Tulsa Advances to The American Quarterfinals with 60-55 Win Over Memphis

Friday, March 3

Uncasville, Conn.

3:00 pm

Tulsa

10-20

Memphis

14-16

Tulsa

Memphis

Tulsa Advances to The American Quarterfinals with 60-55 Win Over Memphis

3/3/2017 5:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Stephanie Hall

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Ashley Hughes and Erika Wakefield posted double-digit points to lead No. 9 seed Tulsa to a 60-55 win over No. 8 seed Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship on Friday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The Golden Hurricane moved to 10-20 on the season, while the Tigers concluded their season with a 14-16 mark.

"It took everybody, especially when they closed the gap," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "With a young team this has happened before, we get a double-digit lead and we see is slip away. They came back on us and we were able to slam the door on it and pick the lead back up. I thought our kids really played well together and withstood Memphis' challenge at the end."

Hughes had a team-best 12 points, while Wakefield added 11. Kendrian Elliott posted nine points and a team-leading 13 rebounds, while Shug Dickson posted nine points, Tyjae' Scales had nine rebounds and Hughes tallied seven boards.

"I think just coming into the end of the season and wanting to not only go out with pride, but finish how we know how we can play," Hughes said. "This is a new season, the third season. We are 1-0 and we are looking forward to continue playing."

Tulsa will take on No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded UConn on Saturday beginning at approximately 1:00 pm Central at the Mohegan Sun.

Tulsa had a 47-28 lead in rebounds, while Memphis had a 14-3 advantage in steals, and a 12-0 lead in assists.

Tulsa shot 41-percent from the field, 16-percent from three-point range and 66-percent from the charity stripe, while Memphis had a 35-percent clip from the field, shot 38-percent from behind the arc and were 88-percent from the free throw line.

Tulsa took an early 8-0 lead over Memphis with 3:28 on the clock in the first quarter as TU shot 37-percent and Memphis started the game 0-of-11. Bria Elmore put the Tigers on the board at the 2:52 mark and had the only other basket for Memphis as the Hurricane had a 12-4 lead after the first frame.

TU increased its lead to 12 with an 18-6 lead over the Tigers at the 4:57 mark of the 2^nd quarter, but Memphis outscored Tulsa, 8-2, to cut their deficit in half, 20-14, at halftime.

Tulsa shot 34-percent from the field, including just 12-percent from three-point range, and were 1-of-5 (20-percent) from the charity stripe, while Memphis shot 21-percent from the field, missed all four three-point attempts and were 2-of-2 from the free throw line in the first half.

Memphis had an 18-17 scoring edge over Tulsa in the third quarter, but TU maintained a 37-32 lead with one period to play.

A jumper by Loysha Morris at the 4:59 mark of the fourth quarter tied the contest at 43-all for the first tied score of the contest, but the Hurricane battled for a 7-0 run for a 50-43 advantage with 2:46 remaining in the contest. The Tigers outscored the Hurricane, 12-10, to close out the contest but it wasn't enough as TU earned the five-point victory.

The Tigers were led by Elmore with 23 points, Loysha Morris with 14 and Taylor Williams with 10 points. Morris had six rebounds and four assists.

Tulsa had a 22-2 advantage in points off the bench and a 26-14 lead in points in the paint, and Memphis had a 14-4 lead in points off turnovers.