Tulane University
7-916-13; AAC
Memphis
7-914-15; AAC
Women’s Hoops Drops 57-56 Nail-biter to Memphis in Final Seconds
Feb 27, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Green Wave had two go-ahead shot attempts in final 10 seconds
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MEMPHIS – The Tulane women's basketball team (16-13, 7-9) rallied down 10 points in the first half to take a six-point lead in the fourth against the University of Memphis (14-15, 7-9), but the Tigers' Taylor Williams sunk another game-changing three against the Green Wave to hand the home team a 57-56 lead. The Green Wave had two go-ahead shot attempts in the final 10 seconds but couldn't get either to fall.
Kolby Morgan registered her 16th 20+ point performance this evening with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including a career high tying 6-of-9 effort from three-point range. Leslie Vorpahl registered her fourth double-digit assist performance on the year with 10 tonight to go with her seven points.
"I think we really battled. I'm really proud of our kids. A 20-2 free-throw differential is hard to overcome. We just turned the ball over too much" Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton stated. "We shot well but it's just a matter of making plays at the end."
Memphis grabbed six offensive rebounds to garner six more shots than the Wave on their way to a 17-9 lead at the end of the opening period.
However, Tulane caught fire from beyond the arc in the second quarter, hitting three consecutive treys that kick-started a 15-5 run that tied the game at 24-all with 3:51 to go till half. The Wave got buckets from six different players, shooting 63.6 percent in the quarter, while their defense kept Memphis off the board for a five minute stretch.
However, the Tigers ended the half on a 7-3 run capped by a buzzer beating lay-up that gave the home team a 31-27 lead at the mid-way point.
Next, Morgan handed Tulane its first lead of the game at 33-31 after draining back-to-back three's to kick-off the third. The Wave and Tigers then traded the lead five different times before Tulane boasted a small 43-42 lead heading into the fourth.
Wave later garnered their largest lead of the game, up 51-45 with 6:07 to go, but Memphis rallied with a 6-0 run. Morgan then scored five straight points in the next 30 seconds, handing the Wave a four-point lead at 56-52 with 1:50 remaining.
Memphis' Cheyenne Creighton made it a two-point game after two successful free-throws before Taylor Williams, who sank a three-point dagger in New Orleans earlier this month in the final 30 seconds, struck again before the Wave's final shots fell just short.
Up next, the Green Wave will enter the American Athletic Conference Championships as a No. 5 seed and will look to avenge a loss to No. 4 seed UCF in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m. CT, streaming live on ESPN3 inside the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
