C-USA Women's Basketball Roundup_Dec. 28 - CONFERENCEUSA.COM - The Official Athletic site of The Conference USA

C-USA Women's Basketball Roundup_Dec. 28
Tulane and SMU adds to win column.

	Danielle Nunn, Tulane

Dec. 28, 2009

IRVING, Texas -

CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP (Mon., Dec. 28)
Returning from a nine-day layoff for the holidays, UCF (3-5) will finish its non-conference portion of the schedule and close the book on 2009 on Tuesday at the UCF Arena, hosting No. 3/3 Notre Dame (10-0) at 12 p.m. ET. The Fighting Irish are the third ranked team the Knights have played this season. The game will be televised live nationally by CBS College Sports with Dave Ryan handling the play-by-play duties and Debbie Antonelli serving as the color analyst.

Junior forwards Tiffany Aidoo and Danielle Nunn posted career high scoring totals with 19 points each and the Green Wave defense tied a season-high with 16 steals as Tulane (9-2) opened the 2009 DoubleTree Classic with an 82-59 win over Long Island Monday evening at Fogelman Arena. Taking the floor without the services of injured frontcourt standouts Brett Benzio and Brittany Lindsey, the Wave went small with essentially a five-guard lineup.

Brittany Gilliam hit a jumper off the backboard with 2.4 seconds left to give SMU (9-2) a 66-65 win over Hofstra. The senior then blocked what would've been a game-winning layup by Nicole Capurso with less than a second left to give SMU a come-from-behind victory. Haley Day knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 39 seconds left to tie the game 64-64. Shante Evans went to the line for Hofstra with 12 seconds left, but was only able to make the second shot, giving the Mustangs a chance to win with a last second shot.

Sophomore guard D'Frantz Smart scored a season-high 16 points to go along with four steals and four assists to pace Rice to a 57-48 victory over visiting Northwestern Sate. Smart led all scorers, including three Owls in double-figures.

Memphis (6-6) built an 11-0 lead to start the game and never looked back in a 70-48 victory over Jackson State. Brittany Carter led Memphis with 21 points, while Ramses Lonlack added 14 points and eight rebounds in the win. Memphis will close out its non-conference schedule Saturday, with a noon game against former Conference USA foe Saint Louis.

Larrissa Williams and Teka Brooks each posted a double-double for Tulsa (4-5) en route to a 78-58 win over Cal State Fullerton. Williams recorded a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds for her 34th career double-double, while Brooks added 12 points and 11 rebounds for her second career double-double. Chanice Scott also scored in double figures with 16 points.

Kelly Smith and Allison Spivey both scored 14 points, while Ashley Clarke added 12 but it wasn't enough as East Carolina (10-2) dropped a 66-58 decision to UMBC for its second loss of the season.

UTEP fought hard but ultimately came up short in the rematch of battle of I-10, with New Mexico State prevailing by a final score of 63-56. The Miners (9-5) were without the services of senior leader Jareica Hughes (injured shoulder). There were 11 lead changes and 12 ties. UTEP will be idle for the holiday break, and will not be back in action until the commencement of Conference USA play. The Miners will open up league action by welcoming Rice to The Don for a nationally-televised tilt (CBS College Sports) at 8:30 p.m. MT on Jan. 8.

Despite a career night from junior forward Lesslee Mason and a game-high 25 points from junior guard Brittney Scott Houston (6-6) dropped its third-straight contest, falling on the road to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 81-76. Mason's night included her 8-of-13 shooting performance from the field for a career-best 20 points with 13 rebounds for her third double-double in a UH uniform.

RECENT RESULTS
Mon., December 28
TULANE DOUBLETREE CLASSIC
at Tulane 82, Long Island 59
at Rice 57, Northwestern State 48
at Memphis 70, Jackson State 48
at SMU 66, Hofstra 65
at Tulsa 78, Cal State Fullerton 58
at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 81, Houston 76
New Mexico State 63, at UTEP 56
Fordham Tournament (Bronx, N.Y.)
vs. UMBC 66, East Carolina 58

UPCOMING GAMES (all times central)
Tue., December 29
3/4 Notre Dame at UCF (CBS C/BHSN) 11 a.m.
Murray State at Marshall 6 p.m.
Fordham Tournament (Bronx, N.Y.)
East Carolina vs. Binghamton 6 p.m.
TULANE DOUBLETREE CLASSIC
Texas Tech at Tulane 8 p.m.

Wed., December 30
Texas Southern at SMU 5:30 p.m.
Southern Miss at Alabama 5:30 p.m.
UAB at Austin Peay 7 p.m.
Hofstra at Rice 7 p.m.

Thur., December 31
TCU at Houston 1 p.m.
Radford at Marshall 6 p.m.