Tulane University
15-9, 6-5
Memphis
12-12, 5-6
Women's Hoops Falters Down Stretch, Loses 55-52 to Memphis
Feb 9, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Kolby Morgan earns second double-double on the season
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NEW ORLEANS – The (-/RV) Tulane women's basketball team (15-9, 6-5) was up nine points in the third and tied at 39-all heading into the fourth, but couldn't sustain the momentum as the Memphis Tigers (12-12, 5-6) escaped with the 55-52 win. The Green Wave almost rallied down five with under 20 seconds to go but couldn't get the three-point attempt off in time to force overtime.
Kolby Morgan led the Wave effort with her second double-double on the season, earning 19 points and 10 rebounds. Harlyn Wyatt also tallied double-digits with 13 points. In addition, Leslie Vorpahl became the third player in Tulane history tonight to surpass 500 career assists.
"It's hard to express how disappointed I am," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton stated. "In the first half, we turned over the ball too much but we were ahead because of our defense. Memphis shot 71 percent in the third quarter and I think that's effort and determination on us. I certainly give Memphis a lot of credit for it but that's on us. We got to be better."
There were six total lead changes in the first quarter before Morgan scored the Wave's final seven points to give Tulane a 14-10 lead over Memphis. The Wave defense then stepped up in the second period, as the Tigers didn't register a field goal until the 5:50 mark, finishing 3-for-12 in the period, as Tulane took advantage by producing a 12-1 run, powered by seven points from Vorpahl.
Yet, Memphis fought back, cutting the deficit with an 8-2 run before Morgan hit a three-pointer before the half-time buzzer to send the Wave into the locker-room with a 26-19 advantage.
Tulane then built a lead as large as nine in the third, up 38-29, but Memphis rallied once more, forcing three Wave turnovers in the final four minutes of the period to produce a 10-1 run to tie the game at 39-all.
Next, the Tigers hit a three to start the fourth, earning their first lead since the 1:24 mark in the first, ultimately jumping out to a 52-44 lead with four minutes remaining. However, Tulane began to chip away, getting two points each from Madzarevic, Wyatt and Latham, cutting it to 52-50 with 49 seconds to go.
Then, Memphis' Taylor Williams hit what was the game-changing three with 25 seconds to go to push the Tiger lead back to five at 55-50. Wyatt later converted a lay-up while the Wave defense caused a turnover. However, with just 1.0 left on the clock, Tulane couldn't get off the three-point attempt, falling 55-52.
Up next, the Green Wave look to topple a Top-25 team on national T.V. this Sunday when they clash with No. 22/23 South Florida at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
