Nov. 12, 2007
IRVING, Texas -
Rice opened its season by winning the Winthrop Adidas Classic in Rock Hill, S.C. The Owls defeated Navy, North Texas and host Winthrop, in overtime, for the tournament crown. Senior center Valeriya Berezhynska, C-USA Player of the Week, led Rice with 26.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, earning her Tournament MVP honors. The Ukraine native saved her best effort for the tournament finale and matched her career-high with 31 points against the host Eagles. She added 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double in her last eight outings dating back to last season. Maudess Fulton also put together a solid weekend as she averaged 15.7 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds per game. The New Jersey native was named to the all-tournament team after recording her first career-double against North Texas, tallying 16 points and 11 boards. She was two assists away from a triple-double against the Mean Green.
Also picking up season opening wins were East Carolina, Houston, Tulane and Southern Miss.
C-USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK, NOVEMBER 12
Six teams are in action Tuesday night.
UPCOMING MATCHES (ALL TIMES CT)
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Old Dominion at East Carolina 7 p.m.
SMU at Texas A&M Corpus Christi 7 p.m.
Mcneese State at Southern Miss 7 p.m.
Georgia Tech at Tulane 7 p.m.
Oral Roberts at Tulsa 7 p.m.
Houston at Cal-State Bakersfield 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14
UAB at Illinois 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 15
UCF at North Florida 6 p.m.
Houston at Cal-Poly 7 p.m.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi at UTEP 8:05 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 16
Tulane at Stephen F. Austin 4 p.m.
East Carolina at Long Island 7 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana at Memphis 7 p.m.
Rice at Cal State Northridge 7 p.m.
Mercer at Southern Miss 7 p.m.
Marshall vs. IUPUI3 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17
UAB at Auburn 2 p.m.
Tulsa at South Alabama 5 p.m.
Marshall vs. Miami (Ohio)/Radford3 6/8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 18
Rice at UCLA 4 p.m.
Winthrop at Tulane 4 p.m.
TEAM CAPSULES
EAST CAROLINA (1-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Five Lady Pirates scored in double figures to lead East Carolina to a 97-52 win over Presbyterian Sunday afternoon in Minges Coliseum. Lauren Cochran and Allison Spivey led ECU, as they each scored 14 points, a career-high for Cochran. Every player that was dressed out scored at least five points. Both Spivey and Shuanda Ashford put on a show in their collegiate debuts, as they each scored in double figures, with 14 and 11, respectively. Preseason all-conference junior Jasmine Young also scored in double figures, adding 10. Senior Nicole Days led the game with 10 rebounds, adding eight points and three steals. LaCoya Terry registered eight points, 10 assists and two blocks on the day. The Lady Pirates will host Old Dominion Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. ET as part of a double-header with the men's basketball team.
HOUSTON (1-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Houston got the 2007-08 campaign started with a 76-58 win over Texas Southern, Friday, giving interim head coach Danny Hughes his first win. UH moved its all-time record to 25-8 in season openers and earned its eighth-straight win over TSU. The Cougars won the game in transition with 16 steals that were converted into 12 fast-break points. It was the most steals in a game for UH since Feb. 3, 2006, a 75-62 win over Rice. Senior Tye Jackson finished with a team-best 18. The 2007 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year has scored in double-figures in 24-consecutive games. Coming off a long layoff, 587 days to be exact, Twiggy McIntyre finished with nine points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Ryan Meyers showed no rust from her long layoff tallying 14 points and seven rebounds. Meyers missed all but the first nine games of the 2006-07 season due to injury. UH hits the road for a Tuesday matchup against Cal State Bakersfield at 9 p.m. CDT. UH closes out the two-game swing with a game against Cal Poly at 7 p.m. Thursday.
MARSHALL (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Marshall's final two games in the Preseason WNIT have been determined. The Thundering Herd will travel to Oxford, Ohio, to face Radford in the first consolation round before facing the winner of Friday's Miami and IUPUI match-up on Saturday. Marshall dropped its season WNIT opener to Evansville, 89-77, Friday at Robert Stadium in Evansville, Ind. The Herd held a 16-point lead in the second half but couldn't hang on. Alix Barnette led Marshall, scoring 15 points. Meg Withrow also had a solid game, notching 13 points to go along with six assists. She also led all players with five steals. Marshall was lights out in the first half, shooting 60-percent (21-of-35) from the field, including 62.5-percent (5-of-8) from three-point range. With 51 points scored in the half, it marked the first time MU had accomplished that feat since scoring 54 in the second half against UAB in the 2005-06 season. Aside from Barnette and Withrow, Alyssa Hammond and Casey Baker also made solid contributions. Hammond had 11 points and five rebounds while Baker had 10 points and four steals.
MEMPHIS (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Junior F Ashley Thornton had her fifth career double-double in just the first half in a 74-58 loss to Tennessee Tech. Thornton finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, adding two steals in a team-high 33 minutes of play. Junior Paris Leonard also hit double-digits to open the season, finishing with 14 points and five rebounds. Alysse Davis added six rebounds and four blocks in the loss. The three-point field goal Jessica Hall hit in the second half marked her first points for Memphis since the 2004-05 season. Hall has missed the past two years due to injuries and is seeing her first game action in three years after playing in every game as a true freshman. Freshman Shekeira Copeland scored her first career points in a Tiger uniform, sticking back an offensive board in the second half. She finished with two points and three rebounds in nine minutes. Memphis will host Southeastern Louisiana, Friday at 7 p.m.
RICE (3-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Senior C Valeriya Berezhynska matched a career-high with 31 points, added 10 rebounds and won Tournament MVP honors as Rice earned a hard-fought 63-54 overtime win over Winthrop Sunday in the championship game of the Winthrop Adidas Classic. Berezhynska, C-USA Player of the Week, went 10-of-17 from the floor and 10-of-14 at the foul line to match her career-high 31 points. Rice fought back from a 47-37 deficit with 7:33 remaining in the second half. Maudess Fulton also put together a solid weekend, earning all-tournament honors. She averaged 15.7 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds per game. The New Jersey native recorded her first career-double against North Texas, tallying 16 points and 11 boards. She was two assists away from a triple-double against the Mean Green. The Owls continued their strong play in overtime and outscored the Eagles 11-2 in the extra frame. Tiffany Loggins poured in a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Owls 63-52 victory over Navy in the season-opener. Rice returns to the road and faces Cal State Northridge Friday in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. CT.
SMU (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
SMU held a 10-point advantage over 11th- ranked Texas A&M Friday night at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The Mustangs led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took a 36-26 lead into half-time. However, SMU had a hard time finding its swagger in the second half, hitting only 5-of-27 shots in the final 20-minutes of play. In the end, SMU dropped a 62-57 decision to the Aggies. Delisha Wills scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mustangs, and Janielle Dodds chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jillian Samuels hit a 3-pointer that gave SMU a 51-48 lead with 6:36 left. But Texas A&M used a 9-0 surge over the next 2:15 to take the lead for good. The Aggies went on a 13-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half. SMU travels to Texas A&M Corpus Christi for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday night.
SOUTHERN MISS (1-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Southern Miss showed the "Love" in its women's basketball season opener Friday night. It came in the form of redshirt sophomore Pauline Love, who in her debut with the team. Love tallied a double-double with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds to go along with six assists to lead the Eagles to a 87-69 victory over Sam Houston State at Reed Green Coliseum. Five Eagles scored in double figures as Kendra Reed and Liz Biland added 13 points each, while freshmen Tanesha Washington and Shanice Mays contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Love tallied 16 of her point total over the final 20 minutes. Southern Miss hit 32-of-64 shots for 50 percent in the contest and scored 46 points in the paint. The day began with pomp and circumstance for the Eagles as they arrived pregame to Green Coliseum on motorcycles as part of the team's inaugural season-opening Eagle Walk that took them from The Village - an on-campus housing area - to the arena. The team returns to action Tuesday when they play host to McNeese State. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
TULANE (1-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Sophomore guard Chassity Brown scored a career-high 15 points, including six-of-six from the free throw line late in the second half as Tulane opened the 2007-08 season with a 64-56 win at Alabama Saturday. Tulane shot 72 percent from the field in the second half, as junior point guard Ashley Langford tied her career-best with 18 points and added three assists. Redshirt freshman forward Brittany Lindsey, making her first collegiate start, added seven points, while senior guard Nikki Luckhurst chipped in eight points and junior forward Kendra Barnes scored six. The Green Wave connected on 13-of-18 field goal attempts in the second half, and 12-of-15 free throw attempts in the second stanza. Tulane won for the sixth time in 14 season openers on the road, and defeated Alabama for the second-straight year and third time in four tries. Tulane will open its home slate on Tuesday at Fogelman Arena against Georgia Tech. The Green Wave will unveil its 2007 Conference USA Regular Season Championship banner prior to the game, and celebrate its 2006-07 WNIT season.
TULSA (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Freshman Tatum Beer posted a team-best 21 points for Tulsa in a 67-45 loss to Southeast Missouri State Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. ReShawndra Jackson added seven points for the Golden Hurricane, while Teka Brooks registered six points and pulled down 10 boards, a team-best. Junior Chanel Johnson led TU in blocks with three, and Kensey Hall led the Golden Hurricane in assists with three. Tulsa will return to action on Tuesday against Oral Roberts. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on the TU campus.
UAB (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
UAB dropped its season opener at No. 17 Vanderbilt, 92-51, Friday evening at Memorial Gymnasium. Senior Diamond Rogers was the lone Blazer to score in double figures with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including five from behind the arc. UAB improved its shooting in the second period by making 44.1 percent of its shots (15-of-34) and sinking a handful of treys. The Blazers ended the game shooting 32.2 percent (19-of-59) and 30 percent from the three-point line (6-of-20). Rogers led UAB by making nine buckets for 23 points, while also adding six rebounds, one assist and one steal. In her return appearance to the court after missing last season with an injury, senior Crystal McFadden contributed nine points, four boards, two assists and one steal. Christon Ingram paced the Blazers in rebounds with eight, while also adding four points to UAB's total. For the game, Vanderbilt shot 50.7 percent overall (36-of-71) and 47.6 percent from three-point land (10-of-21). UAB will return to action on Nov. 14 when it plays the Illinois Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. in Champaign, Ill.
UCF (0-2, 0-0 C-USA)
Three players registered double-digits in points for the Knights, led by Angelica Mealing and Marshay White, who both posted 17 points. Emma Cannon added 10 points for the Black and Gold, while also recording two blocked shots. However, UCF could not hang on in the second half Sunday afternoon against Coppin State, falling to the Eagles, 74-63, at the new UCF Arena to conclude the UCF Knights Classic. The Black and Gold dominated the boards in the contest, grabbing 47 compared to the Eagles' 28. Mealing also led the Knights in rebounds, grabbing nine in the game. Tia Lewis was not far behind, pulling down eight. In the first game of the season, Cannon and Lewis both posted double-doubles, despite the team falling to Big 12 powerhouse Texas Tech, 72-57, Friday night. Cannon totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Lewis registered team-highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Knights started four freshmen and a redshirt freshman in the game, with the rookie class logging nearly all the minutes. The Knights return to action Thursday when they travel to Jacksonville for a match-up with North Florida. Tipoff for the contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.
UTEP (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Jareica Hughes led all players with 27 points, nine assists and four steals, but it wasn't enough as UTEP fell at Nebraska, 81-74, in the season opener for both teams on Friday. The Miners overcame a 14-point deficit late in the first-half to take a 41-38 at the break. Nebraska went to the free throw line 26 times compared to seven for UTEP. The Miners shot the ball well, connecting on 47.1 percent of its chances. Included among that figure were seven three-pointers, with Hughes draining three. Hughes was joined in double-digits by Natasha Lacy (18 points, four rebounds) and Kasia Krezel (12 points, six rebounds). UTEP will be back in action in an exhibition match against the Chinese Olympic team at 7:05 p.m. on Monday. The Chinese team is rated 10th in the world, according to the latest FIBA rankings.
