The Memphis Tigers women’s basketball team defeated the East Carolina Pirates 72-70 in Greenville, North Carolina Saturday.
Memphis (9-15, 5-8) entered the contest after a loss against Charlotte, sitting just a win ahead of last place Florida Atlantic in the conference standings.
ECU (14-10, 7-6) came into the matchup in sixth place in the American Conference standings, after losing at Rice earlier in the week
The two teams traded buckets in the early going, but an 8-0 East Carolina run and some Memphis offensive struggles gave the Pirates a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers scored the first four points of the second, cutting the ECU lead to three, and both offenses found their rhythm.
Memphis cut the lead to two, but the Pirates held firm, entering halftime with a 33-28 lead.
East Carolina began to pull away from the Tigers in the third quarter thanks to a 12-1 run midway through the quarter.
The Memphis defense recovered, holding ECU to four points in the final three minutes of the third, but the Tigers offense struggled, and the Pirates entered the fourth quarter with a 55-43 lead.
The Tigers came out of the quarter break on fire. Destyne Jackson hit a three-pointer, followed by two consecutive layups by Shelbee Brown, who had a career high 19 points in the contest.
A bucket by Hannah Riddick and a three from Madison Griggs capped off a 12-0 start to the quarter for Memphis and tied the game up for the first time since the first quarter.
East Carolina quickly recaptured control of the game, pushing the score to 64-59 with 3:59 to play.
The Tigers responded with a quick 6-0 run, giving Memphis their first lead of the game.
The Pirates scored the next four points, but a Madison Griggs three knotted the score at 68 apiece with 55 seconds remaining.
ECU’s Khia Miller scored off an offensive rebound with 40 seconds to go, but the Tigers pushed the ball up the floor quickly and Alasia Smith tied the game at 70 with 35 seconds on the clock.
Hannah Riddick blocked the Pirates’ shot for the lead, and the Tigers got the ball back with 12 seconds to go in a tie game.
Alasia Smith drove to the bucket and gave Memphis a 72-70 lead, and then Smith blocked ECU’s three-point shot for the win as time expired.
The Tigers outscored the Pirates 29-15 in the final quarter to earn the come from behind victory.
In the game, Madison Griggs scored her 1,500th career point, becoming just the 13th Tiger to reach that milestone, according to the university’s women’s basketball record book.
Alasia Smith also reached a career milestone, grabbing her 1,000th career rebound in the contest.
Alex Simmons’ team will look to continue to build momentum as the conference tournament approaches. The Tigers will return home Tuesday, Feb. 20 to host the Rice Owls at 7 P.M. CT.
