University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
7-7, 1-2
East Carolina
9-5, 0-3
@MemphisWBKB Gets First Conference Win in Overtime, 60-57
Jan 04, 2015 | Women's Basketball
MEMPHIS - It took an extra period, but the University of Memphis women's basketball team (7-7, 1-2 American) picked up its first American Athletic Conference win of the season, 60-57, over visiting East Carolina (9-5, 0-3 American), Sunday afternoon. The overtime win was the first overtime game of the season for Memphis, who came back from 49-47 down with 0.1 on the clock to force overtime thanks to a pair of free throws from junior forward Brianna Wright.
"Brianna has been a warrior for us," Head Coach Melissa McFerrin said. "She's been fighting it out. She told me how nervous she was going to the line. I told her if she made them both, we would win it for her. Thankfully, her teammates lived up to that promise. I thought it was a great battle by our team. It certainly was not a pretty game, but it was a hard-fought game. I thought both teams were very invested. I was a little disappointed we came out and gave up a seven point lead at the half. We were committed and went to the offensive glass really well. I thought we defended them well. I'm just really pleased with our team after the Temple loss."
Down 49-47 with 2.4 seconds left to play, Memphis was having to inbound the ball from under the Pirates' goal after Jada Payne broke a 47-47 tie (tie number eight of regulation) to give the Pirates the lead. Asianna Fuqua-Bey threw the ball to half court, where Ariel Hearn tried to bring it down, but the ball bounced out of bounds off a Pirate player, and Memphis got a second shot at inbounding the ball, this time from half court.
Fuqua-Bey waited for the two guards to cut away from the ball and lobbed the ball toward the goal, where Brianna Wright brought it down between a pair of Pirate players. She tried to go up with it, but was fouled with 0.8 on the clock, earning a pair of free throws.
Wright, who entered the game a 41.4 percent shooter from the stripe, had hit a pair of free-throws in the first half, but was making her first attempts of the second period with the Tigers down 49-47. East Carolina called a timeout to try to ice the shooter, but Wright drained both, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, the two teams traded the lead five times before Shae Nelson drained a three from the top of the key to push East Carolina up 57-53 with 1:53 left in the overtime session. Ariel Hearn earned two shots at the free throw line on the other end, but missed both, but Wright picked up the offensive rebound off the second miss and the Tigers worked the ball around the perimeter to freshman guard Brea Elmore. Elmore drained her only bucket of the night from beyond the three-point line, cutting the Tiger deficit to 57-56 with 1:40 to play.
Nelson tried to knock down another three on the next trip, but again Rowser came up with a rebound, this one off the defensive glass and Ariel Hearn launched a shot from in front of the Memphis bench that rimmed short, right to where Wright was standing under the bucket. The junior post corralled the ball and scored it, pushing Memphis in front at 58-57 with 46 seconds to play.
On the other end, Asianna Fuqua-Bey drew a charge call that gave the Tigers the ball back with under 30 seconds to play. Once Memphis got the ball across half court, they played keep-away with it until the Pirates shoved Hearn out of bounds with the ball, sending her to the line for a pair of shots. She hit both for the final 60-57 margin.
Hearn finished with 26 points, coming off the bench, and shooting 8-for-17 from the floor while playing 40 minutes. Wright finished with six points and nine rebounds, while Taylor Williams, making her third start of the season, finished with six points, the Tigers' first of the night, and a season-best nine rebounds.
"It was a battle of the boards and a battle of the paint," McFerrin said. "They were trying to get in there, that's why we played so much zone. I'm so proud of Ariel Hearn. She took control of the team and the game. She managed the team and made play calls. She's been really hard on herself. She's been really disappointed in the last two games that she couldn't lead the team to a victory. She came to the gym today and willed her team to win. She was a warrior and a leader today."
Jada Payne led ECU with 18 points. I'Tiana Taylor added a double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds, leading all players with five steals on the day.
Memphis now hits the road for a pair of conference contests, playing at UCF, Wednesday, in a game that will air on ESPN3.com. Memphis then plays at Tulsa, Saturday, in a game that will be carried on the American Digital Network (TheAmerican.org/DN).
