Tulsa Holds Off Memphis for 72-68 Win

Saturday, January 9

Reynolds Center

2:00 pm

Tulsa

3-3,2-3AAC

Memphis

2-7,0-4AAC

Memphis

Tulsa

Tulsa Holds Off Memphis for 72-68 Win

1/9/2021 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE I SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. –– Maya Mayberry scored a season-high 28 points as Tulsa held off the Memphis Tigers Saturday afternoon for a 72-68 win at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tulsa evened its season record to 3-3 and claimed its second straight American Athletic Conference victory for a 2-3 league mark.

Mayberry had her first 20+ scoring game in a Tulsa uniform, but the eighth in her three-year collegiate career. It's only the second game this year for a Tulsa player to reach the 20-point plateau. Mayberry finished 9-of-11 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in 35 minutes.

"I was astounded when I saw the stats sheet and Maya had 28 points," Tulsa Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "When you can get to the free throw line you can get quiet points that way, and she hit some clutch three's when the game was getting close and she had a phenomenal night."

Mayberry's younger sister, freshman Wyvette, totaled 15 points and added season-highs of 7 assists and 6 steals. Maddie Bittle added 9 points in her season-high 19 minutes.

Bittle's fast-break layup off a turnover put the Hurricane ahead 65-54 with 3:08 remaining in the contest, but the Tigers would not back down. The Hurricane was up 9 points after two Maya Mayberry free throws at the 1:07 mark.

From that point, Memphis went 4-of-5 from the field with one free throw over the next 0:35 to cut its deficit to 2 points, 70-68, with 0:19 remaining. Tulsa's Wyvette Mayberry made the second of two free throws twice in the final 0:09 to preserve the 4-point victory.

"We just couldn't' put them away. We were up by 14, but they kept coming back. They have some really physical inside kids. One of their players that comes off the bench didn't play today so it put more pressure on their bigs," said Mossman.

In the second half, Tulsa sprinted out to take a 13-point lead, 44-31, by scoring the first 8 points of the 3^rd quarter, including two treys from Maya Mayberry. Following a Memphis timeout, the Tigers went on an 8-2 run to cut Tulsa's deficit to 7 points at the 5:10 mark.

The Hurricane increased its lead to a game-high 14 points on a 7-0 run late in the 3^rd quarter before the Tigers scored the final 3 points. Tulsa closed out the first three quarters with a 57-46 lead.

"I thought our kids did a good job of getting down the floor. Besides the points off turnovers, what I liked too was the number of points we got in transition. We just encouraged our guys to go attack," added Mossman.

Tulsa ended the contest by shooting 47 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range. Tulsa forced 26 Memphis turnovers and scored 28 points off those turnovers. The Hurricane had a 15-3 advantage in fast-break points and a 17-4 advantage off the bench.

After a slow start to open the game, the Hurricane went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-8 lead on a 3-pointer by Wyvette Mayberry. The Tigers went on a 10-4 run before the Hurricane closed out the first quarter on a 4-0 run.

Memphis led after the first quarter, 18-17, as both teams connected on 50 percent of their field goals.

Tulsa closed out the first half on an 8-0 run, while holding the Tigers scoreless in the final 4 minutes. Mayberry scored 10 of her 14 first-half points in the second quarter as the Hurricane knocked down 67-percent of its field goals for a 19-13 scoring edge in the second period.

Tulsa's 36-31 halftime lead was the biggest lead of the first half for the Hurricane.

Tulsa will be back in action Wednesday at Houston to take on the Cougars in a 3 p.m. game. The Hurricane returns to the Reynolds Center next Saturday, Jan. 16, to take on the Tulane Green Wave in a 1 p.m. tipoff.