New Mexico State 63, Houston 62
New Mexico State won a 63-62 thriller on the road against Houston in the Aggies' season opener inside UH's Hofheinz Pavilion Friday night.
With five seconds on the clock and the Aggies up two, 63-61, UH senior Porsche Landry was fouled with 0.5 left on the clock and went to the line to shoot a pair of free throws. She made the first to post a career-high 37 points but missed the second to give NM State the victory.
NM State used an 11-0 run late in the second half to take control of the game. Aggie senior Tabytha Wampler scored six of her team-high 21 points during the rally. She totaled a double-double in the first half (10 points, 11 boards) and matched her career high with 18 boards.
The Aggies shot 43 percent in the game while Houston shot 39 percent from the field. NM State won the battle of the boards, 47-35. NM State also made it to the line more making 15-of-25 to UH's mark of 7-of-15. The Aggie bench came up big outscoring the Cougar reserves 16-2; nine Aggies played double-digit minutes in the game.
Utah State 62, Wyoming 56
With 46 points in the second half, Utah State started its season with a 62-56 road win at Wyoming in Laramie on Friday. It is the first time since 1981 that USU has won a road game to open the season.
USU was shot 34 percent (20-of-59) from the floor, while Wyoming shot 33 percent (18-of-54) from the field, hitting seven three-pointers. The Aggies were out-rebounded by the Cowgirls, 42-39. Utah State added seven steals compared to Wyoming's four.
Ashlee Brown led the way for the Aggies with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Jennifer Schlott and Maddy Plunkett added12 points each off the bench.
Hawai'i 60, Hawaii-Hilo 51
Hawai`i opened its season with a 60-51 win over UH-Hilo on Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawai`i took advantage of its height, outscoring its sister school 28-8 in points in the paint. The Vulcans sunk eight three-pointers in the first half to keep the game close, but could not keep up with the pace and sunk just 3-of-13 in the second stanza and shot 20 percent for the game. Overall, UH shot 39 percent (20-for-52) from the field and 81 percent (15-of-18) from the free throw line.
Kamilah Jackson recorded her first double-double of the season with game-highs of 15 points and 15 rebounds. Kanisha Bello chipped in 14 points, while Rebecca Dew added 10 points.
No. 23 USC 65, Fresno State 57
Fresno State started out strong with an 11-0 run early in the game, but fell to No. 23 USC 65-57 on Friday night. The Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 WAC) held the Women of Troy scoreless for the first five minutes and led most of the first half before nationally ranked USC took the lead.
Fresno State shot 38 percent from the field, 27 percent from three-point range and just 40 percent from the free throw line on the game. The Women of Troy edged the Bulldogs on the boards, 39-37.
Ki- Ki Moore led the team with 15 points and Rosie Moult added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Missouri State 78, Louisiana Tech 65
Christiana Shorter scored 20 points to lead four Missouri State players in double figures as the Lady Bears defeated Louisiana Tech 78-65 Friday night before 1,788 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Missouri State (1-0) shot 51 percent (28-55) from the field for the game, including a blistering 62 percent (16-26) in the final 20 minutes of play. It marks only the fifth time in the last 76 games that a Teresa Weatherspoon-coached Lady Techster team has allowed an opponent to hit more than half of their field goal attempts.
LA Tech shot 44 percent (27-of-61) from the field but hit only 3-of-13 three-pointers and only 8-of-14 free throws. Missouri State won the rebounding battle, 35-34.
Shantale Bramble-Donaldson led the Lady Techsters with 18 points and nine rebounds.