WBB2K22: Hoops Report 16

Nov. 26

No. 18 South Florida 57, No. 7 Stanford 54

After losing to its first two nationally ranked opponents, South Florida rose up to defeat No 9 Oregon and No. 7 Stanford in less than a week. The Bulls' win over Stanford came at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.

Stanford standout Cameron Brink was dominant with 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, but she shot 3-8 from the free-throw line and that was what did the losing team in. Stanford shot 4-12 from the free-throw line as a team. South Florida made eight of its 11 free-throws.

The Bulls were led by Sydni Harvey's 15 points. The 5-10 junior point guard shot a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe and also shot 3-4 from three-point land. Both teams struggled in shooting, as South Florida made 31 percent of its shots from the field, while Stanford shot 35 percent. South Florida outrebounded Stanford 52-38. Senior forward Bethy Mununga shot just 2-12 but she collected an astounding 23 rebounds to go along with six points, four assists and two blocked shots. Elena Tsineke scored 14 for South Florida and Elisa Pinzan posted 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Kent State 75, No. 19 UCLA 69

On Nov. 18, Kent State (4-0) pounded on Division III John Carroll 101-40. Big deal, right? Well, Kent State returned to the court and proved it could beat up on a nationally ranked team as well. The Golden Flashes beat the Bruins in Estero, Florida at the Gulf Coast Showcase. Kent had to overcome a 52-48 fourth quarter deficit by outscoring UCLA (3-1) 27-17 on its way to the win.

"This is a huge win for our program," said Kent head coach Todd Starkey. "Obviously, UCLA is a great program. When you beat one of the blue bloods, it's a special thing."

Lindsey Thall led Kent State with 20 points, shooting 7-9 overall and 5-7 from three. She also had seven rebounds and one blocked shot. Katie Shumate scored 17 points with seven rebounds as well for the Kent State. Nila Blackford led Kent with eight rebounds. She scored 11 points in the victory.

Kent State shot 50 percent from the field and 52 percent from three-point territory. UCLA was limited to 35 percent overall as well as 35 percent from three. Charisma Osborne led UCLA with 21 points on 8-20 shooting.

UCF 58, Idaho State 41

Diamond Battles shot 8-12 from the field and 7-8 from the free-throw line leading UCF with 24 points in a victory over Idaho State. The 5-8 senior guard is thriving offensively after the first five games of the season. She is posting career highs averaging 16.2 points, while shooting 44 percent from the field, 53 percent from three and 95 percent from the free-throw line.

Battles also posted four assists, three steals and three rebounds to go along with her high scoring output. Brittney Smith scored 11 points with six rebounds for UCF. She shot 4-6 for a season best 66 percent from the field.

Idaho State had a 15-13 lead after the first quarter but UCF dominated the game over the next two quarters outscoring its opponent 29-15. Idaho State surrendered the ball 28 times with 14 assists. The Bengals were led in scoring by guard Dora Goles' 16 points. She made five of her eight shot attempts.

UCF won the battle at the free-throw line. The Knights shot 11-14 from the stripe as Idaho State had just three free-throw attempts, making two. UCF played the game more inside the perimeter, taking just three attempts from three-point land. Idaho State took 21 attempts from three, making seven.