East Carolina University
-610, 03 CUSA
Memphis
-124, 21 CUSA
Late Comeback Falls Short At Memphis, 62-59
January 15, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2012
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An eight-member East Carolina squad played toe-to-toe with Conference USA preseason favorite Memphis on the road Sunday, but the Tigers were able to survive a game-tying three-point attempt by the Pirates and post a 62-59 league victory at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse - the site of this year's C-USA Tournament. ECU falls to 6-10 overall and 0-3 in the C-USA play while Memphis improves to 12-4 and 2-1.
Bryelle Smith and Chareya Smith recorded 11 points each to lead the offense and Tatiana Chapple pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds. Bryelle was able to add an East Carolina season-best nine assists and two steals as Kristine Mial and Janesha Ebron each blocked two shots.
ECU spread the ball out very well in the contest, with 18 assists on 22 made baskets. The Pirates also shot their best percentage from the field since Dec. 18 against Jacksonville with a 41-percent performance (22-for-54). Meanwhile, the Tigers were limited to 34 percent and drained 22 of their 64 tries. Memphis also won the rebounding battle 47-40 and plucked 18 steals with physical defense. The Tigers were abysmal, however, from the charity stripe as they made just 14 of their 33 free throws.
Memphis took a 7-4 lead in the first four minutes of the game when Ramses Lonlack dropped in a layup with 16:13 on the clock. The Pirates responded with 5-0 run, capped off by a Bryelle Smith triple, before Nicole Dickson hit a jumper to balance the score at nine apeice at the 11:18 mark.
ECU was able to creep ahead and limit the Tigers to one shot over the next few minutes, as a Chareya Smith free throw made the score 14-13 with 8:51 left in the half. Memphis was able to assert itself physically on the defensive end and avoid foul calls as the clock wound down to the break. Jasmine Lee would score four-straight points as part of a 7-0 run which put the Tigers ahead 21-16 before the last official timeout of the stanza.
The Memphis lead grew to as much as nine at 25-16 with two minutes remaining, but East Carolina held the Tigers scoreless for the final two minutes and put in six points - four by freshman Janesha Ebron - to pull within 25-22.
Ebron matched her career high in points in the first 20 minutes while rookie Tatiana Chapple also dropped in three early baskets to end up with six. Chapple was the top rebounder for the Pirates with six boards and junior Celeste Stewart dished out three asists. Lee was the offensive force for Memphis with eight points to go along with seven rebounds (five offensive).
East Carolina knocked down 10 of its 26 field goal attempts to end up with a 39-percent shooting mark and held the Tigers to 24 percent from the field as Memphis converted nine of its 38 tries. The home team enjoyed a significant advantage on the glass, pulling down an even number of offensive and defensive boards to finish with 30. Comparatively, the Pirates grabbed just 18. ECU shared the ball well, recording eight assists on its 10 buckets.
The squads traded baskets to begin the second stanza as Kiana James hit a reverse jumper to make the score 36-32 with 5:16 gone. Another three-pointer from Bryelle Smith knotted the score at 40 before Lee snatched an offensive rebound and put the ball back in the basket to give her team a 42-40 advantage with clock ticking under 12 minutes.
A layup by C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Brittany Carter afforded the Tigers a 51-43 lead but she committed her fourth personal foul on the next play. However, Nicole Dickson was able to put her team on her back and pushed the Memphis lead to 57-43 when she nailed a triple with 6:30 left in the game.
East Carolina was able to cut the deficit to 59-51 and score eight of the next 10 points as Kristine Mial hit a free throw with just over two minutes remaining. A Celeste Stewart trey and subsequent free throw made the score 59-55 before the Tigers started missing a number of attempts from the charity stripe. A layup by Mial and two free-throw misses by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir set up ECU with possession and a chance to send the game into overtime.
Bryelle Smith had a clean attempt from the top of the key with 18 seconds left that looked good off of her hand, but bounced in and out then out of bounds off of Memphis. Smith then had two more shots from distance but could not convert, allowing the Tigers to escape.
The Pirates return home Wednesday, Jan. 18, taking on UTEP at Minges Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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