Tigers Fall to Troy in Final Game of Road Trip

Saturday, December 14

Troy, AL

2:00 PM

University of Memphis

2-7,0-0AAC

Troy

5-5,0-0Sun Belt

Memphis

Troy

Dec 14, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – Memphis women's basketball fell to Troy on Saturday afternoon, 85-67, as the Trojans used a strong second quarter to build a lead they would not relinquish.

Down seven players on the day, the Tigers (2-7) battled to cut the lead from 17 to six but were unable to string together enough stops to complete the comeback. Tanyuel Welch led the team with a career-high 20 points on 60% (9-for-15) shooting. Alasia Smith again filled up the stat sheet, logging 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Both offenses got out to efficient starts, with the teams combining to shoot 54% without any turnovers in the first seven minutes. Following the first media timeout, the Trojan defense stiffened, as Memphis was unable to score in the final three minutes.

Troy (5-5) used a 16-2 second quarter run – driven by three long balls – to build a lead that got as big as 17 before Welch hit a mid-range jumper near the end of the half. In what turned out to be the decisive quarter, Memphis had six turnovers and allowed the Trojans to shoot 55% from the field and 75% from three.

In resilient fashion, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run to open the second half thanks to four points and a steal from Alasia Smith. Memphis shot an uber-efficient 91% (10-for-11) from the field in the third stanza, fueled by 5-for-5 shooting from Welch, but they were unable to make much dent in their deficit as Troy took seven trips to the free-throw line and forced seven turnovers.

Tamya Smith, who played a career-high 21 minutes, forced two steals in the opening 30 seconds of the fourth quarter as the Tigers cut the lead from 13 to seven. Despite the valiant effort, the lead never trimmed below six as the hosts scored four consecutive buckets to counter the Memphis run.

Shaulana Wagner made history for Troy, recording the program's first triple-double (12 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) in their Division-I history. In a game between two teams who crash the offensive glass, the Trojans won the rebounding battle, 43-28, thanks to 17 offensive boards which led to 12 more shots than the visiting Tigers.

Memphis heads downtown Wednesday for the first of two consecutive games at FedEx Forum, taking on No. 19 Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNews.

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.