Tigers End Non-Conference Season With Key Victory Against Vanderbilt

Wednesday, December 28

Memphis, Tenn.

4:00 PM

University of Memphis

7-6

Vanderbilt

10-3

Vanderbilt

Memphis

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tigers End Non-Conference Season With Key Victory Against Vanderbilt

Dec 28, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Recap

This was the first win over Vanderbilt in almost 30 years; snap eight game skid against Commodores

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis women's basketball team earned a key victory Wednesday night on ESPNU by defeating the vote-receiving Vanderbilt Commodores by a score of 75-59 at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. This was the first Memphis victory against Vanderbilt since February 21, 1987, snapping an eight-game winning-streak by the Commodores against the Tigers.

Memphis finished the non-conference schedule with a 7-6 overall record and goes into the game on New Year's Day against Temple with a four-game winning streak.

How It Happened
Vanderbilt took an early 4-2 lead over the Tigers before a three-pointer by Brea Elmore with 6:49 left in the first ignited a 14-0 Memphis run over the next three minutes of action. Vanderbilt proceeded to respond with a 10-4 run of its own to cut the Memphis lead down to six after the first quarter of play.

In the first quarter, Brea Elmore and Cheyenne Creighton each accounted for nine points to lead the Tigers to a 20-14 lead.

A 23-point second quarter propelled Memphis to a 16-point, 43-27, lead at the half. A lay-up by Creighton with 6:16 was the start of another run to put the Tigers up 16 with three minutes before intermission. Through two quarters, the Tigers were shooting over 50 percent from the floor and held a 20-10 advantage in rebounding.

Even though the Commodores made a comeback attempt in the middle of the third quarter, the Tigers managed to hold Vanderbilt back. Vanderbilt cut the Memphis lead to 10 with 3:40 left in the third, but a lay-up by Porter helped jump start the Memphis offense to go back up 14 with 10 minutes remaining.

Memphis continued to build upon its sizeable lead through the heart of the fourth quarter. With 4:38 to play, the Tigers went up by 20 after another jumper by Creighton. Vanderbilt was forced to foul down the stretch and the Tigers were able to extend possessions to keep the game out of reach.

Turning Point
After the Tigers produced a 14-0 run in the first quarter to take the lead, Memphis never looked back. The six-point lead at the end of the first quarter was the smallest margin for the remainder of the contest.

Notables

The 75 points scored by Memphis was the highest offensive output this season.
The 59 points scored by Vanderbilt was the lowest offensive output this season. Vanderbilt was also held to its second-lowest field goal percentage against the Tigers. The lowest was in the loss to Louisville.
The 43 points scored in the first half is the most in a half this season by the Tigers.
The 45 rebounds by Memphis was the most this season.
Cheyenne Creighton scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds for her fifth-straight double-double. She also finished the game with two assists and zero turnovers.
Brea Elmore went 3-for-5 from long range and 5-for-12 from the floor to score 18 points for the Tigers.
Breigha Wilder-Cochran also scored in double-figures for Memphis with 11. She finished with a season-high four steals.
Memphis committed just four second-half turnovers and finished the game winning the turnover battle, 14 to 17. The Tigers also scored 20 points off of turnovers.
The Tigers recorded 13 steals, led by Wilder-Cochran and Elmore's four each.

Quotable – Melissa McFerrin, Head Coach
On Cheyenne Creighton's performance…
"Cheyenne was like the third starting post player last year in terms of production. This year, she has the confidence to go with it and she really wants the ball. For the first two years we couldn't get her to want the basketball. She wanted it tonight and she was really productive when it mattered."

On the defense…
"Our kids did a very nice job with the game plan today, it was fairly complex. There was one of their kids that didn't play today that we were expecting to play and we had to switch our game plan at the very beginning of the game. I thought the kids were spot on."

Next Up For The Tigers
Memphis will begin conference play this weekend with a New Years Day televised game against Temple. Tip-off against the Owls in a game broadcasted by ESPN2 is slated for 5:00 p.m. at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow the Tigers on Twitter at @MemphisWBB or go online to www.gotigersgo.com.