The Memphis Women’s basketball team lost to Southeastern Louisiana 63-57 on Tuesday in Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Looking to bounce back from a rough road loss to Ball State, the Tigers went cold in the third quarter and could not recover.
Game Recap
With offensive production being the boogeyman of the Lady Tiger’s season so far, they tried to put away any doubt in this matchup, quickly jumping out on an 11-2 run in the first five minutes. Redshirt sophomore guard Tanyuel Welch had 6 of those points with a pair of three-pointers.
The first quarter ended with the Tigers leading 19-4 as fifth year guard Tilly Boler drained a three in the dwindling seconds.
The Lions of Southeast Louisiana finally started to show signs of life with a 10-2 run of their own to start the second quarter, cutting the lead all the way down to 6 with 4:30 left. Buckets from Layken Cox, Bailey Gilmore, and Quinzia Fulmore kept the Tigers ahead by 10 going into halftime.
The third quarter was an absolute travesty for the Tigers however as they went ice cold from the field. Memphis did not score a field goal in the final 6:18, allowing the Lions to knot the game at 44 going into the fourth quarter. The Tigers shot an abysmal 2-17 (11.8%) from the field in the quarter, including going 1-7 from three-point range.
Going into the fourth the Lions stayed on the attack, forcing two stops and scoring on a layup to give them their first lead of the game.
Following yet another three from Tilly Boler giving the Tigers back the lead, two quick buckets from Southeastern would be the last points scored for the next 2 minutes by either team. The Lions took control of the pace for the rest of the quarter, never looking back with a barrage of clutch free throw shooting.
Tilly Boler led the Tigers with 23 points on just 8 of 23 shooting with 4 three pointers (4-13). Fifth year forward Alasia Smith and senior forward Quinzia Fulmore added 15 and 14 rebounds respectively.
Questionable Officiating
The officiating crew of Brenda Pantoja, Meadow Overstreet, and Alganese Carr was shaky all night for both teams. Both the Tigers and Lions got away with some hilariously obvious travels throughout the course of the game, many of which led to points being scored.
On a ball tipped out of bounds late in the fourth quarter with the Tigers trailing, an incorrect ruling of the Tigers gaining possession was upheld after review. The body language of the players on the court all suggested they believed it was Southeastern ball, including the Tigers.
Immediately after that play, however, the Lions were seemingly bailed out on what looked to be a phantom offensive foul call on a Tigers three-pointer that went in that would have tied the game. Fans of the Lions chanted “Thanks for the make-up call” after this play.
Takeaways
There is no other way to describe this game for the Tigers other than shocking. Taking away Boler’s performance, the Tigers scored just 34 points in the game. They have got to find a way to find a spark in their offense even with senior forward Hannah Riddick and Michigan State transfer DeeDee Hagemann both out.
The charity stripe was not the Tigers' friend tonight as they managed just 44% of their attempts (7 of 16). Overall, it seemed that Memphis got complacent with their first half lead and tried to take their foot off the gas. While some will look to blame the officiating for this loss, you cannot shoot 17.6% from the field in the second half and expect to win the game.
The Tigers will get some rest and get back into action on Saturday, November 23 against Murray State. Tip-off is set for 2 PM at home.
