The University of Memphis women’s basketball team fell to the Temple Owls 84-61, in Philadelphia early Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Tigers (11-11, 5-6 American Athletic Conference) struggled defensively, allowing the Owls (11-12, 7-3 AAC) to shoot 45.9 percent from the field. The Owls caught fire from behind the three-point line, hitting 15 three-pointers, an opponent record-high against the Lady Tigers. Memphis on the other hand struggled shooting the basketball. While they shot 40 percent from the three-point line (4-10), the Lady Tigers shot only 36.5 percent from the field. This is the second straight loss for Memphis, having dropped Saturday’s contest against USF 57-53.
Lady Tigers coach Melissa McFerrin was extremely disappointed in her team’s performance Tuesday, but gives all the credit to Temple.
“I’m really disappointed for our team,” McFerrin said in a post interview, “But Temple played a great, great game.”
Three different Temple players scored in double-figures, including freshman guard Alliya Butts, who led the way for the Owls. The freshman racked up 30 points, including six three-pointers. Butts shot 45 percent from the field, going 9-20 on the day.
Senior guard Tyonna Williams also put up stellar numbers, scoring 25 points on 56.3 percent shooting. Williams also fired in seven threes of her own.
Butts and Williams accounted for 13 of Temple’s 15 made three-pointers.
Freshman guard Tanaya Atkinson recorded some monster numbers of her own, racking up 15 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Temple took an early 9-0 lead and never looked back. The Owls led the Lady Tigers in almost every statistical category, but what stood out the most had to be the three-point shooting.
McFerrin explained that her team anticipated the Owls shooting and practiced defending against it, but the Owls were just too deadly from behind the arc.
“We spotted them nine points early and played catch up the rest of the game,” McFerrin said. “We worked all week on closing out and getting our hands up, but I guess we thought we were just close enough that they wouldn’t get their shots up. Temple is playing tough, they’re playing hard and they’re playing confident and I think that showed today.”
For Memphis, only one player scored in double figures, in junior guard Ariel Hearn. The Memphis native brought the Lady Tigers some much needed offensive production, scoring 24 points, on 9-22 shooting. She also recorded 6 rebounds 4 steals and 2 assists as well.
Junior Brianna Wright and Sophomore Mooriah Rower each scored nine. Wright also added 5 rebounds.
Another bright spot for Memphis was Asianna Fuqua-Bey. Though she only scored three points, she was a force to be reckoned with on the boards, bringing down 11 rebounds.
The Lady Tigers will look to bounce back Saturday Feb. 7, against the powerhouse, Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies, who could easily be considered the Lady Tigers toughest opponent of the season, are currently ranked No. 2 nationally. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Elma Roan Fieldhouse.
