With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Memphis junior guard Madison Griggs nailed a 3-pointer pushing the Tigers’ lead to 63-59 and clinching the win.
Temple University women’s basketball (9-8, 4-2 The American Athletic Conference) fell to the University of Memphis (12-6, 3-4 The American) 64-61 on Saturday afternoon in Memphis, Tennessee.
Despite getting off to an early 13-3 lead, the Owls went into the second quarter down one after the Tigers went on an 11-0 run.
“Throughout the game we had way too many defensive meltdowns,” said head coach Tonya Cardoza. “We allowed them to get exactly what they wanted and for us it starts on the defensive end, and if we aren’t playing defense it’s going to be hard for us to win games.”
The Owls’ offense struggled in the second quarter and were outscored 15-8. They failed to get to the free throw line and went into halftime down 29-21.
With just less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Owls’ freshman guard Aniya Gourdine converted on a jump shot from inside the paint, putting the Owls in front 57-55.
Just seconds after, Griggs nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Tigers back up by four, giving them the lead for the remainder of the game.
With less than 20 seconds left, the Owls had the chance to tie at 63, but freshman guard Jasha Clinton turned the ball over trying to pass to graduate student forward Mia Davis in the paint.
“Pretty much the entire game we tried to force the ball into the post,” Cardoza said. “I felt like there was a lot of time on the clock and we didn’t have to force it there, and it led to so many turnovers.”
Davis led the way yet again for the Owls, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 10-15 from the field. She is now only 25 points away from breaking Temple’s all-time scoring record of 2,194 points, which is currently held by former guard Marilyn Stephens Franklyn.
“[Davis] has just been a great player for us since the time she stepped on the court,” Cardoza said. “She wants to win and try and get to the postseason so that’s what she is really concerned about.”
The Owls will look to get back in the win column when they travel to Orlando, Florida, to take on the University of Central Florida (14-3, 6-1 The American) on Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.
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