WBB2K22: Hoops Report 31

Montana State 96, Idaho 84

A high scoring affair took place in a part of the country where most people don't associate with basketball. Host Idaho was outscored 28-7 by Montana State as the Bobcats overcame a 77-68 fourth quarter deficit to improve to 15-8. Montana State was led by the brilliant shooting of Darian White. The 5-6 guard from Boise, Idaho returned to her home state to lead Montana State with with a season high of 32 points. She shot 13-21, while also dishing out eight assists with six rebounds, three steals and one block. White is averaging 16.8 points but this was just the second game this year, that the she has shot over 50 percent overall from the field.

#14 LSU 68, Ole Miss 64

Forty years ago, the Pointer Sisters sang a worldwide hit entitled "I'm so excited." Forty years later LSU guard Khayla Pointer is exciting fans at LSU averaging 19 points per game. In Monday's 68-64 win over Ole Miss, Pointer had a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. This was her second triple-double of the season. The 5-7 senior guard posted 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to start the season with a win over Nicholls. LSU improved to 19-4 after Monday night's win. Pointer leads LSU in scoring and assists, with 5.3 dimes per game.

Charlotte 57, Florida Atlantic 55

Mikayla Boykin shot 6-10 and scored 14 points as Charlotte slugged it out with Florida Atlantic to earn its second 2-point win in as many games. On Saturday the 49ers travelled to Huntington, West Virginia to win an ugly 39-37 overtime battle. Monday night Charlotte returned home to host Florida Atlantic to pull out the close 57-55 win. Boykin had her best overall shooting percentage of the season as she also shot 2-4 from three. The 5-9 senior guard has scored 11 points or more in 13 of the last 14 contests. Charlotte improved to 12-7 as Florida Atlantic dropped to 5-17.

#21 Ohio State 61, Rutgers 57

Ohio State forced visiting Rutgers to 20 turnovers but had to fight for survival as it won a 61-57 nail biter. Guard Taylor Mikesell shot 6-11 from three on her way to 26 points. Mikesell was the only Buckeye who scored consistently. The rest of the Ohio State squad shot 3-16 from three and 10-42 overall from the field. The senior from Youngstown, Ohio has scored 20 points or more in seven games this season. She has hit four or more threes in 11 games. Mikesell is averaging 19.5 points per game.

La Tech 68, UTEP 65

Keiunna Walker kept up her hot shooting as she scored 17 points on 54.5 percent shooting from the field and a perfect 5-5 performance from the free-throw line. Walker has led La Tech to a fourth straight win, beating UTEP 68-65, at home Monday night. She has shot at least 50 percent in each of those four games. Over the past four games Walker is averaging 19.2 points per game. Walker is averaging 17.6 points for the entire season. La Tech improved to 14-8 in the win as UTEP dropped to 13-9.

Alabama State 61, Southern 58

Alabama State snatched a win from host Southern, 61-58. Hornets guard Ayana Emmanuel hit 10 of her 11 free-throw attempts to score 15 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Emmanuel also recorded one steal and a block. Emmanuel is averaging 12.9 points and has scored double figures in all but two games this season. Shmya Ward scored 18 points shooting 8-12 for the Hornets. She also collected six rebounds before fouling out. Ward is averaging 12.8 points per game but over the past five games she is averaging 16.6 points

Bellmont 46, Tennessee-Martin 39

Belmont overcame a 30-26 fourth quarter deficit to finish the game on a 19-9 run, beating Tennessee-Martin 46-39. Sophomore Tuti Jones scored 17 points shooting 4-7 from three. The 5-7 guard showed grit grabbing a season high nine rebounds, while also collecting three steals on defense. With the road win, Belmont improved to 14-7 as Tennessee-Martin fell to 7-15.