Tigers Women's Basketball Falls On Road At USF Sunday

Sunday, February 21

Tampa, Fla.

11 am CT

University of Memphis

16-11 (10-6)

USF

19-7 (12-3)

Memphis

USF

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tigers Women's Basketball Falls On Road At USF Sunday

Feb 21, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Hearn, Rowser each score 24 points in the setback.

TAMPA, Fla. – These are "no-quit," no-excuse Tigers.

After playing an NCAA-record tying five overtimes in its win over Temple Thursday, the University of Memphis women's basketball team left it all on the floor Sunday in a 97-82 American Athletic Conference setback to No. 19/20 USF.

With the loss, Memphis fell to 16-11 overall and 10-6 in league play. The Bulls improved to 19-7 overall and 12-3 in the conference. The Tigers and Bulls split the season series, as Memphis posted an 88-87 overtime victory over USF at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse Jan. 20.

"We did the best we could today," said Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin. "We talked about we were going to have no excuses of being tired. We prepared like normal (after Thursday) and went to work.

"I'm proud of the way we played today. USF played exceptional today. If they had played an average game, then we may have had a chance."

The Ariel Hearn-Mooriah Rowser tandem led Memphis Sunday, as each scored a game-high 24 points. Hearn scored her 24 points on 10-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from the arc. Rowser hit 10-of-17 from the field and 4-of-8 of the three-point line.

Hearn also had eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. Asianna Fuqua-Bey grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and added three blocked shots. Brianna Wright had seven points and seven rebounds.

Courtney Williams led four USF players in double figures with 23 points. Alisia Jenkins scored 18 points, while Laura Ferreira had 16 and Kitija Laska 13. Jenkins pulled down a game-high 15 boards, and Williams had eight rebounds and four assists.

Both teams shot well from the field, with Memphis hitting 52.8 percent and USF 44.6 percent. The Tigers and Bulls also were hot from the arc, as both teams (Memphis 50 percent; USF 40 percent) hit 40 percent or better from deep. USF won the battle on the glass, 40-29.

The Bulls used two 9-0 runs – one each in the second and fourth periods – to take control of the contest. USF's 9-0 in the final quarter put the game out of reach. After two Fuqua-Bey free throws with 7:27 left pulled Memphis to within 74-70, the Bulls put together a 9-0 spurt over the next 1:33 to extend their advantage to 83-70 with 5:54 left.

From that point, the Tigers did not get any closer, and the Bulls posted the 97-82 victory.

After halftime, Memphis and USF put on an offensive show, combining for 55 points in the period. The Tigers outscored the Bulls 29-26 in the third quarter. Memphis shot 75 percent from the floor (12-of-16) in the period. Hearn (11 points) and Rowser (8) combined for 19 of the Tigers' 29 points in the period.

The Tigers were down double digits the first half of the third quarter, but battled back in final 3:18 of the period. With 3:18 left, Memphis trailed 61-49, but used a 14-8 spurt to close the gap to 69-63 by the end of the quarter. Rowser's two treys and Hearn's three baskets keyed the Tigers' third-quarter run.

Despite playing an NCAA-record tying five overtimes just over 60 hours earlier, Memphis came out strong early against the Bulls. Rowser kept the Tigers close in the opening period, netting 14 of the squad's 20 points. Rowser netted her 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from the arc.

Memphis jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. Rowser had five points in the game's opening spurt. USF answered with a 13-6 run to knot the game at 15-all on a Ferreira three-pointer at the 3:00 mark. From there, the Bulls built a four-point advantage at 21-17, but a Rowser trey with 1:11 left pulled Memphis to with one at 21-20. USF held that lead heading into the second quarter.

The first seven minutes of the second period was much like how the first period ended. USF held the largest lead in those opening seven minutes, a three-point advantage at 28-25 with 7:32 on the clock. Hearn, though, wiped that lead out 12 second later with a three-pointer to tie the contest at 28-all.

The game remained close with USF leading 34-32 with 3:02 left, but the Bulls hit three-straight treys to take a double-digit advantage at 43-32. Williams, Stringfield and Ferreira each hit a three-pointer in a 1:16 span to extend the Bulls' lead. Cheyenne Creighton hit two free throws.

The Tigers have the mid-week off from competition and return to action Saturday, Feb. 27 against East Carolina. Game time is 2 p.m. (CT) from the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The contest is the final regular-season home game, and the Tigers' four seniors will be honored prior to tip-off.