University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Appalachian State
Tigers Fall Short in WBI Championship Game 79-71
Mar 28, 2010 | Women's Basketball
March 28, 2010
Boone, N.C. - - A 20-4 Appalachian State (23-12) first half run all but erased a 19-point University of Memphis (20-14) lead en route a 79-71 Mountaineer victory in the championship game of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in Boone, N.C. Sunday afternoon.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of our players in spite of the loss today," Melissa McFerrin said. "It can't dampen our enthusiasm or our pride that our players have in putting a University of Memphis uniform on and competing. It was a disappointing day, however, Appalachian State was in the championship also for a reason, so I thought it was a very hard-fought game, it was a game that had huge runs at times, but ultimately I thought it was two championship-level teams that were working really hard to come away with a win."
The Tigers went up early by using pressure and turnovers to get out in transition, going up 9-2 following back to back buckets from Ramses Lonlack. Appalachian State then used a transition bucket of its own to snap the Tiger run, but the Tigers used another little run to push the lead to double-digits at 17-7 with 14:10 to play. But ASU hit a three to follow a Carter triple, cutting the lead to single digits at 17-10. But Carter answered back with a layup of her own, starting a 6-0 Memphis run that was powered by a Chatia Kelsey steal and layup to put Memphis up 23-10.
The Mountaineers then drew a foul, and hit the first free-throw, but could not capitalize on a Memphis turnover. But the Tiger pressure, which had bothered ASU early, suffered a blow when Lonlack picked up her second foul and then Kelsey picked up her second foul, then suffered an apparent knee injury, leaving the game for the remainder of the first half.
But Carter and junior post Starkitsha Luellen-Higgins then powered a 7-0 Tiger run that stretched the lead to 29-13 with 9:12 to go. LaToya Bullard added a pair of fast break buckets to move the lead to 34-15 before ASU hit back-to-back triples, forcing a Memphis timeout up 36-23. But following the timeout, Appalachian State then got physical with the Tiger guards and the Memphis turnovers began to rack up and go the other way and ASU used a 20-4 run to cut the Tiger lead to pull to 40-37 down with 41 seconds left in the half.
Memphis' defense withstood another Tiger turnover as Nicole Dickson blocked an ASU jumper from the free throw line to hit the locker room up 40-37. Memphis had shot 56.7 percent from the floor, but was out-rebounded 24-19 and committed 13 turnovers to ASU's 10.
ASU held on to that momentum to start the second half, using a quick 4-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 41-40 with 17:57 to go. From there, the physical nature of the game ramped up as the athletic training staff was called to deal with a player on the floor for the third time in the game. But with Memphis' back the wall, the Tigers went to their leading scorer, as Brittany Carter scored four straight points to put Memphis back up 46-43 with 15:36 to go.
From there, the two teams traded buckets in the paint, trying to establish an inside game to open up things outside. ASU knocked down a three to cut it to 52-50 with 11:18 to go, but Memphis got four points from Lonlack to push the lead to 56-52. But Ashlen Dewart slammed down an ASU three to start a 9-1 ASU run that pushed the host team back in front 61-57 heading in to the under eight minute media timeout. Dewart hit the free-throw after the timeout for the 62-57 lead with 7:31 to go.
The Tiger offense stalled from there against the Mountaineer zone and with a handful of Memphis turnovers and with Carter on her bench after picking up her third foul, while ASU pounded the ball inside and crashed the glass to push the lead to 68-57 in ASU's favor with 5:10 to go.
"I give (Appalachian State) a lot of credit," McFerrin said. "I think most teams, if we had broken their pressure the way we did, most people would back off. That tells you that this team is confident in what they do in that they kept coming with pressure and kept coming with pressure and eventually cut the gap. And I tell you, I think their pressure was the difference in the game because we started to turn it over and got our heads down just a little bit and I think that affected us on the boards, which I think was the largest factor in the game."
Carter checked back in to the game and the Tigers found some offensive organization, as Dickson stuck back a missed Winchell three to snap a 16-1 ASU run. Dickson's bucket pulled Memphis back within single digits at 68-59 down. Ellis then followed Dickson's bucket with her first bucket of the game. Memphis added a Lonlack layup off a Carter steal to pull to 70-63 down, but ASU hammered the lid shut on that run with a triple from Anna Freeman. Carter tried to rally her teammates back with a three of her own which gave her 26 points, but ASU kept the Tigers at bay, holding on for the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational title.
"We began the game confident and it just began to snowball a little bit and I'm proud of our players. We played with a short bench, we had players step up and play different roles. I'm just really proud of our team. What I do hope is I hope this sits in their gut for the next six months and motivates them this summer to make our season end differently next year," McFerrin said.
Carter finished the game with 31 points, her 15th 20-point plus game of the season and her third game of more than 30 points this season, earning an all-tournament team honor. Ramses Lonlack added 16 points and five rebounds while also earning an all-tournament nod. Dickson added eight points and eight rebounds, adding a team-high three blocks in the loss.
"We are disappointed with the outcome, but motivated to hit the gym and work hard this summer and off-season to work even harder and make sure next season ends different," Carter said. "I had 31 points but I got in foul trouble early and that hurt us a little bit. I'll just get together with my teammates and work hard this off-season to get better and change the outcome of the game. We will have high expectations for ourselves next year. We have great players joining us next year, so we're going to be even better."
Ashlen Dewart led four ASU players in double-digit points, finishing with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while Anna Freeman finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots.
The Tigers season is now complete with a 20-14 record. Memphis wraps the 2009-2010 schedule with the most victories since the 2003-04 season (21-10).
