Games I'd wish I'd seen on 19 December 2013

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, lots of teams out there are celebrating through tournaments - it's a great chance for teams to offer their players the beaches of a foreign country, the bright lights of a big city, or something as a reward for all of the hard work of practice.

I wonder how much of a reward players really get - particularly when they lose tournament games.  Two of the games I'd wish I'd seen yesterday took place in holiday tournament play, where the winners got an early Christmas present and the losers got coal.

(6-5) Michigan State 57
(9-0) #13 Oklahoma State 63
Puerto Rico Classic

* Not a great shooting game by either team - the Spartans shot 34 percent and the Cowgirls shot 31 percent
* Michigan State had 22 personal fouls, giving Oklahoma State 29 free throws - they hit 22 (76 percent)
* Oklahoma State only shot 24.2 percent in the first half and went 13 minutes without afield goal.
* Senior guard Tiffany Bias went 4-for-4 at the free throw line at the end of the game to keep OSU undefeated.


(6-3) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 71
@ (3-7) Texas Southern 69

* Fourth straight win for the Islanders
* The Texas Southern Lady Tigers closed the game on a 13-2 run, tying the game with a 3-pointer by freshman forward Kyaris Johnson with 20 seconds left
* Senior guard Taryn Gregory got the ball at the point with three seconds left and took it all the way to the rim to keep Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's final point.
* Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior guard Jasmin Shaw scored 28 points with 10-for-14 shooting - a career best and tying a school record with most three point goals in a game (seven).

(4-6) Louisiana-Monroe 77
(5-3) Washington 5-3
Dual in the Desert (Las Vegas, NV)

* Washington wins the rebounding battle 39-28 but suffers 20 turnovers.
* Huskies lead by 13 with 7:13 left in the game but the Warhawks answer with a 12-0 run to close to 69-68 - it would be the closest ULM would come
* Washington junior guard Jazmine Davis - 30 points on 10-for-15 shooting


(5-6) Seattle 72
@ (3-8) Loyola Marymount 70

* Redhawks shoot 49 percent, but only take 49 shots
* Great passing game - both teams have 20 assists
* Seattle registers 20 steals, leading to 25 Lions turnovers
* LMU led 70-69 with 1:40 left, but Seattle hit three out of four free throws to get the win
* Seattle freshman guard Alexis Montgomery - 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals


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Elo Rankings at end of December 19, 2013:

1. Connecticut 11-0, 2. Tennessee 10-0, 3. Kentucky 11-0, 4. Notre Dame 9-0, 5. Duke 11-1, 6. Stanford 9-1, 7. Louisville 11-1, 8. Maryland 10-1, 9. Baylor 9-1, 10. North Carolina 10-2, 11. Oklahoma 8-3, 12. Colorado 9-0, 13. California 7-2, 14. Louisiana State 9-1, 15. Nebraska 8-2, 16. Purdue 8-2, 17. Iowa State 9-0, 18. Oklahoma State 9-0, 19. South Carolina 9-1, 20. Georgia 11-0, 21. Texas A&M 7-3, 22. Penn State 7-3, 23. Vanderbilt 9-2, 24. Gonzaga 9-2, 25. Dayton 4-4