Tigers Take No. 15 Tennessee to Overtime in 84-74 Loss

Monday, November 13

Knoxville, Tenn.

5:30 p.m.

University of Memphis

1-2,0-0AAC

Tennessee

2-1,0-0SEC

OT 1

Memphis

Tennessee

Tigers Take No. 15 Tennessee to Overtime in 84-74 Loss

Nov 13, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Memphis women's basketball team put up the ultimate fight tonight against #15 Tennessee. The Tigers battled from behind multiple times before forcing overtime in Knoxville. Late free throws from the Lady Vols would prove costly as Memphis suffered the 84-74 overtime loss.

Following tonight's game, Memphis moves to 1-2 for the season.

Tennessee got out to an 8-2 lead going into the first media timeout. Kai Carter got the Tigers on the at the 7:43 mark with a jumper at the free throw line. Just a minute later, Layken Cox knocked down a shot from the same spot to cut Memphis' deficit to 8-4.

Memphis got three-pointers from Madison Griggs and Ki'Ari Cain, along with an and one from Alasia Smith, to finish the quarter on a 14-5 run and take the 20-20 score into the second half.

The Tigers took their first lead of the night after Cain sank her second three-pointer of the game for the 27-23 lead and forced Tennessee to call a timeout. Memphis would hold the Lady Vols scoreless for nearly five minutes to extend its lead out to 32-23.

UT made a late first half run to cut into the Tigers lead. But the Memphis defense held steady to take the 36-32 lead into the break.

Memphis' defense would force the Lady Vols into 15 turnovers in the opening half while the offense drained six three-pointers and shot just over 44% from the field.

Tennessee regained the lead mid-way through the third quarter after eight consecutive points made it a 42-42 game and force the Tigers to call a timeout.

With less than four minutes left in the third quarter, Memphis strung together a four-point possession after Griggs sank two free throws and Raven Sims hit a running floater in the lane to make it a 48-46 Lady Vol lead. The Tigers held Tennessee to 0-5 from the field to finish out the third quarter and faced a 54-51 deficit heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

After a back-and-forth game, Tennessee started to pull away from Memphis with a 66-57 lead with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Tigers banded together to string together an 11-3 run to close out the quarter – including a game-tying bucket from Sims to send the game into overtime at 69-69.

Memphis tied the game back up with 2:51 to play in overtime following consecutive layups from Smith. Hannah Riddick added in a free throw with 1:28 remaining, but the Lady Vols sank seven from the charity stripe in the final 60 seconds to take the 84-74 win.

Kai Carter led the team with 18 points while Madison Griggs added in 16 while sinking four from long range. Ki'Ari Cain and Alasia Smith both reached double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Cain, Smith and Shelbee Brown all pulled down five rebounds.

As a team, Memphis forced Tennessee into 24 turnovers and shot just over 36% from the field.

The Tigers will jet-set to the Bahamas this weekend to take part in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Memphis' first game is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18 against Arizona. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT. Coverage of the game can be found on FloHoops.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.