Iowa and Michigan State Meet for First BIG 10 Game of the Season

No. 16 Iowa (9-2) heads to East Lansing, Michigan for its first BIG 10 game of the season against No. 21 Michigan State (10-1). The game will be held at the Breslin Center on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Season Stat Leaders

                         Iowa                                                                                           Michigan State

                                                                             Points

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

Megan Gustafson (26.5 per game)

Photo Credit: Michigan State Athletics

Jenna Allen (16.2 per game)

                                                                  

                                                               

Rebounds

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

Megan Gustafson (12.5 per game)

Photo Credit: Michigan State Athletics

Jenna Allen (7.8 per game)

                                                  

                                                          

Assists

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

Makenzie Meyer (4.8 per game)

Photo Credit: Michigan State Athletics

Taryn McCutcheon (5.5 per game)

                                                    

                                                    

Steals

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

Tania Davis (1.3 per game)

Photo Credit: Michigan State Athletics

Taryn McCutcheon (2.6 per game)

                                                     

Blocks

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

Megan Gustafson (1.6 per game)

Photo Credit: Michigan State Athletics

Sidney Cooks (1.0 per game)

                                                         









                                                              

Team Notes

Iowa

•         Iowa moved up to No. 16 in this week’s AP Rankings.
•         The Hawkeyes are ranked nationally in six statistical categories
•      No. 2: Assists per game (22.4), free throw percentage (80.6)
•      No. 3: Assists (246), field goal percentage (52.6)
•      No. 7: Assist/turnover ratio (1.48)
•      No. 11: Scoring offense (84.8)
•         Iowa also leads the BIG 10 in free throw percentage (80.6).
•       The Hawkeyes won its last game against Drake 91-82 on December 21.
•      Players of the Game: Megan Gustafson (44 pts, 14, rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl)
•         Megan Gustafson
•      Earned BIG 10 Player of the Week.
•      Is currently a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.
•      Ranked No. 2 in program career points (2,094).
•      She also has 1,116 career rebounds.
•      Ranked nationally in eight statistical categories:
•      No. 1: Field goal percentage (74.7), field goals made (121), points per game (26.5), and double-doubles (10)
•      No. 2: Total points (291)
•     No. 5: Defensive rebounds per game (9)
•     No. 6: Rebounds (137)
•      Scored a season-high 44 points and added 14 rebounds to record her 10^th double-double this season against Drake.

Michigan State

•         Michigan State moved up to No. 21 in this week’s AP Rankings.
•        The Spartans are currently on a seven-game winning streak.
•         The Spartans are in the top 2 in four statistical categories in the BIG 10.
•      No. 1: Scoring offense (85.6), assists per game (22.4)
•      No. 2: Assists to turnovers (1.56), tied with No. 12 Minnesota in scoring margin (+21.1)
•         Michigan State beat Florida Atlantic 89-74 on December 20.
•      Player of the Game: Jenna Allen (23 pts, 10 rebs, 2 asts, 4 stls, 1 blk)
•         Jenna Allen
•      Ranked No. 5 in the BIG 10 and nationally in field-goal percentage (56.8).
•      The senior from Bedford, Indiana has scored 20 or more points in three games this season.
•      She recently recorded her third season double-double against Florida Atlantic.
•         Taryn McCutcheon
•      Ranked No. 3 in the BIG 10 and No. 34 nationally in assists (61).
•       She led Michigan State in assists in four games this season.
•       Ranked No. 1 in the BIG 10 and No. 48 nationally for steals per game (2.6).
•        Sidney Cooks
•      The Kenosha, Wisconsin native has scored in double-figures in five games this season.
•      She had 15 points in Michigan State’s win against Florida Atlantic.
•         Nia Clouden
•      The freshman had a season-high 18 points in the Spartans’ game against Florida Atlantic.

Series History

•        Iowa leads the series 37-28.
•         The Hawkeyes won the last two games in the series.
•        In the last game, Iowa beat Michigan State in overtime 71-68 in East Lansing.

                                        

                                                                         

NCAA Women’s Basketball: Week 4 Sunday/Week 5

South Carolina Edges Purdue in Double Overtime

No. 25 South Carolina came out victorious with an 82-73 win over Purdue. The Gamecocks went on and the Gamecocks led 11-10 over the Boilermakers.

a 5-0 run in the first minutes of the first quarter. Purdue’s Kayana Traylor tied the game 7-7 with two free throws with 2:29 left. Bianca Jackson scored four points straight to bring South Carolina back to in the lead, 11-7. Karissa McLaughlin drained a three-pointer for Purdue in the final seconds

South Carolina led 28-23 at halftime. Purdue made a huge effort in the third quarter. The Boilermakers went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter to make it a one-point game, 39-38. Ae’Rianna Harris scored a layup to give Purdue its first lead of the game, 40-39. The Boilermakers led the Gamecocks 42-39 at the end of the third quarter.

South Carolina came back in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with Jackson draining a three-pointer to tie the game 53-53. She later fouled McLaughlin sending her to the free throw line for two shots. She made both free throws to put Purdue back up to a 55-53 lead. Herbert Harrigan sunk a layup with 21 seconds left to the tied the game at 55. McLaughlin shot a three-pointer to lead Purdue to victory but rimmed out.

The game went into overtime. Alexis Jennings was fouled on the drive to the basket by Harris and scored to bring South Carolina back in the lead, 57-55. The foul was also Harris’s fifth causing to sit out for the rest of the game. After three ties, Purdue led 67-64 with 24 seconds left in overtime. However, things got tough for the Boilermakers when Tamara Farquhar fouled out of the game. Jackson, who was fouled by her behind the arc scored all three free throws to tie the game at 67-67. Herbert Harrigan stole the ball from Lyndsey Whilby and shot a three-pointer for Gamecock win. Unfortunately, she scored it at the end of the buzzer forcing another overtime.

South Carolina began to pull away with 3:34 left in the second overtime after a jumper drained by Herbert Harrigan, 71-69. Oden was the third player for Purdue that fouled out of the game with 28 seconds left in the game. After two overtimes, the Gamecocks prevailed to victory.

South Carolina improved to 7-4 on the season. Herbert Harrigan and Jennings both combined for 38 points. Herbert Harrigan also grabbed 15 boards which resulted in recording a double-double along with her 19 points. Tyasha Harris, who is from Noblesville, Indiana played in front of her friends and family. She had seven assists and combined for 28 points with Jackson.

Purdue dropped to 7-4 on the season. McLaughlin had a big night scoring 25 points for the Boilermakers. Oden had 19 points and 10 rebounds which resulted in her first double-double of the season. Traylor finished with 11 points and Harris finished with 10 points.

Game Stat Leaders

South Carolina

Points: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (19), Alexis Jennings (19)

Rebounds: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (15)

Assists: Tyasha Harris (7)

Steals: Bianca Cuevas-Moore (5)

Blocks: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (2)

Purdue

Points: Karissa McLaughlin (25)

Rebounds: Dominique Oden (10)

Assists: Kayana Traylor (5)

Steals: Ae’Rianna Harris (2)

Blocks: Ae’Rianna Harris (3)

Player Achievements

South Carolina

•         Herbert Harrigan finished the game with a career-high 15 rebounds.
•         Herbert Harrigan also recorded the 100^th block of her career.
•         Jackson’s 14 points tied her season-high.
•         Harris’s seven assists tied her season-high.

Purdue

•         Oden recorded her first double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
•         McLaughlin’s 25 points were a game-high.

Up Next

•         South Carolina won its home against Temple 88-60 on Friday.
•       Player of the Game: Te’a Cooper (16 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk)
•         The Gamecocks return to action on Sunday against Furman at 2 p.m. They will begin SEC play at Texas A&M on Thursday at 9 p.m.
•         Purdue won its last two home games against Albany (53-41) and Bradly (74-61).
•      Players of the Game
•      Versus Albany: Ae’Rianna Harris (23 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 blocks)
•      Versus Bradley: Karissa McLaughlin (23 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts)
•         The Boilermakers began BIG 10 play with a 60-42 win against Ohio State on Friday.
•      Player of the Game: Dominique Oden (20 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 2 stls)
•         Purdue will play its next BIG 10 game at Wisconsin on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Oregon Upsets Undefeated Mississippi State

http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/video?gameId=401091515

No.7 Oregon upset No. 4 Mississippi State 82-74 on Tuesday night. The Ducks ended the Bulldogs undefeated streak and three-game series winning streak. 

Both teams scored 15 shots overall in the first half. Oregon led Mississippi State 19-17 after one quarter before the Bulldogs put together a strong second quarter to overtake the Ducks by a 40-39 score at the half. 

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs went on an 11-5 run to lead 51-44. The Ducks followed up with a 7-2 run to take a 53-51 lead. For the rest of the quarter, Taylor Chavez and Sabrina Ionescu both scored two free throws each in the final minutes to get Oregon back to a two-point lead, 57-55.

The Ducks pulled away from the Bulldogs with a 9-2 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter, 66-57. Mississippi State continued to struggle to get back on top and keep its undefeated streak alive. Jordan Danberry and Anriel Howard fouled out of the game for the Bulldogs during the quarter. Oregon dominated the final minutes with 16 points to prevail in the victory.

Ionescu had 29 points and it was the fourth time in the last five games the junior scored 26 or more points in a game. Cazorla had 20 points and Ruthy Hebard had 14 points. Oregon improves to 9-1 overall on the season.

Howard scored a career-high 30 points despite fouling out of the game. Danberry and Chloe Bibby combined for a total of 24 points. Mississippi State ends its undefeated season at 10-1.

Both coaches received technical fouls during the game. Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves received it in the final eight seconds of the second quarter. Mississippi State Head Coach Vic Schaefer got the tech with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Game Stat Leaders

Oregon

Points: Sabrina Ionescu (29)

Rebounds: Sabrina Ionescu (6), Ruthy Hebard (6)

Assists: Sabrina Ionescu (5), Maite Cazorla (5)

Steals: Taylor Chavez (1)

Mississippi State

Points: Anriel Howard (30)

Rebounds: Teaira McCowan (11)

Assists: Jazzmun Holmes (7)

Steals: Jordan Danberry (3)

Blocks: Teaira McCowan (4)

Player Achievements

Oregon

•         Ionescu scored 26 or more points for the fourth time in Oregon’s last five games.

Mississippi State

•         Howard had a career-high 30 points.

Up Next

•         Oregon recently won its last two home against Air Force (82-36) and UC Irvine (115-69).
•     Players of the Game
•     Versus Air Force: Ruthy Hebard (20 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts)
•     Versus UC Irvine: Satou Sabally (27 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl)
•         The Ducks will begin Pac-12 play versus Washington on Friday at 9 p.m.
•         Mississippi State concluded its West Coast trip with a 103-56 at Washington.
•     Player of the Game: Jordan Danberry (20 pts, 2 rebs, 4 asts, 4 stls, 1 blk)
•         The Bulldogs play its final non-conference game against Louisiana on Sunday at 2 p.m.
•         Mississippi State starts SEC play at Arkansas on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Liberty Finishes 1-1 in St. Pete Shootout

Liberty (3-9) participated in the St. Pete Shootout in Florida before Christmas break. The Lady Flames lost to UCF (10-2) in the first round but came back to beat Duquesne (5-6) in the consolation round.

Versus UCF

Photo Credit: Jamie Hall

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- Liberty lost to UCF 53-45 in its first game of the St. Pete Shootout. The dominance by the Golden Knights was too tough for the Lady Flames to handle.

UCF started strong in the first half of the game scoring 10 out of 24 shots. Liberty came back with 5:29 to go in the second quarter. Ashtyn Baker scored a layup to cut the lead to 20-17. UCF responded by scoring six points to extend the lead to 26-17. The Lady Flames scored five points in the final seconds of the quarter, but it was not enough to take the lead. The Golden Knights held a four-point lead over the Lady Flames at halftime, 26-22.

Emily Lytle scored a free throw to bring Liberty back within three in the first minute of the second half, 26-23. Kay Kay Wright scored a free throw on the other end capping a 16-9 run made by UCF. With the Golden Knights leading 42-32 after the first ten minutes of the second half, Liberty turned up the heat to get back in the game. 

The Lady Flames went on a 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter to take a 42-38 lead. UCF continued to extend the lead making it tough for Liberty to make a comeback. The Golden Knights would go on to win their seventh consecutive game of the season. The Lady Flames held the Golden Knights well below their season scoring average of 70.5.

Liberty dropped to 2-9 on the season. Kierra Johnson-Graham and Melis Ucar combined for 18 points. Johnson-Graham also added seven rebounds to her game stats.

UCF improved to 10-1 on the season. Wright led the Golden Knights with 17 points. Kayla Thigpen finished the game with 16 points. Jamesha Paul led with a season-high six rebounds. Brittney Smith achieved a career-high three steals.

UCF finished the St. Pete Shootout with a 57-52 loss to No..15 Syracuse in the final round. The Golden Knights are now 10-2 overall on the season.

Liberty

Points: Kierra Johnson-Graham (9), Melis Ucar (9)

Rebounds: Kierra Johnson-Graham (7)

Assists: Ashtyn Baker (3), KK Barbour (3)

Steals: Ria Gulley (2), Ashtyn Baker (2)

Blocks: Amy West (1)

UCF

Points: Kay Kay Wright (17)

Rebounds: Jamesha Paul (6)

Assists: Sydnee McDonald (2), Jamesha Paul (2)

Steals: Brittney Smith (3)

Blocks: Nyala Shuler (1), Brittney Smith (1)

Player Achievements

UCF

•   Paul had a season-high six rebounds.
•   Smith tied a career-high three steals.

Versus Duquesne

Photo Credit: Jamie Hall

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- Day 2 at the St. Pete Shootout was a huge thriller for Liberty as it upset Duquesne 55-51 in the consolation round. The Lady Flames also snapped a four-game losing streak.

Liberty jumped out to a 7-2 start in the first three minutes of the game. Emily Lytle led the way draining three consecutive shots from the three-point line to give the Lady Flames a 13-6 lead with 4:44 left in the first quarter. Duquesne, who was coming off an 87-71 first round loss to No. 15 Syracuse, got into its groove with a 10-4 run. The Dukes were able to make the game a one-point deficit at the end of the quarter, 17-16.

Duquesne took its first lead of the game at the 3:20 mark of the second quarter on a jumper made by Kadri-Ann Lass, 22-21. Lytle drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 24-24. Lytle fouled Duquesne’s Chassidy Omogrosso in the final minute of the game. She scored one out of two free throws to give the Dukes the one-point lead at the end of the quarter, 25-24.

Duquesne continued to lead until the final four minutes of the game. KK Barbour began the surge with a jumper to bring Liberty back in the lead, 52-51. From there, the Lady Flames prevented the Dukes from scoring the rest of the game. Lytle and Ashtyn Baker both earned trips to the free throw line. Lytle scored one out of two free throws while Baker scored both to seal a 55-51 win. Liberty earned its third win of the season at the buzzer.

With the victory over Duquesne, Liberty finished in third place in the St. Pete Shootout and improved to 3-9 on the season. Lytle finished as the leading scorer for the sixth time with 14 points. Barbour scored 11 points and grabbed nine boards. Ria Gulley finished with a career-high eight assists and seven rebounds. Baker led with two steals and set a career-high with four assists.

Duquesne dropped to 5-6 overall on the season. Lass led the Dukes with 21 points and seven rebounds. Omogrosso moved up to No. 8 for all-time scoring in the program after scoring seven points in the game.

Game Stat Leaders

Liberty

Points: Emily Lytle (14)

Rebounds: KK Barbour (9)

Assists: Ria Gulley (8)

Steals: Ashtyn Baker (2)

Blocks: Mya McMillian (1)

Duquesne

Points: Kadri-Ann Lass (21)

Rebounds: Kadri-Ann Lass (7)

Assists: Libby Bazelak (4)

Steals: Chassidy Omogrosso (1), Libby Bazelak (1), Conor Richardson (1)

Blocks: Libby Bazelak (1), Kadri-Ann Lass (1)

Player Achievements

Liberty

• Lytle was the leading scorer for the sixth time this season. She also tied a career-high with four three-pointers.
• Gulley set two career highs with eight assists and seven rebounds.
• Baker tied her season high with four assists.

Duquesne

• Omogrosso is now in eighth place on the program’s all-time scoring list.

Up Next

•  Liberty will return to action January 2 at 5 p.m.  in its finals non-conference home game against West Chester.

Liberty to Participate in St. Pete Shootout

Liberty (2-8) heads down to Florida for the St. Pete Shootout. The tournament will take place at McArthur Gymnasium located at Eckerd College. The Lady Flames will take on UCF and Duquesne.

Liberty will play UCF (9-1) on Friday at 5 p.m. at McArthur Gymnasium.

Season Stat Leaders

Liberty                                                                                                                                               UCF

     Points

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Emily Lytle (14.6 per game)

Photo Credit: UCF Athletics

Kay Kay Wright (20.4 per game)

                                                           
                 

  

Rebounds

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Bridgette Rettstatt (7.6 per game)

Photo Credit: UCF Athletics

Nyala Shuler (7.6 per game)

                                                          

                                                                   

    Assists

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Ria Gulley (2.4 per game)

Photo Credit: UCF Athletics

Kay Kay Wright (4.2 per game)

                                                                

                                                     

Steals

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Ashtyn Baker (1.9 per game)

Photo Credit: UCF Athletics

Kayla Thigpen (1.6 per game)

                                                                 

                                                                            

Blocks

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

KK Barbour (0.7 per game)

Photo Credit: UCF Athletics

Fifi Ndour (1.0 per game)

                                                                   

                                                                      
            

Team Notes

Liberty

·        Liberty lost at UNC Greensboro 48-45.

o   Players of the Game: KK Barbour (10 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl, 2 blks), Kierra Johnson-Graham (10 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl)

UCF

·        UCF is on a six-game winning streak.

·        The Knights won their last home game against Pacific 64-57.

o   Player of the Game: Kay Kay Wright (27 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts)

·        Wright has scored in double-figures in all of UCF’s ten games.

·        Wright recently set the program record for single games in points. She is also tied at No. 16 American Athletic Conference for free throws in a single-game in UCF’s game against Pacific.

·        Shuler is now No. 5 in the program for career rebounds.

Liberty will play its second game in the tournament against Duquesne (5-4) on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Season Stat Leaders

Liberty                                                                                                                                       Duquesne

Points

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Emily Lytle (14.6 per game)

Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics

Julijana Vojinovic (10.2 per game)

                                                     

                                                           










                                                                     

Rebounds

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Bridgette Rettstatt (7.6 per game)

Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics

Kadri-Ann Lass (6.9 per game)

                                                  

                                               

Assists

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Ria Gulley (2.4 per game)

Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics

Libby Bazelak (2.7 per game)

                                                           










                                                                    

Steals

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

Ashtyn Baker (1.9 per game)

Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics

Libby Bazelak (1.9 per game)

                                                                

                                                           










                                                                                     

Blocks

Photo Credit: Erik Flores

KK Barbour (0.7 per game)

Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics

Kadri-Ann Lass (2.0 per game)

                                                                    

                                                             










                                                        

Team Notes

Duquesne

•         Duquesne lost to UCF on December 12 71-63 and beat ETSU on Sunday 66-58.
•      Players of the Game
•      Versus UCF: Julijana Vojinovic (18 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts)
•       Versus ETSU: Chassidy Omogrosso (23 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts)
•         The Dukes will play their first game of the tournament against No. 15 Syracuse on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
•         Ann-Lass recorded double-doubles in Duquesne’s last two games.
•         Ann-Lass had five blocks in the game against ETSU, and they were the most made by a player in the A-10.