University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UAB
Lady Tiger Comeback Bounces Off Back of Rim
Jan 20, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2006
A three-point field goal attempt from senior Tamika Butler bounced hard off the back of the rim, allowing UAB (9-7, 2-3 C-USA) to escape from Memphis (2-14, 0-5) with a 61-58 victory despite the Blazers having the Lady Tigers down by 20 at one point in the second half.
With less than 13 seconds on the clock, Memphis in-bounded the ball after a pair of Brittany Jones free-throws, which made it 61-58 in UAB's favor. Butler hurried up the court and set a play for freshman Paris Leonard, who was doubled by the UAB defenders, but still got off a jumper inside the three-point line with four seconds remaining. Junior Megan Gooch tipped the offensive board out to the perimeter where Butler scrambled to corral the loose ball. The senior from Marianna collected herself and let a three go from the top of the wing which bounced off the rim as the clock expired.
The last second heroics really began at the 15:57 in the second half, as Memphis found itself down 44-24 before Leonard hit her first three of the game. Then the Lady Tiger rebounders and defense went to work, with Butler tearing the ball out of the arms of Shimena Moore and breaking to the other end to start a 12-5 Memphis run fueled by six points from Leonard, two steals from Butler, two defensive rebounds from Jamie Bradley and two steals from Sherika Montgomery. The collective team effort under the boards and on defense helped cut the Lady Tiger deficit to 10 for the first time during the game at 47-37 with 12:11 to play.
"I think this could be that game we look back on and see that we can score, and rebound and play defense and do the things that we each do well and win games," Head Coach Blair Savage said. "This is the kind of effort the coaching staff has always believed was in this team. If we put forth this type of effort all the time, we will win some games down the stretch."
The Blazers kept the lead at double-digits for seven minutes, trading buckets with the Lady Tigers and never getting more than 13 points away. When LaKitha Murray hit a three at the 8:08 mark, she gave UAB that 13-point lead. Then Tamika Butler went to work. The senior converted one of two free-throws, then hit a jumper to cut the lead to 54-44 with 6:42 to play. Another drive down the lane on an isolation play again cut into the UAB lead and when Leonard hit a jumper, Memphis had cut the deficit to single digits for the first time since the 4:07 mark in the first half.
But the Blazers would answer back with a layup from Christon Ingram to go back up 11. Megan Gooch made sure the Lady Tigers weren't done by stealing a ball intended for Shimena Moore which Butler turned into a pair of made free-throws on the other end. When UAB again came down the court, they got one shot off before Leonard aired for the defensive rebound and drove to the other end. She missed the next jumper, but Ashley Howard was there with the stickback to make it 59-52 with 2:13 to play.
Leonard then made up for the earlier missed jumper by floating loose behind the arc and sinking a three-point field goal to make it 59-55 with 1:42 remaining. On the ensuing trip to the UAB offensive end, Howard blocked a Britney Jones three-point field goal attempt and Memphis came down and cut the lead to 59-57 on a Megan Gooch jumper off the feed from Butler. Gooch converted the and-one to make it a one point game with 1:04 to play.
On the defensive end, Gooch was whistled for a foul while defending the post, but Christon Ingram missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Howard grabbed the defensive rebound to give Memphis a chance to set up for one last shot with 47 seconds to play. But when Howard got the ball in the block on the other end and went up with it, she was tied up for a jump ball, which awarded possession back to UAB.
With 13 seconds left on the clock, Butler was forced to foul the ball handler, freshman Britney Jones, who stepped to the line and hit both free-throws, setting up Memphis' last gasp effort at the buzzer.
Memphis had three players in double-digits, led by 18 from Leonard, 15 from Butler and 13 from Necaise. It was Butler's first time in the C-USA portion of the schedule to score double-digits. Ashley Howard added two points and 11 rebounds, eight of them offensive. The Lady Tigers actually out-rebounded UAB, 49-41, but a first half shooting percentage of 19.4 percent with six missed lay-ups came back to haunt Memphis in the end.
UAB had four players in double-digits, led by 17 from Jones and 16 from Crystal McFadden. Carmen Guzman added 12 points while Lakitha Murray rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, both of her treys falling in the second half.
Memphis will fly to New Orleans to face Tulane on Sunday, while UAB travels to El Paso to face UTEP, also Sunday afternoon. Memphis returns home next weekend to host UCF, Friday, at 7 p.m. and Southern Miss, Sunday, at 1 p.m.
