University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Saint Louis
Lady Tigers Secure Bye in C-USA
Feb 27, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2000
ST. LOUIS, MO - finishing the 1999-2000 regular season in third place in the league, with a 73-66 victory over Saint Louis here Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Tigers had somewhat of a home-court advantage as nearly 150 Lady Tiger fans drove up to Saint Louis for the game, including several dressed as pirates.
"What a ballgame," said coach Joye Lee-McNelis who came out for her post-game radio show dressed as a pirate along with assistant coaches Maurice Stafford and Brenda Welch-Nichols. "We really appreciate these fans coming out here and I really feel they were a major factor in helping us win this ballgame."
Memphis improved to 17-10 on the year, 11-5 in C-USA, with the win, as Saint Louis dropped to 11-16 overall, 4-12 in the league.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 53-43 lead early in the second half, but Saint Louis used a 14-4 run to tie the game at 57 with 9:08 left to play. SLU's April McKinney hit two free throws as SLU tied the game 66-66 with just over two minutes left to play. Memphis' Patrice Boyd answered the free throws with a crucial layup that gave the Lady Tigers the 68-66 lead with 1:05 left on the clock. Tiffany Collins hit two free throws to push the Lady Tigers ahead by four, and then just seconds later stole the ball and added another free throw, hitting the second shot of a 1-and-1 for the 71-66 lead with 11.2 seconds left to play. Shannon Hamp sealed the 73-66 victory with two free throws in the final two seconds of the game.
Tiffany Adkins led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 16 points while Melissa Abraham led the squad in rebounding with eight boards. Also in double digits for Memphis were Tiffany Collins with 13 points and Shannon Hamp and Abraham who added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"Tiffany Collins did a phenomenal job in stepping up in crunch time," added McNelis. "She hadn't been feeling well lately, but I thought she really stepped up big."
Mandy Lueking and Harmonie King led SLU in scoring with 16 points apiece. Bridget Beckman recorded a double-double with a team-leading 11 rebounds and 11 points.
The lead changed five times in the first seven minutes of the game, but at about the 13-minute mark, Saint Louis led by two, 13-11. SLU held the lead until the last three seconds of the first half when Tiffany Collins hit a jumper to push the Lady Tigers up by one, 40-39. Both teams hit over 50 percent of their shots in the first half, as Memphis shot 55.2 percent from the field (16-of-29) and SLU shot 53.3 percent from the field (16-of-30). Saint Louis outrebounded Memphis, 16-13, but Memphis forced 15 SLU turnovers and only gave up the ball 13 times.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Louisville, Ky., next week to play in the 2000 Jewish Hospital Conference USA Tournament hosted by the University of Louisville at Freedom Hall. The tournament bracket will be announced late Sunday evening. First round games will be played on Friday, March 3, and the four squads that receive byes in the first round will begin play on Saturday.
