University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
6-6, 0-1
Temple
5-8, 1-0
Temple Trips Up @MemphisWBKB 58-57 in American Opener
Dec 28, 2014 | Women's Basketball
MEMPHIS - - Feyonda Fitzgerald scored five of her 14 points in the final 2:51 of the game to help Temple (5-8, 1-0) upend host Memphis (6-6, 0-1) in American Athletic Conference play, Sunday. Fitzgerald hit the second of two free-throw attempts with 2:51 left in the second half to give Temple its first lead since the 15:40 mark in the opening half. That lead was short-lived, as Memphis' Brianna Wright stuck back a missed Ariel Hearn jumper to give the Tigers the lead back at 51-59 with 2:22 left, but Fitzgerald struck back with a left-hand step back to put the Owls back in front, where they would stay for the final 1:14 of the game.
"We had some missed assignments off the scouting report," Head Coach Melissa McFerrin said. "Fitzgerald hits two step backs to her left hand, which we know is her best shot, and she absolutely drilled them, and on our end of the floor, we weren't able to answer. I thought we had a lot of good looks tonight, we just couldn't convert them. If the other team scores 58 points, you kind of expect to win the game, but we're having trouble scoring right now."
Following Fitzgerald's shot, the Tigers called timeout and set up a play to Ariel Hearn, but Hearn turned the corner with two defenders waiting on her and was called for the Tigers' third offensive charge of the half. After the turnover, Temple called a timeout and set up a second triple for Erica Covile, who had hit her first three of the night with 5:03 left in the game to cut the Memphis lead to one at 49-48. But Covile's second three was still not enough though to push Temple to its fifth win of the season.
After Fitzgerald split a pair of free throws late, Ariel Hearn hit a three from the wing to cut the deficit to 56-54 with seven seconds left. Forced to foul, the Tigers could only watch as Tyonna Williams hit a pair of free-throw attempts for a 58-54 score with six seconds to go. Memphis quickly inbounded the ball to Hearn, who flew across half court and banked a three with 1.6 to play, but with Temple still up, 58-57.
Memphis forced Temple to burn its last timeout to prevent a five-second call on the ensuing inbounds play, but could not force a second turnover attempt as a long inbounds pass was touched at halfcourt and bounced to the Owls' end of the floor as the game clock expired.
The Tigers had led at the break 28-24 thanks to 10 first half points from junior forward Brianna Wright. Wright finished with 18 point and 14 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. The Owls knocked down five second half triples, offsetting a slow start with shots at the rim as Temple was 1-for-8 to start the second half. But the Owls shot 42.9 percent in the second half to erase a Memphis lead that had ballooned to nine at 38-29 with 17:02 left. But after Hearn hit back-to-back buckets after going 0-for-7 in the first half to push the lead to nine for the Tigers, Temple called a timeout and snapped the Tiger momentum. That timeout also saw Memphis insert subs, looking to give the starters a rest, something that would prove costly as the Tigers were looking to get the lead to double-digits.
"We had a nine point lead and we were going off a substitution schedule," McFerrin said. "We really feel we need to use the substitution schedule to get some of our players some rest, and we gave up some easy buckets during that time. We also committed four fouls during that same time. We went a long time in the second half without any fouls, then we put the subs in and commit four fouls and gave up a couple of easy buckets. All of a sudden, I look up and it's a four-point game. So, we're going to have to go to work on that."
Temple out-scored Memphis 14-7 in the next 11 minutes, and had cut the deficit to two at 45-43 with 7:37 left. Memphis was trying to get the lead to more than a single possession when Asianna Fuqua-Bey was whistled for an offensive charge. Breigha Wilder-Cochran hit the front end of a one-and-one, and drained a second free-throw try for a four-point lead, but Memphis then gave Feyonda Fitzgerald her first step-back, and she hit it, keeping the Tiger lead at just two, 47-45. Following a Mooriah Rowser jumper after a Wilder-Cochran steal, Memphis lost Covile on the switch at the top of the key, and she drilled her triple, setting Fitzgerald up for a pair of free-throws that gave Temple its first lead of the second half with 2:51 to play.
Brianna Wright led all players with 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting, adding 14 rebounds for her third double-double this year. Asianna Fuqua-Bey added 12 rebounds, but was 1-for-9 from the field, finishing with six points. Hearn scored all 13 of her points in the second half and Rowser finished with 10 points.
Tyonna Williams led Temple with 16 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from three-point range. Covile finished with a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Fitzgerald finished with 14 points off the bench in 26 minutes.
Memphis is on the road for its next conference contest, playing at USF on Wednesday at 3 p.m (ET). USF was picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference in the pre-season coaches' poll.
