SMU Women Top Cincinnati
DALLAS (SMU) – Keena Mays scored 24 points and the SMU Mustangs forced 22 turnovers as they beat the Cincinnati Bearcats, 66-47, at Moody Coliseum on Tuesday night. Akil Simpson added 17 points and Mallory Singleton scored 14 in the win.
SMU improved to 13-7 (4-5 The American) and 7-2 at home with the victory, while Cincinnati slipped to 9-11 (2-7).
SMU took a 39-22 lead into halftime with Mays (15 points) and Singleton (10) leading the Mustangs into the break. Cincinnati opened the contest with a 12-6 lead, but SMU went on a 14-1 run into the nine-minute mark to gain control at 20-13. After a layup by Jeanise Randolph gave Cincinnati its first field goal in almost five minutes at the 8:43 mark, Mays scored 10 straight points over the next two-plus minutes to give SMU a 30-17 lead with 6:11 remaining in the half.
After a three-pointer by Cincinnati’s Alexis Durley cut SMU’s lead to 30-22, Singleton quickly responded with a layup to open the lead back to 10 at 32-22 with 4:24 left in the first half. SMU’s lead would remain in double-figures for the rest of the contest. SMU’s largest lead came with 2:23 left in the game after a Simpson layup brought the Mustangs’ advantage to 22 points at 66-44.
The Mustangs held Cincinnati to just 34 percent shooting from the field while making 43.3 percent of their own shots. SMU recorded 21 assists on 26 field goals, led by eight assists from Mays, tying a season high. Mays also tied a career high with six steals. Simpson tallied seven rebounds and a block while Gabrielle Wilkins recorded five points and seven rebounds.
Next up for the Mustangs is a home contest against Temple at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game is the second of a doubleheader with the SMU men’s basketball team, who takes on Memphis at 1 p.m.
