East Carolina University
9-5 (0-3AAC)
Memphis
7-7 (1-2AAC)
East Carolina Suffers 60-57 Overtime Setback at Memphis
January 04, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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MEMPHIS - The East Carolina women's basketball team led by four in overtime, but Memphis closed the game with a 7-0 run as the Pirates fell, 60-57, in American Athletic Conference play at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.
Junior forward I'Tiana Taylor recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go with a season-high five steals. Redshirt junior Jada Payne scored 18 points and junior guard Jasmine Phillips added nine points and six boards to lead East Carolina (9-5, 0-3 American).
Ariel Hearn led Memphis (7-7, 1-2 American) with 26 points on 8-for-17 shooting, while Brianna Wright and Taylor Williams added six points and nine rebounds, respectively.
ECU trailed, 8-4, just over three-and-a-half minutes into the contest, but a 7-0 run to the 14:11 mark, sparked by a three off the hand of junior DeVaughn Gray and capped by a layup by senior Shae Nelson, gave the Pirates a three-point lead. As both defenses beared down, the game was tied at 15 and 17-all, but the Tigers pushed forward with a 10-3 run over the final 6:24 of the first half while holding East Carolina scoreless over the final 4:39 of the period to take a 27-20 lead into halftime.
ECU shot 8-for-35 (.229) from the field, 1-for-9 (.111) from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 (.750) from the free throw line in the first half, while Memphis went 9-for-32 (.281) from the floor, 2-for-4 from deep and 7-for-10 (.700) at the foul stripe.
East Carolina used the halftime break to regroup and raced out onto an 8-0 run that began with a pair of free throws by Payne and a layup off the same hand to start the second half and give the Pirates ahead, 28-27, with 16:51 left in regulation on the first of 13 total lead changes over the final 20 minutes of action
Memphis was able to draw event at 29-all just over a minute later, and again at 35-all, before reclaiming the lead, 37-35 with 9:09 remaining in the game. Payne countered once again with her first conversion from 3-point range, as Gray followed up with a layup to put ECU back on top at the 7:52 mark.
The seesaw battle ensued for the duration of the game, but Payne came up clutch once again with 3:50 left on the clock when she knocked down her second triple of the game to put East Carolina back on top, 45-44. Hearn made the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the charity stripe to tie the game with 2:18 to go, and again at the 1:12 mark to put the Tigers up one.
With the game all tied at 47, Payne came up big once again by hitting a fade-away jumper from the foul line to put the Pirates back on top, 49-47, with 2.4 ticks remaining. Memphis was able to advance the ball to half court with 0.8 seconds, after it was tipped away by ECU's defense. A lob pass that landed two feet to the left of the basket fell into the hands of Brianna Wright, but she was fouled with 0.1 left on the clock. Wright knocked down both free throws to tie the game, 49-49, and send it to overtime.
After a Hearn jumper put the Tigers ahead, 53-52, just under two minutes into overtime, Phillips made a pair of free throws, before Nelson drained a 3-pointer tou put East Carolina ahead by four with 1:53 to go. Memphis was able to secure a pair of offensive rebounds and turned them into second-chance baskets en route to closing out the game with a 7-0 scoring run to hold on for the three-point victory.
ECU shot 21-for-68 (.309) overall, 4-for-21 (.190) from 3-point range and 11-for-14 (.786) at the free throw line in the game, while Memphis shot 19-for-60 (.317) from the floor, 5-for-11 (.455) from beyond the arc and 17-for-29 (.586) at the foul line. The Pirates outscored the Tigers, 32-22, in the paint, and 8-2 in fast break points, but Memphis held a 21-18 edge in points off turnovers and a 37-21 advantage in bench scoring.
East Carolina will return home and host Tulane on Wednesday, Jan. 7, in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.
