University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Marquette
Lady Tigers Upset Marquette, 80-68
Jan 23, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2000
MEMPHIS, TENN. - University of Memphis Lady Tiger Basketball team kept their home winning streak alive by upsetting the Golden Eagles of Marquette Sunday afternoon by a score of 80-68.
Coming into this game Marquette (14-4, 6-1 Conference USA)was undefeated in legaue play and tops in the American Division, before the Lady Tigers (10-8, 4-3 Conference USA) defeated them and extended their home winning streak in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse to 12 straight wins.
It was a fast-paced game that featured hot shooting and a flurry of transition baskets. The Lady Tigers were up by as many as six and down by as many as three in the first half while forcing eight turnovers as a team. The lead would change nine times before the first half ended with Marquette going into the intermission with a three-point lead, 38-35.
Marquette came out with the hot hand scoring six unanswered points at the beginning of the second half. It wasn't until 15:40 left in regulation, before Memphis would creep back within one point on a jumper by junior forward Patrice Boyd that cut the Golden Eagles lead to just one, 45-44. The lead would jump back and forth until junior forward Tiffany Adkins converted a free throw and gave the Lady Tigers a one point lead, 57-56. Memphis would never relinquish that lead for the rest of the game and would lead by as many as twelve before finally grabbing the win.
"This was a great win," said coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "We played very well as a team and much more relaxed and composed than we did earlier in the week against DePaul. I thought Yo (Yolanda Reed) played extremely smart today and stepped her game up big time. I also thought Tiffany Adkins was a huge spark in intensity and energy. But, what won this game, was contributions from everyone."
As a team, Memphis shot a blistering 91 percent (30-of-33) from the charity stripe for the game, including 8-for-8 in the first half. Tiffany Adkins led in free-throw shooting with a 10-of-11 effort for the game. The Lady Tigers shot 36 percent from the field, and also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 36-34. The Lady Tigers, which have averaged more than 24 turnovers a game this year, gave up the ball a season-low 14 times, and forced Marquette to turn the ball over 20 times.
Pacing the Lady Tigers was Tiffany Adkins who scored 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a 10-of-11 mark from the charity stripe. Adkins also led the team with nine rebounds and collected four blocks, also a team-high. Senior guard Yolanda Reed was not far behind with 17 points, while dishing out seven assists which led the team, as well. Junior guard Tiffany Collins contributed 10 points and was 4-for-4 from the line.
For the Golden Eagles, Abbie Willenborg led all scorers with 25 and also collected eight boards, while teammate Kiesha Oliver racked up 10 points. Lisa Oldenburg would score 13 points and also give out three assists in the loss.
Memphis will close out it's home stand next week when they host Cincinnati and Louisville on Jan. 28 and Jan. 30, respectively. The Louisville game is scheduled for a live broadcast on Memphis' own UPN 30 with Greg Gaston and former Lady Tiger Heather Phillips providing the commentary.
