Megan Walker faces an Ohio State defender during a game on Sunday, Nov. 11 at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies defeated the Buckeyes 85-53. (Charlotte Lao, Photo Editor/The Daily Campus)
With the start of basketball season, the women’s basketball teams within the American Athletic Conference have had a busy week. The only team in the conference that has yet to showcase their skills is Tulane.
Temple kicked off their season with two wins and a strong performance from returning guard Alliya Butts. Last Tuesday, the Owls beat Delaware State 75-61 and continued the momentum three days later to defeat Saint Joseph’s 58-52. In both games for the Owls, Butts was the second leading scorer, with 18 points against Delaware State and 12 points against Saint Joseph’s. Butts is going to be a key player who guides Temple to victories.
Tuesday and Friday were exciting days for teams within the AAC. Although Houston lost their first game by a mere point (80-79) to California, they were able to pull off a nail-biting win in double overtime against Georgia Tech, putting them on top 95-89. USF experienced success in both games played, beating Ohio State 71-47, led by freshman Beatriz Jordao and senior Kitija Laksa, both with 17 points. They also went on to defeat Albany, 74-37. ECU pulled off two wins as well against the Maryland Eastern Shore, 84-69, and Monmouth, 73-67.
Wichita had a relaxed game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which resulted in Wichita winning, 76-39. However, Missouri State got the best of the Shockers on Saturday in their 63-60 loss in overtime.
While most teams have had multiple games this past week, UConn, SMU and Memphis got off to a late start, only having one. UConn came out strong against Ohio State, winning by a 32-point margin in their 85-53 win on Sunday. Megan Walker was a dominant player in the Huskies’ season opener at home and was the first player to put points on the board, contributing 15 points. Samuelson, Collier and Dangerfield added a combined 54 points. UCF, SMU and Memphis all secured victories as well. UCF pulled off a 61-58 win against Pittsburgh, SMU managed to pull off a 49-38 win against UL Monroe; and Memphis barely beat Jackson State in their 68-67 victory.
In their game against Stetson, Tulsa was led to victory by senior Crystal Polk, who scored 15 points. Stetson put up a fight against Tulsa, only allowing them a 1-point victory (55-54). Tulsa went on to lose their next game on Friday against American, however freshman Maddie Bittle stepped up, adding 15 points to the board in Tulsa’s 68-52 loss.
With the start of the season and a new head coach, Michelle Clark-Heard, the Cincinnati Bearcats won both of their games thus far. They managed to beat Austin Peay 69-48 and East Tennessee State 77-64.
Hanaisha Lewis is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at hanaisha.lewis@uconn.edu.