conference USA player of the year Keena Mayes missed a 3-point shot that could have tied the game. A free throw by Carter sealed the game with 1.8 seconds left.
Mayes led SMU (21-9) with 15 points. Alisha Filmore scored 12 and Korina Baker and Akil Simpson each logged 11. Filmore also grabbed 12 rebounds.
SMU led 33-32 at halftime. It used 7-2 run to lead 52-45 with 9:29 left in the game.
But the Knights fired back with a 13-3 spurt and took the lead at 58-55 after a pair of 3s from Jackson.
A jumper by Destinye Hives-McCray tied the score at 62-62 with 3:46 remaining.
UTEP 61, UAB 59: No. 5 seed UTEP used a late run to rally past UAB.
After fourth-seeded UAB went up 47-39 with seven minutes left, the Miners took over, outscoring the Blazers 22-12 the rest of the way.
"These guys wanted to win," UTEP coach Keith Adams said. "They hit some big ones.
But there were some dramatics in the end.
Two free throws by Chrishauna Parker gave UTEP a 56-52 lead with 27.3 seconds left.
UAB's Karisma Chapman, who led the team with 24 points, got a pair of baskets to draw her team to within 58-56 with 8.2 seconds left.
The Blazers got a 3-pointer from Amber Jones with 1.7 seconds left to draw within 60-59. UTEP's Anete Steinberga was fouled and hit one free throw. UAB's Kelsee Weynand attempted a desperation 3-pointer, but did not get the shot off in time.
Kaylan Thornton led UTEP with 15 points, Steinberga scored 14 and Kelli Willingham added 11.
Karisma Chapman led UAB with 24 points, and Ashley Grimes finished with 10.
East Carolina 89, Southern Miss 60: Four players finished in double figures as the No. 2 seed routed the No. 10 seed.
Kristine Mial led the Pirates (22-8) with 17 points, Britny Edwards finished with 16 and Whitny Edwards and Kyan White scored 12 each.
East Carolina will meet No. 6 seed Tulsa, a 75-67 winner against third-seeded Tulane, in Friday's semifinal game. That game is set for 12:30 p.m. at the BOK Center.
The Golden Eagles (15-16) were led by Jamierra Faulkner's 18 points. Jerontay Clemons also scored 12 and Niesha Pierce also scored 11.
The teams split their regular-season series, including a 75-66 win by Southern Miss last week in Hattiesburg, Miss. But Thursday's game did not resemble that.
A 10-0 run gave East Carolina a 17-8 lead with 13:21 left in the first half. The Pirates led 38-29 at halftime, then began pulling away.
A jumper from Mial pushed the her team's lead to 50-35 with 15:05 left in the game.
The Pirates totaled 15 steals and finished with a 45-35 rebounding advantage over Southern Miss. They would shoot 47 percent (35-of-74) on field goals and 70 percent (14-of-20) in free throws and hold Southern Miss to just 22 shots on 55 attempts (40 percent).
The Golden Eagles converted 67 percent (14-of-21) from the free-throw line.
Original Print Headline: UCF knocks off top-seeded SMU
Tickets
Men's single-session: $22, $32, $42, $52, $62
Women's single-session: $10, available on a walk-up basis at the BOK Center Friday and Saturday.
To purchase: Online at tulsaworld.com/cusachampionships, by telephone at 866-726-5287 or in person at the BOK Center box office.
Any child under 12 will receive a free ticket to Saturday's men's championship game with the purchase of an adult ticket. These ticket purchases may be made only at the BOK Center box office and only apply to Saturday. A men's ticket gets the ticket holder access to women's games as well.
shuttle service
Shuttles will serve fans at the C-USA men's and women's basketball tournament from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Red Line
Stop 1: 33rd & Peoria (Brookside)
Stop 2: 22nd & Utica (Utica Square)
Stop 3: 15th & Rockford (Cherry Street)
Stop 4: 18th & Main
Blue Line
Stop 1: 4th & Boston (Deco District)
Stop 2: First & Detroit (Blue Dome)
Stop 3: Brady & Main (Brady Arts)
Associated Images:
UCF players celebrate on the court after beating top-seeded SMU in a quarterfinal game Thursday at the Tulsa Convention Center. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
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