Nov. 26, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Southern Miss remains the only Conference USA women's basketball team with a flawless record. The 6-0 record continues to be the best start since the 2002-03 squad went 10-0. The Eagles also own a league-best +25.8 margin of victory with its largest win of 42 points coming against McNeese State on Nov. 13. Three Golden Eagles are currently averaging in double figures (Pauline Love 18.5 ppg, Amber Eugene 12.3 ppg, Stephanie Helgeson 10.8 ppg).

NOV.26 C-USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK & STATISTICS

Tulane (5-1) and SMU (4-1) carved up wins over two Big 12 teams over the Thanksgiving break. Tulane defeated Kansas State, 60-57, in the opening game of the Cancun Caribbean Challenge, while SMU defeated Kansas, 68-56, to win the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic in Dallas Saturday.

UPCOMING GAMES (ALL TIMES CT)
NOVEMBER
Wednesday, 28
Bethune-Cookman at UCF 6 p.m.
East Carolina at Appalachian State 7 p.m.
Alabama A&M at Memphis 7 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin at SMU 7 p.m.
Tulane at Louisiana-Lafayette 7 p.m.
Arkansas-Little Rock at Tulsa 7 p.m.
UTEP at New Mexico State 8:05 p.m.

Thursday, 29
LSU at Houston 7 p.m.
Southern Miss at Mississippi State 7 p.m.
UAB at Mississippi 7 p.m.

Friday, 30
Jackson State at Marshall(14) 11 a.m.
UTEP vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff(15) 3:30 p.m.
Rice at Furman 6 p.m.

DECEMBER
Saturday, 1
UTEP vs. Lipcomb/Kansas State(15) 2/4 p.m.
Harvard/Pittsburgh at Marshall(14) 1 p.m.
VCU at East Carolina 2 p.m.
SMU at North Texas 2 p.m.
UTSA at Tulsa 2 p.m.
Southern Miss at Jacksonville State 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, 2
UCF at Miami (Fla.) 11 a.m.
Rice at Wake Forest 12 p.m.
Mississippi State at Memphis 2 p.m.
UAB at Virginia Tech 2 p.m.
LSU at Tulane 4 p.m.

KEY:
14 Fifth Third Marshall Classic (Huntington, W.Va.)
15 Kansas State Tournament (Manhattan, Kan.)

TEAM CAPSULES
EAST CAROLINA (2-4, 0-0 C-USA)
A balanced attack led East Carolina to a 66-51 win over UMass Saturday in the consolation game of the Lady Pirate Invitational at Minges Coliseum. The win snapped a four-game losing skid for ECU. Nine players went into the official scoring book, while three recorded double digit points, including Jasmine Young who recorded her first career double-double with a game-high 18 points and 10 assists. Allison Spivey tied her personal-best with 14 points and two rebounds while LaCoya Terry added 12 points and seven rebounds.Gabriela Husarova's jumper at the 6:05 mark gave East Carolina its first lead of the game, 15-14. Sparked by a pair of Spivey free throws, ECU went on a 10-3 run, taking the 25-19 lead into the break. A Nicole Days 3-point play extended ECU's lead to six, 45-39, with 9:25 to play. The Pirates led by as many as 17, 56-39, with just under seven minutes to play. East Carolina hits the road on Wednesday as the Pirates travel to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State. Tip-off from the Holmes Center is set for 7 p.m.

HOUSTON (2-5, 0-0 C-USA)
Houston started the game on a 20-2 run and cruised to an 87-57 victory over McNeese State Sunday, day three of the National City Xavier Invitational at the Cintas Center. Houston led from the opening tip and snapped a five-game losing skid. Leading 51-23 at the half, UH pushed the lead to as many as 36 while shooting 45 percent (27-60). Courtney Taylor tallied her first-career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Twiggy McIntyre came off the bench to score 18 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Ryan Meyers also found double figures, scoring 10 points. Ashlee' Joseph came off the bench to grab a season-high eight rebounds. Houston scored 34 of its points in the paint and tallied 20 offensive rebounds, converting those boards into 19 second-chance points. Tye Jackson sat out the game for precautionary reasons after her knee swelled up during warm-ups. Her status is day-to-day. Houston is back in action Thursday against No. 6/5 LSU at 7 p.m. CST on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.

MARSHALL (2-3, 0-0 C-USA)
Junior Casey Baker poured in career-highs of 19 points and seven rebounds in Marshall's 79-66 home victory over Niagara Saturday at the Cam Henderson Center. For the second game in a row, four players finished in double digits. Baker, who also scored 18 points at Morehead State Wednesday, led the team, while Alyssa Hammond added 14 points for her fourth double-digit scoring game in five games this season. Meg Withrow tied her season-high of 13 points, while Kizzy Hart rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11. After Niagara tied the game, Withrow hit a lay-up and was fouled, to convert on an old fashion 3-point play. Niagara would cut the lead to 10 with under a minute left, but the Purple Eagles would not get any closer as Marshall hit three late free throws to finish off the 79-66 win. The Herd will continue its homestand by hosting the Fifth Third MU Classic. Marshall opens up at 11 a.m. on Friday against Jackson State and will face either Pittsburgh or Harvard on Saturday at 1 p.m. MST.

MEMPHIS (1-4, 0-0 C-USA)
Three players scored better than 10 points but Memphis wasn't able to put away Louisiana Tech in the championship game of the 23rd Annual Lady Tiger Classic Saturday afternoon, losing 82-77. Redshirt junior Jessica Hall, one of the all-tournament team honorees, finished with 14 points, while fellow all-tournament team member, Ashley Thornton finished with 13 points. Aroha Jennings added 10 points and three steals. Freshman point guard Alex Winchell led Memphis with six assists, while Alysse Davis added three blocked shots in 24 minutes. The two teams played a tight game all throughout the first half, with eight different lead changes, thanks in part to 12 first half points from junior guard Paris Leonard. But Leonard caught an elbow in the nose while trying to strip a defensive rebound and missed the last 3:59 of the half. Hall hit the game-winner with 13 seconds remaining to lift Memphis to its first win of the season, 78-76, over Tennessee State in the opening game of the classic Friday night. Memphis will remain at home and will face Alabama A&M Wednesday at 7 p.m.

RICE (5-3, 0-0 C-USA)
Kadie Riverin and Valeriya Berezhynska tallied 14 points each, but Rice lost, 72-55, to host Colorado in the Coors Classic Consolation game Saturday. Brittney Hudson scored a career-best seven points, while Melissa Wittmayer and Tiffany Loggins added five points apiece for the Owls. Rice jumped out to an early 13-4 advantage on a Berezhynska jumper at the 14:09 mark of the opening half. Colorado responded from a 2-of-10 shooting start and went on a 21-2 run over the next 7:23. The Buffaloes hit a trio of 3-pointers during the run to go ahead 25-15 with 6:46 left. Colorado carried a 39-31 edge into the locker room and started the second half scoring eight of the first 10 points of the frame to extend its lead to 47-33 with 15:26 to play. Rice trimmed the deficit down to 11 on two separate occasions. The last off of two Riverin free throws to make it 60-49 with 5:43 on the clock. The Owls also dropped a 62-59 game to Clemson in the tournament's opening round action. Rice concludes its fourth-straight weekend road swing at Furman and Wake Forest. Tip-off against Furman is slated for 6 p.m. Friday.

SMU (4-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Senior post Janielle Dodds scored a game-high 29 points and pulled down a team-leading 11 rebounds to lead SMU to a 68-56 victory over Kansas in the championship game of the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament. For her efforts, Dodds - who scored 21 points in the Mustangs' victory Friday over Western Michigan - was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and C-USA Player of the Week honors. SMU's Sharee Shepherd scored nine points, pulled down seven rebounds and had a game-high five steals. She joined Dodds on the all-tournament team. The Mustangs and Jayhawks were tied, 25-25, at halftime, but the Ponies outscored their guests, 43-31, after the intermission. SMU hit 24-of-27 free throws in the game: Dodds went 6-for-7, senior guard Katy Cobb hit 6-of-6, sophomore forward Delisha Wills hit 5-of-5 and Shepherd hit 4-of-4. The Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum Wednesday against Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m.

SOUTHERN MISS (6-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Southern Miss withstood an Austin Peay rally midway through the second half to defeat the Lady Governors, 76-65, in the finals of the LaQuinta Inn Lady Eagle Classic Saturday. Pauline Love led the way for Southern Miss with 20 points and nine rebounds, earning her most valuable player honors. Kendra Reed added 17 points, while Amber Eugene and Liz Biland chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively. Eugene added a career-high nine assists. Andrea Barber of Southern Miss was also named to the all-tournament team. In Southern Miss' first tournament game, the Golden Eagles easily defeated North Florida, 80-44. Reserve Stephanie Helgeson led three Eagles in double figures with 14 points, followed by Erica Williams added 13 points off the bench, while Love scored 12. The Eagles return to action Thursday when they hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Mississippi State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Southern Miss will continue with a game at Jacksonville State on Dec. 1.

TULANE (5-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Tulane held Northern Illinois to two field goals over a 6:25 stretch, as the Green Wave pulled away for a 70-57 win in the Cancun Caribbean Challenge Thursday at the Moon Palace Resort. Junior point guard Ashley Langford led Tulane with 14 points, while redshirt freshman forward Brittany Lindsey added 13 points, and led Tulane on the glass with seven rebounds. Junior guard Megan Valicevic added 10 points, hitting all four attempted free throws in the final minute. Tulane shot 53.6 percent in the second half and finished the Cancun Caribbean Challenge at 2-0, which included a 60-57 win over Kansas State in opening round action. Freshman guard Tiffany Aidoo sparked Tulane's run with her defense and a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points. Sophomore guard Chassity Brown and junior guard Sasha Staidum each added seven points. Nine members of the Wave scored and seven handed out assists. Tulane travels to Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt at the Cajun Dome.

TULSA (1-5, 0-0 C-USA)
Chanel Johnson and Larrissa Williams each posted a double-double for Tulsa in a 91-71 victory over Sam Houston State on Friday in the Holiday Inn Select Thanksgiving Tournament at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Johnson led TU with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and added three blocks, two steals and an assist in the contest, while Williams' 16 points and 10 rebounds earned her her fifth career double-double. Teka Brooks and Tatum Beer scored in double digits with 17 and 14 points, respectively. In the tournament, Brooks posted 33 points, pulled down nine boards and tallied five blocks, earning all-tournament team accolades. Beer was also named to the all-tournament team, as she posted 27 points in the two contests. Tulsa finished as the tournament runner-up due to a last second loss to Troy, 62-61, in the championship game Saturday. TU returns to action on Wednesday, as the Golden Hurricane hosts Arkansas-Little Rock. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m.

UAB (2-4, 0-0 C-USA)
UAB came up short against No. 21 Texas, 59-49, Sunday during the third day of action at the Jack In The Box Rainbow Wahine Classic, hosted by the University of Hawaii. UAB concluded its time in Hawaii with a 1-2 tournament record, earning sixth place in the eight-team tournament. In addition to the loss to Texas, the Blazers fell to Hartford, 83-74. UAB earned its lone win of the tournament against Lipscomb, 67-51. The Blazers made 9-of-15 free throws against the Longhorns. Senior guard/forward Diamond Rogers led UAB with 17 points, while also adding seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. Senior center Christon Ingram went 3-of-5 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the free throw line to contribute 11 points. Senior guard Crystal McFadden led the Blazers on the glass with a team-high 11 boards. Next up for UAB is its seventh consecutive road game of the season when it plays at Ole Miss Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Miss.

UCF (3-3, 0-0 C-USA)
UCF had three players score in double-digits to defeat La Salle, 68-57, at the Tom Gola Arena Sunday afternoon. Tia Lewis led the Knights with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Emma Cannon added 16 points and 12 rebounds, while D'Nay Daniels had a career-high 13 points. UCF never trailed the entire contest, shooting 52.2 percent from the field as well as shooting a season-high 73.1 percent from the free throw line. Cannon matched her season-high with eight free throw and Marshay White added four. White totaled eight points, had a game-high three steals and added three assists. UCF had 32 points in the paint. Defensively, the Knights had seven steals and three blocked shots, while also holding La Salle's Carlene Hightower to only 10 points and seven rebounds. Coming into the contest Hightower was averaging 23.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. The Black and Gold never lost the lead throughout the opening period, shooting 44 percent from the floor, while also shooting 77.8 percent from the free throw line. The Knights return home Wednesday to face in-state rival Bethune-Cookman at 5 p.m. as part of a double-header with the men.

UTEP (2-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Four Miners turned in double-digit scoring efforts to lead UTEP to a 78-71 triumph against Cal State Fullerton on the opening day of the Thanksgiving Classic at the Don Haskins Center Friday. The championship game between UTEP and Nevada was cancelled due to a power outage in the city. In Friday's game, the Miners went on a 25-7 run during a seven-minute span late in the first half to turn a six-point deficit into a lead they would never relinquish. Natasha Lacy led the way offensively with 19 points and five rebounds. Tasha Marisett provided a huge lift off the bench with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth career double-double, while Izabela Piekarska (17 points, nine boards) and Kasia Krezel (13 points, four assists) also contributed. Jareica Hughes returned from an injury to run the offense effectively, racking up eight assists and six rebounds. Cal State Fullerton climbed to within four with 28 seconds to play, but UTEP connected on 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to ice the contest. UTEP will be back in action Wednesday at New Mexico State at 7:05 p.m. MT.