Second Half Comeback Leads Tigers To Victory Over Tulane

Thursday, February 9

New Orleans, La.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

12-12, 5-6

Tulane

15-9, 6-5

Memphis

Tulane

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Second Half Comeback Leads Tigers To Victory Over Tulane

Feb 09, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Taylor Williams hits crucial three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining to give Tigers two-possession lead

NEW ORLEANS, La. – A 36-point second half led the University of Memphis women's basketball team to a 55-52 comeback victory on the road at Tulane Thursday evening. Taylor Williams scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half which included a crucial three-pointer to put Memphis up five with 25 seconds remaining.

Memphis improves to 12-12 on the year and 5-6 in conference play with the victory over the vote-receiving Green Wave.

How It Happened
Offensively, both teams got off to a slow start as Tulane had a 5-4 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter. Tulane went on to hit a pair of baskets with just over a minute left in the quarter to take a four-point, 14-10, lead into the first break.

The Tulane lead grew to as many as 10 with 6:08 remaining in the second quarter before the Tigers started chipping away. Memphis cut the lead down to four after a pair of Taylor Williams free throws with 1:19 remaining and ultimately finished the half down seven to the Green Wave.

After exchanging baskets to start the third quarter, the Tigers used a 16-1 run capped by a Cheyenne Creighton lay-up to turn a nine-point deficit into a six-point lead. A Williams three-pointer to start the fourth quarter proved to put Memphis up for good.

The Memphis lead continued to grow to as many as eight with 4:00 on the clock before Tulane attempted to make one more run at shifting the momentum in its favor. The Green Wave proceeded to go on a 6-0 run to cut the Tiger lead down to two with 49 seconds remaining. Williams had an answer, however, of a long three-pointer with 25 seconds to play to make it a two-possession game.

Turning Point
The 16-1 run by Memphis through the end of the third quarter into the beginning of the fourth turned a nine-point deficit into a six-point lead, putting the Tigers up for good over Tulane. After the Green Wave went on a late run, Taylor Williams hit a three-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock to make the game all but out of reach.

Notables

Memphis had nine steals in the first half. That was the second most steals in a half this season. Against Nicholls State in the second half, Memphis had 10.
The 13 steals for the Tigers is the 11^th time this season Memphis has had double figure steals.
Cheyenne Creighton and Brea Elmore finished with a team-high four steals.
Taylor Williams scored a team-high 15 points while Cheyenne Creighton and Brea Elmore each had 11.
This was the first victory in New Orleans for the Tigers since January 18, 2008. Memphis improved to 25-19 against Tulane with tonight's victory.
With the win, Memphis is now in sole possession of sixth place in the American Athletic Conference standings.
The 52 points scored by Tulane was almost 14 points lower than its season average.

Next Up For The Tigers
Memphis returns to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Feb. 15 for a 7 p.m. contest against East Carolina. This will be the first and only time during the regular season the Tigers and the Pirates will match-up. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow the Tigers on Twitter at @MemphisWBB or go online to www.gotigersgo.com.