Tigers Women's Basketball Wins OT Thriller Saturday

Saturday, February 13

Greenville, N.C.

4 pm CT

University of Memphis

15-10,9-5AAC

East Carolina

9-16,3-10AAC

OT 1

Memphis

East Carolina

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tigers Women's Basketball Wins OT Thriller Saturday

Feb 13, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Memphis posts 79-78 victory at East Carolina.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Tigers remain perfect! The Tigers remain perfect!

It took a perfectly-executed free throw-miss play at the end of regulation and overtime, and the University of Memphis women's basketball team posted a thrilling 79-78 extra-session win over East Carolina Saturday evening. The Tigers are now a perfect 6-0 in games decided by five or fewer points this season.

With the win, Memphis improved to 15-10 overall and 9-5 in the American Athletic Conference. The win assures the Tigers of a .500 or better record in league play for the first time since joining The American in July of 2013. East Carolina fell to 9-16 overall and 3-10 in the conference.

Ariel Hearn led the Tigers with an all-around performance of 22 points, eight assists, five rebounds, four steals and only one turnover in 43 minutes of action. Mooriah Rowser added 14 points, and Cheyenne Creighton grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.

With her 22 points, Hearn moved into the No. 8 spot on the Tigers all-time scoring chart with 1,853 points. Hearn moved past Kim Duppins, who scored 1,835 points from 1978-82.

I'Tiana Taylor tied Hearn for game-high scoring honors with 22 points and also grabbed a game-best 19 rebounds. Jada Payne added 19 points and nine boards, and DeVaughn Gray scored 16 points. Marina Laramie had 10 points.

"I have to give props to East Carolina," said Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin. "I don't know how this team has not won more conference games this season because they are a very good basketball team. They are scrappy and tough.

"After the first quarter, we outplayed them. In the first quarter, they brought it to us. We are 6-0 in games decided by five or fewer points, and that's the mark of a great team. "

The Tigers overcame a tough 1-2 tandem in the Pirates' Payne and Taylor down the stretch of the fourth quarter. Six points by East Carolina (Payne, 4; Taylor, 2) kept East Carolina in front 70-64 with 2:15 left in regulation. A Rowser layup cut the lead to 70-66 at the 2:08 mark, and after a Payne missed jumper, Taylor Williams was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:12 on the clock. Williams hit all three free throws – the first free throws of the game for the Tigers – to pull Memphis to with one at 70-69.

A Taylor layup put the Pirates ahead 72-69 with :58 left, but Hearn answered with a layup 15 seconds later to slice the lead to one at 72-71. After a Tigers steal, Memphis had an opportunity to win in regulation. However, Rowser's jumper missed with :15 left, and Memphis was forced to foul.

The Tigers, though, had not committed a foul in the fourth quarter, so they fouled five times in nine seconds to put East Carolina on the free throw line. The Pirates hit 1-of-2 free throws for a 73-71 lead with :06 left.

After a timeout to advance the ball, the Tigers inbounded to Hearn, who was fouled. Hearn missed the first free throw, setting up the intentional miss on her second attempt. Asianna Fuqua-Bey rebounded the miss and laid it in to tie the score at 73-all with :04 in regulation.

Payne's attempt at the buzzer missed, and the game went to overtime.

"The layup Asianna hit at the end of regulation was a play call, and our kids executed it perfectly," said McFerrin. "These are the type of wins that help teams bond and grow because we had a lot of play well today."

In overtime, the Pirates took an early 75-73 lead, but Memphis scored the next six points for a 79-75 lead with 1:33 on the clock. Hearn's back-to-back jumpers put Memphis ahead 77-75 and two Brianna Wright free throws pushed the Tigers' lead to 79-75.A Gray three-point play cut the Memphis advantage to one at 79-78 with :49 left.

The Tigers turned the ball over with :23 left, giving East Carolina the ball with a chance to win the game.. The Pirates, though, threw the ball out of bounds with :01 left, and Memphis held on for the victory.

Memphis was down 37-32 at the half, and used a 14-8 spurt to take a 46-45 lead midway through the third period. From there, the Tigers led the remainder of the third quarter and carried a 54-53 lead into the final period.

East Carolina opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 62-54 advantage. Memphis responded with a 6-2 spurt to slice the Pirates' lead to 64-60 and set up the wild finish.

The home team came out strong early and built a 19-9 advantage in the game's opening eight minutes. The Payne-Taylor tandem helped the Pirates jump out to that lead, combining for 12 of the 19 points. The Tigers answered with an Elmore three-pointer and a Wright jumper to get the Pirates' lead to under double digits at 23-14 heading into the second period.

Memphis continued to chip away at the East Carolina lead in the second quarter, using a 7-0 run to open the period to slice the Pirates' lead to two at 23-21. The Tigers stayed within striking distance the remainder of the quarter and trailed 37-32 at the break.

The Tigers shot 42.5 percent from the field, and East Carolina hit 43 percent from the floor. The Pirates won the battle on the glass, 51-44. Memphis had only 11 turnovers in the contest.