University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
2-3,0-0AAC
Southeastern Louisiana
3-1,0-0Southland
Tigers Narrowly Fall to Southeastern Louisiana, 63-57
Nov 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis women's basketball team dropped a tight contest at home on Tuesday night, falling 63-57 to Southeastern Louisiana inside Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
In a game that entered the fourth quarter tied and saw the lead change three times, the Tigers (2-3) came up short in their attempt to tie the game with 29 seconds left, and the Lions (3-1) would hit enough free throws to put the game to bed.
Quinzia Fulmore had a career-high 14 rebounds to go with eight points, and Alasia Smith nearly matched her production with seven points and 15 rebounds. Senior guard Tilly Boler had her eighth career 20-point performance and second as a Memphis Tiger.
Back home after a road loss to Ball State, the Tigers came out with a purpose and grabbed a 16-2 lead thanks to hitting four of their first seven shots from deep. They only allowed four first-quarter points, the fewest they've allowed in a quarter since February 2023 (four points in the second quarter vs UCF).
Southeastern struggled against Memphis' half-court press in the opening 10 minutes but responded nicely to the tune of 6-of-8 shooting to open the second stanza. Memphis continued to score through Boler, who had six points on four shots, but six turnovers plagued an otherwise healthy offense in the opening half.
After an Elauna Eaton three made the score 40-29 in favor of the home team, the Lions went on an 11-0 run to tie the game on the back of six consecutive stops. Free throws from Boler and Tanyuel Welch helped keep the game tied, but Memphis only converted two field goals in the third quarter as SLU clawed back.
Boler connected on a long ball to give the Tigers a one-point lead with eight minutes to go, and again with two minutes to go to trim their deficit to one, but Alexius Horne would score six points on her own in between to keep the Lions in front. Down by three with under half a minute remaining, head coach Alex Simmons drew up a play to get Boler a great look from three which she converted, but the bucket was called off for a moving screen on the pin-down for Boler.
Horne led the way for Southeastern with 18 points and five rebounds, and Cheyanne Daniels had 12 points and six boards. Memphis had 22 offensive rebounds, fueled by six each from Smith and Fulmore, but missed nine free throws and turned it over 17 times.
The Tigers will play at home again this Saturday, Nov. 23, against Murray State at 2:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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.
