FRISCO, Texas – Charlotte women's basketball used a strong third quarter to regain the momentum en route to a 59-53 win over Rice in the Heritage Landscape Supply Group Conference USA Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.
Mikayla Boykin dropped a game-high 20 points in the win shooting 50% from the floor as did the Niners in the third period. In addition to the second half offense, the Niners defense clamped down as well holding the Owls to just one of their last 11 from the floor and no field goals over the final 4:16.
"This was a really, tough, hard-fought victory for our team," started Head Coach
Cara Consuegra. "Credit to Rice, they played really well down the stretch and made things really difficult for us. At the end of the day, we just made enough winning plays. If we start better in the first quarter, it's probably a different game. Our defense the last three quarters was just outstanding. That's what we hang our hat on and that's what we'll continue to do."
SLUGGISH START
Charlotte (20-9) got the first three of Boykin's 20 on the afternoon 54 seconds into the Thursday tilt before another triple came at the 6:37 mark for a 6-2 start. After Jett-Wilson dropped in a driving layup to tie it 8-8 at the 4:41 mark, Rice (14-13) closed out the period on a 9-1 run to carry a 17-9 lead into the second.
STARTING TO WARM UP
Three quick baskets to start the second by
Molina Williams,
Jada McMillian and
Dazia Lawrence all of a sudden trimmed the deficit down to two just 84 seconds into the frame. Boykin stopped a 7-0 run by Rice with 3:38 to go before the half while an offensive board led to a McMillian layup getting the Rice lead down to five with just over three minutes to play. Trailing by seven with two minutes to go, Boykin knocked down the final two shots of the frame to send the Niners into the break trailing by three, 26-23.
STELLAR SECOND HALF BEGINS
Charlotte began a 21-point third quarter with an early Williams basket, a jumper by Boykin and Jett-Wilson laying one in off the glass to give the Niners a one-point, 29-28 lead to start swinging the momentum. Boykin's bucket at the 8:16 mark started a 10-0 run by the 49ers capped off with Jett-Wilson second four-point play in a week pushing the top-seeded Niners up seven. Rice knocked the lead down to two on a couple of occasions coming up on the three-minute mark, but a pair of
Jacee Busick free throws, four by Jett-Wilson and one by Williams helped give the Niners a 44-40 advantage heading to the fourth.
SEALING IT FOR THE SEMIS
The Owls began the fourth on an 8-3 run with
KeKe McKinney hitting a big three until a pair of Boykin free throws put the Niners back up with 6:08 to play in regulation. Tied at 51 with 4:16 on the clock, the Niners closed out the contest on an 8-2 run with two from the charity stripe by Jett-Wilson, McKinney and Boykin, with a pullup jumper knocked down by McMillian in between, leading the Niners advancing with a 59-53 win over Rice.
BOX SCORE NUMBERS
Boykin's 20 led all scorers shooting 50% from the field draining a couple of threes as well as going 6-for-6 from the line. Jett-Wilson dropped 16 on the Owls with a 9-for-9 stint from the free throw line. McKinney finished a rebound shy of 10 and notched four more blocks in her Defensive Player of the Year campaign. On the defensive side, the Niners allowed just four made field goals by Rice in each of the last three quarters holding them to under 30% shooting after the Owls began with a 47% first quarter.
SEMIS AWAIT AGAINST THE MEAN GREEN
Charlotte moves onto Friday's semifinals to face North Texas who dispatched Old Dominion 65-58 on Thursday afternoon. A big fourth quarter back on January 20th allowed the Niners to take a 72-67 victory in their only matchup so far this season. Charlotte has won three-straight against North Texas including a 71-67 win in the C-USA tournament back in 2020.
Consuegra on Facing North Texas
"I think it's going to be similar to going into this game with Rice. We played them a long time ago and we're very different. We were still figuring out who we were. I know it was a tight game, but I expect us to come out and play well. They are a great team. We expect another really gritty, tough game."
TIP AT 5:30 P.M. EASTERN ON STADIUM, 730 THE GAME
Friday's semifinal matchup will be the first of the two on the day beginning at 5:30 p.m. eastern, 4:30 central in Frisco. Stadium will once again have the broadcast along with 730 The Game, ESPN Charlotte. All links including live stats can be found at
http://www.charlotte49ers.com.
