The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championships for 10 NCAA division one collegiate women’s teams got started yesterday at the Baha Mar Convention Center with the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators all producing early victories.

The Bulldogs routed the Columbus Lions 73-56, the Buckeyes pounded the East Carolina Pirates 79-56 and the Florida Gators held off the Purdue Boilermakers 52-49.

In the pair of evening games, Oklahoma State took on Penn State and the University of South Carolina met Seton Hall.

• Here’s a summary of the games played:

Gators 52,

Boilermakers 49

In a game that went right down to the wire, Purdue made three consecutive fouls in the final 10 seconds before Aliyah Matharu finals to the foul line and converted a pair of charity shots as they pulled away from a 50-49 lead push their lead up three, 52-49.

Abbey Ellis attempted a “hail Mary” three-pointer at the buzzy for the Boilermakers, but it bounced off the rim as the Gators celebrated the much deserved victory.

Matharu, the pesky guard, ended up with a game high 15 points with four rebounds and two assists. Guard Leilani Correa had 10 points and eight rebounds; center Ra Shaya Kyle had nine points and nine rebounds; guard Laila Reynolds added six points with four rebounds and both Alberte Rimdal and Jeriah Warren came off the bench and contributed five points apiece.

Florida, coached by Kelly Finley, led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, 26-22 sat the half and 42-40 at the end of third. They held off Purdue, coached by Katie Gearlds, 10-9 in the fourth when it counted the most.

The Boilermakers got 14 points, five rebounds and three steals from guard Abby Ellis. Caitlyn Harper had 12 points and five rebounds and Jayla Smith came off the bench and helped out with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Florida, competing out of the SEC, reached the quarterfinals of the postseason WNIT last year, while the Big Ten Purdue representative got to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Buckeyes 79, Pirates 56: Guard Jacy Sheldon produced 20 points with five rebounds and a pair of assists to lead four other players in double figures as Ohio State improved to 3-1 on the season.

Guard Taylor Thierry had 14 points with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals; forward Rebeka Mkulasikova had 12 points, three assists, two rebounds and as many steals; forward Cotie McMahon had 11 points with seven rebounds; Rikki Harris came off the bench and also contributed 11 points.

Although they controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish, opening up with an 10-0 run, Ohio State had to endure a near shuffle with 1:29 left in the third quarter.

Officials held up the game for a considerable time to review a play that resulted in Jade Tillman of ECU being ejected, while two players from OS got hit with a technical foul each. Ohio State was leading 57-41 at that point.

Guard Synia Johnson scored 14 points with seven rebounds to pace East Carolina. Amiya Joyner had 12 points and nine rebounds and guard Micah Dennis added 10 points with four assists and three rebounds.

Ohio State, coached by Kevin McGuff in his 22nd season, is coming off its first NCAA Elite Eight appearances in 30 years with an 28-8 overall record, while East Carolina, coached by Kim McNeil in her eighth season, is coming off a first round appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year.

Bulldogs 73: Lions 56: Zoesha Smith led four players in double figures as Georgia, who are entering their second year under coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, picked up their third straight victory of the season.

Smith, connecting on 8-for-11 from the field, had 18 points with seven rebounds. Javyn Nicholson had 17 points with seven rebounds as well, along with three assists; Chloe Chapman had 15 points and seven assists and DeMauri Flournoy added 11 points.

The Bulldogs led 37-29 at the half, but while they only scored nine in the third quarter, they held the Lions to the same tally in the fourth when they stepped on the gas, scoring 27 points to put the game away.

In a losing effort for Columbus, Riley Weiss scored 18 points; Kitty Henderson had 12 points with four rebounds, four assists and as many steals and Abbey Hsu contributed 10 points with seven rebounds and two assists.

The Lions, coached by Megan Griffith, are coming off their first Ivy League championship title last year, although they eventually fell short of making the NCAA Tournament.

After taking a break on Tuesday, the final day of competition for the women will be played today with the following games on tap:

11 am Seton Hall vs East Carolina.

1:30 pm Columbia vs Florida.

4 pm Purdue vs Georgia.

6:30 pm Ohio State vs Oklahoma State.

9 pm Penn State vs University of South Carolina.