Tigers Women's Basketball Falls To UT Martin In WNIT

Thursday, March 17

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm CT

University of Memphis

18-13

UT Martin

22-9

UT Martin

Memphis

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tigers Women's Basketball Falls To UT Martin In WNIT

Mar 17, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Memphis comeback falls short in 79-73 setback.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Sometimes you can fight and fight and fight. And still not be able to get on the right side of the score.

That's what happened to the University of Memphis women's basketball team in its Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) first-round contest against UT Martin Thursday. Before a crowd of 1,253 at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, the Tigers clawed their way back from a 20-point first-half deficit to take a lead midway through the fourth period, but was unable to hang on in the Skyhawks' 79-73 victory.

With the setback, Memphis completes its 2015-16 season with an 18-13 overall record. The Tigers placed fourth in the American Athletic Conference regular-season standings with a 12-6 league mark. UT Martin improved to 22-9 overall and advances to play Western Kentucky in the WNIT second round.

Asianna Fuqua-Bey led three Tigers in double figures with a game-high tying 19 points. She added a game-best 13 rebounds for her 10^th career double-double. Brianna Wright and Ariel Hearn each added 17 points. Hearn also grabbed eight rebounds and handed out four assists.

Fuqua-Bey finishes her career as one of seven players in program history with 900 points (987) and 800 rebounds (823). Hearn's total numbers wrap up at 1,945 points, 538 rebounds and 441 assists.

Katie Schubert led five UT Martin players in double figures with 19 points. She also grabbed a team-high seven boards. Haley Howard (16 points), Emanye Robertson (14), Shy Copney (12) and Jessy Ward (10) also netted double figures.

Memphis found themselves down by 20 points at 33-13 in the second period and by 14 at 45-31 at halftime. That's when the Tigers' fight and comeback began.

"It was a difficult start for us," said Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin. "They play such an atypical style, and it took us awhile to get used to it. We were hesitant against their zone early, and offensively, it's like nothing we play against all year long.

"In the second half when we got back in the game, we had three or four transition opportunities that came up empty and which could have given us a lead. We grabbed the lead twice in the fourth period, but we had those missed chances in transition."

The Tigers got the Skyhawks' lead to under double digits the first time with a 10-2 run to cut the UT Martin lead to 47-41 with 7:15 left in the third. Hearn and Mooriah Rowser three-pointers powered the Memphis early run.

The Skyhawks then answered with a quick five points to push their advantage back up to 11 at 52-41. Memphis then responded with a major spurt. Over the third period's final 4:49, the Tigers outscored UT Martin 13-2 to pull to with one at 55-54 by the quarter's end. Fuqua-Bey and Loysha Morris netted four points apiece, and Rowser added a trey in the run.

The Tigers defense played a major role in Memphis' third-period turnaround. After shooting nearly 60 percent from the field in the first half, UT Martin was held to 36.4 percent in the third quarter. Memphis also forced UT Martin into six turnovers in the quarter (UT Martin only had four miscues the entire first half). The Tigers out-rebounded UT Martin 15-6 in the third quarter.

Memphis carried that momentum into the final quarter and used an early 5-2 run to take its first lead of the contest at 59-57. A Wright three-point play put the Tigers in the lead with 6:37 left. After an exchange of baskets gave Memphis a 61-60 lead, the Skyhawks put together a small 6-0 spurt to take a 66-61 lead and gain the separation needed for the win.

The three-pointer, a Skyhawks' weapon all season, turned out to be the key in the end. After Wright's three-point play gave Memphis a 59-57 lead, Ward's three-pointer put UT Martin back ahead 60-59. Then, with under a minute to play and the Tigers down only 70-68, Schubert nailed a clutch trey to push the Skyhawks' advantage back to 73-68 with :36 left. Hearn answered with a three-pointer of her own, but UT Martin sealed the win at the charity stripe, hitting all six free throws in the final 27 seconds.

The first half saw the Skyhawks jump out early and never look back the entire two periods before the break. UT Martin grabbed a 12-point lead at 18-6 in the game's first 6:30. The Skyhawks led 27-11 at the end of the first quarter. UT Martin shot 76.5 percent from the floor in the first period.

Although the Tigers picked up their offense in the second period, UT Martin maintained control with a double-digit lead throughout the quarter. The Skyhawks led by as many as 20 points (33-13 with 8:12 left) and held a 45-31 advantage at half, setting up Memphis' furious second-half rally.

Memphis shot 44.8 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from the free throw line. The Skyhawks hit 51.7 percent from the floor and 68.4 percent from the foul line. UT Martin, which entered the game hitting over 10 three-pointers per game and over 38 percent from the arc, made only six treys and shot 35.3 percent from deep.