University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Creighton
Lady Tiger Comeback Falls Short, 89-79
Dec 06, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2006
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A second half Lady Tiger comeback started too late and fell short in an 89-79 loss to Creighton (1-7) in non-conference action at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, Wednesday.
"We showed it (heart), but we showed it too late," head coach Blair Savage-Lansden said. "You have to give our players credit, we changed our defense in the second half, and they communicated and we matched up on some people that we typically wouldn't have guarded. We got some stops, we got some box-outs, so that was a great thing because we easily could have let the lead go to 36."
Memphis opened the game with the first bucket from Aroha Jennings, but Creighton, as it would all night, quickly answered back. A three from Michelle Kaus gave Creighton a lead at the 18:02 mark, 5-2, that they would never relinquish. Creighton would then work inside, scoring 11 points in the pain and converting 13 points off Lady Tiger turnovers in to a 47-38 half time lead.
The Lady Tigers came out sluggish to start the second half, as Creighton went on a 12-3 run to open the first four minutes of play. Kaus knocked down another three and pushed the Bluejays out to a 59-41 lead.
Memphis came to the bench at the under 16 minute media timeout and the coaching staff immediately began reminding the team that there was plenty of time left in the game. But the message took until the 10:07 mark to sink in, as Memphis found itself down 23, 72-49 with 10:07 to play before an Alysse Davis layup started a 10-0 run powered by seven points from Davis and a three from Devin Necaise which cut the deficit to 74-60 with 5:41 to play.
Ally Thrall would hit a three to end the Lady Tiger run, but Jennings quickly answered back for Memphis, hitting seven straight points to pull Memphis within 10 at 77-67 with 3:40 remaining in the game. Both teams would trade points at the free-throw line, but a layup from Chevelle Herring pushed the Bluejay lead back to 84-69, and while Memphis was able to cut the deficit to single digits, the Lady Tigers ran out of time and had to resort to fouling to try to get the ball back on offense and to score quick points. Ally Thrall stepped to the line six times in the last 22 seconds of the game to seal Creighton's first win of the season, 89-79.
"You've got to understand from this time of the year and out is intensity and competitiveness that separates people." Savage said, "Because everybody is starting to get tired, everyone has nagging injuries, and has the flu or whatever it is. That's when people start getting separated, but it's the heart. We had it, but it was too late."
Memphis had three players in double figured, led by 24 from Devin Necaise, who scored 19 points in the opening 20 minutes. Jennings added a season-best 18 points, while Leonard battled an off-shooting night, hitting 12 points, but going 4-for-14 from the field. Ashley Thornton led Memphis with nine rebounds, and she and Jennings each added three steals.
Creighton had six players in double figures, led by 21 from Ally Thrall. Sara Cain added 13, while Michelle Kaus had 11, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. The Bluejays shot 50.8 percent for the game, taking advantage of the Memphis interior for 28 points in the paint. The Bluejay bench out-scored the Memphis bench 26-19.
Memphis will break for final exams, before hosting Southeastern Louisiana, Dec. 15th, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
