Saturday, February 4
Denton
3:30 PM CT
University of North Texas
-913,66 CUSA
69
vs
66
Rice
-156,66 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
15
18
19
14
66
North Texas
18
14
19
18
69
Photo by: Zach Del Bello
Moore’s Clutch Shot Lifts Women’s Basketball to 69-66 Win Over Rice
2/4/2023 10:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNT pushes winning streak to three, have won five of their last seven games
DENTON, Texas (Feb. 4, 2023) – With :21 seconds left to play in the game and the score tied at 64, junior Jaaucklyn Moore hit a huge 3-pointer that would prove to be the game-winner and lead UNT to a 69-66 win over Rice Saturday afternoon inside the Super Pit.
The Mean Green avenged their loss to the Owls earlier this season and have now won three straight games for the first time this season and have won five of their last seven overall.
Senior Quincy Noble led UNT with 17 points and six rebounds while Kendall McGruder added 16 and Moore finished with 12 while going 5 for 7 from the floor.
As a team, UNT shot 50.0 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from 3-point range to improve to 9-13 overall and 6-6 in C-USA play.
The contest was back-and-forth throughout, as the lead changed hands eight times in the matchup and the score was tied a total of six. Additionally, the largest lead for either side in the game was when UNT went up by eight points while Rice's largest lead was four.
Holding a narrow 8-7 lead, the Mean Green were the first to create separation as they rattled off six straight points to make the score 14-7.
Rice responded immediately, with an 8-2 run of their own before UNT hit the final basket of the period to make the score 18-15 at the end of the first.
With the score 21-19, the Mean Green grabbed their largest lead of the game with another 6-0 run that featured four consecutive points from Aniyah Johnson.
From that point in the first half, Rice outscored UNT 16-5 to close the period and grab a 33-32 lead heading into the locker room.
Throughout the third, neither team created any separation as the lead changed hands four times and the score was tied twice in the third quarter alone. The teams both scored 19 points apiece in the frame to make the score 52-51 heading into the fourth.
Trailing 57-53, UNT used a strong 10-2 run in which five different players scored to take a 63-59 lead and did not trail from that point on.
The Owls were able to score five of the next six points of the contest to tie things up at 64 with :50 seconds left to play in the contest.
Off an inbounds pass on the baseline, Moore collected a pass from Ereauna Hardaway with just two seconds left on the shot clock. The junior out of Round Rock, Texas, did not hesitate, and hit the 3-pointer to put UNT on top for good.
Down the stretch, Hardaway was fouled with one second remaining and sank a pair of free throws to push the final deficit to 69-66.
The Mean Green were able to get out in transition and control the pace of the game in the win, holding an 11-2 advantage in fastbreak points.
Quoting Coach Mitchell
"It was a huge team win. Everybody contributed to this win in some way and everything that they did was much needed. I think sticking together was huge because not everything we talked about in the huddle getting done on the floor went our way. But I thought us keeping our heads and staying together…was huge. We forced 20 turnovers and we needed every one of them. Some big shots, some big stops, everything was crucial to this win. We beat a really good team. And we did that on both ends of the floor."
Next Up
UNT puts its three-game win streak on the line when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to take on UAB Thursday, Feb. 9, at 11:00 AM CT.
The Mean Green avenged their loss to the Owls earlier this season and have now won three straight games for the first time this season and have won five of their last seven overall.
Senior Quincy Noble led UNT with 17 points and six rebounds while Kendall McGruder added 16 and Moore finished with 12 while going 5 for 7 from the floor.
As a team, UNT shot 50.0 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from 3-point range to improve to 9-13 overall and 6-6 in C-USA play.
The contest was back-and-forth throughout, as the lead changed hands eight times in the matchup and the score was tied a total of six. Additionally, the largest lead for either side in the game was when UNT went up by eight points while Rice's largest lead was four.
Holding a narrow 8-7 lead, the Mean Green were the first to create separation as they rattled off six straight points to make the score 14-7.
Rice responded immediately, with an 8-2 run of their own before UNT hit the final basket of the period to make the score 18-15 at the end of the first.
With the score 21-19, the Mean Green grabbed their largest lead of the game with another 6-0 run that featured four consecutive points from Aniyah Johnson.
From that point in the first half, Rice outscored UNT 16-5 to close the period and grab a 33-32 lead heading into the locker room.
Throughout the third, neither team created any separation as the lead changed hands four times and the score was tied twice in the third quarter alone. The teams both scored 19 points apiece in the frame to make the score 52-51 heading into the fourth.
Trailing 57-53, UNT used a strong 10-2 run in which five different players scored to take a 63-59 lead and did not trail from that point on.
The Owls were able to score five of the next six points of the contest to tie things up at 64 with :50 seconds left to play in the contest.
Off an inbounds pass on the baseline, Moore collected a pass from Ereauna Hardaway with just two seconds left on the shot clock. The junior out of Round Rock, Texas, did not hesitate, and hit the 3-pointer to put UNT on top for good.
Down the stretch, Hardaway was fouled with one second remaining and sank a pair of free throws to push the final deficit to 69-66.
The Mean Green were able to get out in transition and control the pace of the game in the win, holding an 11-2 advantage in fastbreak points.
Quoting Coach Mitchell
"It was a huge team win. Everybody contributed to this win in some way and everything that they did was much needed. I think sticking together was huge because not everything we talked about in the huddle getting done on the floor went our way. But I thought us keeping our heads and staying together…was huge. We forced 20 turnovers and we needed every one of them. Some big shots, some big stops, everything was crucial to this win. We beat a really good team. And we did that on both ends of the floor."
Next Up
UNT puts its three-game win streak on the line when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to take on UAB Thursday, Feb. 9, at 11:00 AM CT.
Team Stats
Rice
UNT
FG%
.400
.500
3FG%
.348
.444
FT%
.588
.739
RB
36
31
TO
20
15
STL
9
14
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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