SMU Women Rout Houston

via SMU

DALLAS (SMU)— Morgan Bolton scored a career-high 20 points as the SMU women’s basketball team defeated Houston 74-45 Monday night at Moody Coliseum. Bolton shot a career-high 6-for-7 from beyond the arc and 7-for-9 from the field, leading the Mustangs to their seventh American Athletic Conference victory and 16th win overall. SMU finished 11-3 at home with a win against No. 19 Texas A&M. All three losses were to teams either ranked or receiving votes, including No. 1 Connecticut.

Trailing 15-14 at the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs (16-13, 7-9 AAC) opened the second period on a 10-1 run spanning the first 5:32 of the period, jumping out to a 25-15 lead. SMU held on to the double-digit lead, taking a 34-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. Bolton led the Mustangs in the quarter, posting nine of SMU’s 20 points, shooting 3-for-3 from the three-point line as SMU held Houston (11-18, 4-12 AAC) to just nine points in the period.

SMU outscored the Cougars 22-11 in the third quarter, shooting 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from the field and 50.0 percent (3-for-6) from behind the arc, holding Houston to just 4-of-11 from the field and 1-of-4 from the three-point line.

The Mustangs solidified the victory in the fourth quarter, outscoring Houston 18-10, and led by as much as 30 points with 1:26 remaining in the game. This was the most points scored and the largest margin of victory in American Athletic Conference play.

With the win, SMU earned the No. 6 seed in the Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Tournament, and plays No. 11 East Carolina Friday at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on ESPN3. SMU finished the regular season tied for fifth in the conference under first-year head coach Travis Mays, posting the first winning record in three seasons.