Women’s Basketball Shines In Play4Kay Game

Sunday, February 18

Memphis, Tenn.

2:00 PM

University of Memphis

8-18, 3-10AAC

Tulane

12-14, 4-9AAC

Tulane

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Feb 18, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Two double-doubles and a pair of 20-plus point performances in the victory

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A pair of double-doubles by Cheyenne Creighton and Jasmine James combined with 20-point games by Creighton and Brea Elmore led the University of Memphis women's basketball team to a 73-60 victory over Tulane Sunday afternoon on ESPN2. The win improves the Tigers to 8-18 on the year and 3-10 in American Athletic Conference play.

How It Happened
Both teams jumped out quick in the first quarter, scoring 22 points each and over 50 percent from the field. Memphis took the first lead of the contest with a 6-0 run to under seven minutes to play before the Green Wave had an answer. Exchanging three-pointers in the final 25 seconds of the first tied up the contest at 22-all.

Playing with just five players, the Memphis offense didn't slow down. In the final half of the second quarter, the Tigers built a 12-point advantage over the visiting Green Wave.

A 7-0 run to open the second half lifted Memphis to a 21-point lead over Tulane. Throughout the third, the Tigers lead hovered anywhere from 16 to 20 points until a 6-0 Tulane run cut it to 12 with 1:18 on the clock. Brea Elmore halted the run with a lay-up with just over a minute to play to go back up 14.

Another Tulane run in the middle of the fourth quarter cut the Memphis lead to six with 2:58 remaining, but the resilient Tigers held strong down the stretch. Suffocating defense in the final three minutes forced Tulane to miss its final 10 shots while the Tigers upped their lead back to double-digits.

A fastbreak lay-up by Cheyenne Creighton with just over a minute left in the game was the final boost of energy Memphis needed to halt any chance of a Tulane comeback.

Turning Point
The 18-6 second quarter in favor of Memphis gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead of the game. After Tulane cut the Memphis lead down to six, the suffocating defense in the final three minutes of the game halted the Green Wave's chances of coming back against the Tigers. Memphis finished the final quarter shooting 7-for-9 from the floor.

Notables

Memphis scored 40 points in the first half. It was the most scored in a half by the Tigers since 41 against ECU on January 6, 2018.
The six points allowed in the second quarter was the fewest allowed since allowing six in the road win over Tulsa.
Jasmine James registered her first Memphis double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Both totals are career-highs.
Cheyenne Creighton also registered a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. It was the 11^th double-double of the year for Creighton and the 19^th of her career.
Brea Elmore joined Creighton with 20 points for the Tigers. She enters Wednesday night's home game against UCF just four points shy of becoming the 25^th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 points. Elmore also had seven assists (matched a career-high), a block, and a steal for Memphis.
Taylor Barnes led Memphis with eight assists, also matching a career-high.
Memphis shot a season-high 58.0 percent from the floor and finished with a season-high 23 assists on 29 made baskets. Memphis never had a quarter with less than a 50 percent effort from the floor.
Four of the five Tigers scored in double-digits. Jada Stinson led Memphis in three-point shooting with three made three's. She finished with 13 points.
Although Memphis committed nine more turnovers than Tulane, the Tigers outscored the Green Wave in points off turnovers, 18-16.

Melissa McFerrin Quotable
I've told the team this, how we still believe we are capable of winning and we have been so close. I'm just really happy and very proud of the team today. It was a special day for all of us.

Next Up For The Tigers
The Tigers remain at home for the next two games starting with UCF Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on the American Digital Network.

The game can also be heard on 91.7 FM WUMR with Jeff Brightwell on the call. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow the Tigers on Twitter at @MemphisWBB.