Smith Joins Top 50 Career Rebounders as Tigers Fall to Temple

Tuesday, February 25

Memphis, Tenn.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

7-20,5-11AAC

Temple

17-10,11-5AAC

Temple

Memphis

Smith Joins Top 50 Career Rebounders as Tigers Fall to Temple

Feb 25, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis women's basketball's three-game winning streak at Elma Roane Fieldhouse was broken on Tuesday night with a 91-79 loss to Temple.

The Tigers (7-20, 5-11 AAC) used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing by as much as 16, but the Owls (17-10, 11-5 AAC) used a strong fourth quarter to take the victory. Tilly Boler had her ninth 20-point game of the season with 22 points, and Elauna Eaton had a career-high tying 20 points. Freshman Tamya Smith added a career-high 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and Alasia Smith had a game-high 12 rebounds which puts her 50th on the all-time charts (1,307).

The Owls opened the game with a quick 5-0 run before a Welch three broke the seal. While Temple connected on its first two threes, Tigers would miss their next five long balls until an offensive rebound led to a Boler three to cut the deficit to two. Despite seven turnovers in the first frame, the Tigers hung around with seven second-chance points, capped with a Tamya Smith putback to end the first quarter at 19-15.

Temple built upon its small lead in a big way in the second stanza; after a Memphis stop and score made it 29-24 with just under four minutes remaining, the Owls scored on each of their final seven possessions of the quarter, closing the half on a 17-6 run to lead, 46-30.

With a big lead to overcome, the Tigers got going right away through Elauna Eaton who scored the first five of the half and hit another three a few possessions later. After Temple went up 56-43, Memphis went on a 14-0 run behind two threes from Boler and two more buckets from Alasia Smith to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. Though the visitors broke their four-minute scoring drought with three scores in the final minute, Tamya Smith kept the Tigers tied with the last six Tiger points in the period.

The final quarter opened on a 6-0 Temple run before another Tamya Smith bucket, and her steal led to two Boler free throws to make it a two-point game. The Tigers would endure a four-minute drought of their own, though, as the Owls used a 11-0 run to take back control of the game and seal the victory.

Tiarra East led the Owls – who shot 50% from three and 100% on 17 free-throw attempts – with 21 points. Temple won the points in the paint battle, 46-26, and had just 11 turnovers to Memphis' 20.

The Tigers will be back home for the final time this Saturday, March 1, to take on Tulsa at 2:00 p.m.

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.