Photos by Dominic Ceraldi
No. 8 Tulsa defeated No. 9 Wichita State, 88-86 in overtime, in the first game of the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Monday, March 7 at Dickies Arena.
With the win, Tulsa advances to play No. 1 UCF in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 8 at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT on ESPN+.
In the extra session, Maddie Bittle hit a 3-pointer and Rebecca Lescay scored two of her game-high 21 points to give the Golden Hurricane (16-9) a 4-point lead with a minute remaining. After the Shockers (14-16) cut the lead to two, Temira Poindexter hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to push the Tulsa lead to five. Asia Strong nailed a three with 1.7 seconds remaining to cut the lead to two, but Wichita State could not get any closer.
With the score tied at 78 with 17 seconds remaining, Tulsa had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but Jane Asinde made a steal for Wichita State. After a timeout, Mariah McCully had a jumper bounce off at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
For Tulsa, Lescay tied a Championship single-game record with six steals. Wyvette Mayberry posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists, tying a Championship single-game record.
Wichita State had five players in double figures, led by Strong with 20 points. Asinde had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds
The Shockers jumped out to a 26-14 lead at the end of the first quarter after DJ McCarty hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining in the period. The Golden Hurricane stormed back in the second quarter and took the lead, 39-38, on a 3-pointer by Delanie Crawford. Tulsa went into the locker room leading 40-38.
It was the third time the two squads have faced each other in the Championship. Wichita State defeated Tulsa in the opening game of the 2021 Championship, while the Golden Hurricane won in the 2019 first round.
The game was the first to go to overtime in the Championship since a first-round matchup between East Carolina and SMU in 2019.
Courtesy: 2022 American Athletic Conference (http://theamerican.org)
