Tulsa Women Fall to Memphis

Saturday, February 18

Reynolds Center

1:00 pm

Tulsa

16-10,6-7AAC

Memphis

16-9,8-4AAC

Memphis

Tulsa

Tulsa Women Fall to Memphis

2/18/2023 3:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GAME STATS I SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. –– Memphis used a strong third quarter en route to a 69-44 win over Tulsa Saturday afternoon in front of 1,328 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

The loss, Tulsa's fourth consecutive, dropped the Hurricane to 16-10 overall and 6-7 in American Athletic Conference action, while Memphis improved to 16-9 and 8-4 in league play.

Memphis caught fire in third quarter and expanded a three-point halftime lead to 23 points after three periods. The Tigers shot 52-percent from the field and 60-percent from behind the arc for a 59-36 lead following three quarters of play.

"The loss was a combination of a few things – turnovers were part of it, their offensive rebounds were a part of it and our field goal percentage with not scoring as well as we wanted to in the second half was part of it," said Tulsa head coach Angie Nelp. "Even in games like this that are so hard because they aren't the outcome we wanted, our kids are working hard, and we are getting a lot of great experience for the youth within our team that we need in order to grow. Our team is going to learn from this and move forward, and I believe we are on the right track."

Maddie Bittle was Tulsa's only double-digit scorer with 10 points, marking only the second time this season that the Hurricane had only one player score in double-figures. Memphis had three double-figure scorers as Jamirah Shutes led the way with 21 points, while point guard Emani Jefferson added 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Tulsa scored 18 points in the first quarter but was held to only 26 total points in the final three periods. The last lead for the Hurricane was 29-28 at the 0:39 mark of the first half before Memphis scored to take a one-point lead in the intermission.

Memphis held a 21-to-8 advantage in offensive rebounds, while outscoring Tulsa from the paint 28-10 and in second-chance points 21-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Maddie Bittle opened the game with a three-pointer and the Hurricane increased its lead to 18-11 at the end of the first period on a 10-2 run over the final 2:16 of the quarter.

Memphis went on a 9-0 run to take a 28-26 lead at the 2:28 mark of the second quarter. Tulsa's Cam Mathews knocked down a three-pointer with 0:39 to play that put Tulsa ahead 29-28, but Memphis' Jamirah Shutes driving layup off a turnover put the Tigers ahead 30-29 with :01 on the clock.

In the first half Tulsa shot 42-percent from the field and 46-percent from three-point range, while holding the Tigers to 35-percent from the field. The Hurricane had 10 assists on its 11 made field goals, as six of those field goals were from beyond the arc.

The Tigers jumped out to a 39-32 lead in the first five minutes of the second half, B beginning the third quarter on a 9-3 run. Memphis continued with an 18-5 run to start the third quarter in taking a 48-34 lead with 2:30 remaining in the period.

Memphis finished the third quarter by outscoring the Hurricane 29-7 in the period for a 59-36 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. For the entire second half, Tulsa was held to just 15 points, making just 5-of-19 field goals for 26-percent and connected on just 2-of-10 from three-point range

POST-GAME NOTES

This was the 26^th meeting between Tulsa and Memphis, and with the win Memphis tied the series 13-13.
This was the fourth straight game that Tulsa was without 3 of its top 7 scorers – Ahrray Young (8.6), Jessika Evans (6.8) and Katelyn Levings (6.0), all missing due to injury … in all, Tulsa missed 21.4 points between the three players … in all, Young has missed 6 games, Evans has missed 15 games and Levings has missed 12 games this season.
Tulsa lost for the fourth straight game, the longest in the last two seasons.
This was the fourth straight contest that Tulsa trailed at halftime and only the 8^th time this year in 26 games.
Cam Mathews connected on her first 3-pointer in seven games.
Maddie Bittle had her 15^th double-figure scoring game of the season and 42^nd of her career.
Bittle was Tulsa's only double-digit scorer with 10 points, marking only the second time this season that the Hurricane had only one player score in double-figures.

Tulsa goes on the road for two games, first at league-leading South Florida on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CT) then the Hurricane travels to Houston for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday. Tulsa will be close out the regular season back at the Reynolds Center on Wednesday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. against the UCF Knights.