University of Memphis
7-23,5-13AAC
East Carolina
17-14,8-10AAC
Tigers Eliminated in Second Round of AAC Tournament
Mar 09, 2025 | Women's Basketball
FORT WORTH, Texas – Memphis women's basketball was eliminated in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday evening, falling to East Carolina, 64-45, inside Dickies Arena.
The Tigers (7-23) held East Carolina below their season scoring average but were unable to capitalize on the offensive end, scoring 11 points or less in three of four quarters. It marks the third consecutive year that their conference tournament lives were ended at the hands of the Pirates (17-14) and the second year in a row it occurred in round two. Elauna Eaton led the team with 13 points, and Layken Cox had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Alasia Smith had 11 rebounds and four steals; she finishes her collegiate career ranked 33rd in career steals (405) and 46th in career rebounds (1,336).
The first quarter was a rock fight from start to finish, as Memphis went scoreless for the opening three minutes before Tilly Boler drove and finished to make it 4-2. The Pirates responded with a long ball, as did Eaton with a three of her own, but those would be the only three-pointers either team would hit on 13 attempts in the period.
The East Carolina press forced seven Memphis turnovers in the opening frame, but the Tigers were able to keep East Carolina within punching distance by taking care of the defensive glass, and Cox converted a layup at the end of the quarter to trail, 13-7.
The Pirates used two 7-2 runs, one on each side of a Memphis timeout, to establish a 27-11 lead early in the second quarter. The lead would hit 20 before Eaton's second three-pointer sparked a 6-1 close to half for Memphis, trailing 39-24 at the break.
Cox opened the third quarter with a traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to 12, but that's as close as the Tigers would come as ECU answered every Memphis spurt. The Tiger defense battled and battled, holding the Pirates scoreless for over three minutes, but they could not string together enough scoring possessions to put a dent in the deficit.
Memphis shot the ball better than everyone in the conference this season, but they could not get good looks to fall on the day, finishing with 4-for-22 (18.2%) three-point shooting. All-Conference First Teamer Amiya Joiner led East Carolina with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The 45 points were the least Memphis scored the season and the joint-lowest allowed by ECU in conference play.
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