Women's Basketball Drops 5OT Heartbreaker at Memphis

Thursday, February 18

Memphis, Tenn.

8:00 p.m.

Temple University

17-9, 11-4AAC

100

Memphis

16-10, 10-5AAC

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

OT 4

OT 5

Temple

Memphis

100

Photo by: Julia Martin

Women's Basketball Drops 5OT Heartbreaker at Memphis

2.18.16 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS -- In what tied for the longest NCAA women's college basketball game in history, it was Memphis that held on for the 100-97 victory in five overtimes in Memphis on Thursday. Temple ran out of gas down the stretch, and couldn't tally the equalizer in the fifth overtime session. The loss dips the Owls to 17-9 overall, 11-4 in conference play. Memphis improves to 16-10 overall, 10-5 in The American.

Temple led by one at halftime, but needed to rally from down three points at the end of regulation, to tie the game at 50-all. From there, five overtime sessions followed, featuring 14 lead changes and 20 ties in the extra periods alone. At the end, Memphis got a turnaround jumper from center Briana Wright with 6.4 ticks on the clock, and then stole the inbounds pass on Temple's next possession. Brea Elmore then sealed it for the Tigers with a free throw.

Junior Feyonda Fitzgerald led the Owls' offense with 26 points, despite playing the final 32 minutes with four fouls. Sophomore Alliya Butts had 19 points, while sophomores Tanaya Atkinson and Donnaizha Fountain both notched double-doubles. Atkinson had 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, while Fountain finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Erica Covile had nine points and six boards, while sophomore Khadijah Berger had seven points to round out the scoring.

In a defensive first quarter, Memphis led the whole way. The Tigers used hot shooting early to go up 9-3, before Butts and Covile connected for Temple to cut it to 9-7. Memphis then ended the frame on a 5-2 run to lead 14-9 after the first 10 minutes.

Temple turned the tables on the Tigers in the second quarter, opening with an 11-0 run to go up 20-14 with under five minutes left. Memphis finally broke through with 4:08 on the clock, and that bucket sparked a 7-0 run to put the Tigers back on top, 21-20. The lead changed hands twice more before an Atkinson putback put the Owls up 26-25 at the break.

Temple caught fire from three in the third quarter, after going 0-for-7 from long range in the first half. The Owls hit four threes in the frame, taking their largest lead of the game, 45-36 with under a minute left. Memphis added a bucket and a free throw before the closing seconds, but the Owls led 45-39 after three.

Memphis scored the first seven points of the final frame to cut the Temple lead to just one. After Fitzgerald pushed the Owls ahead by three, four-straight from the Tigers gave them a 50-47 lead. A Butts' bucket cut the lead to 50-49, and after a steal from Ugo Nwaigwe, she tied it at 50-all with a free throw. Memphis had a chance with 18.1 on the clock, but a last second shot rattled in and out, sending the game into overtime.

Temple took the first edge in the first overtime period, going up 56-52 after a pair of Butts free throws and a bucket from Fountain. Memphis then used a 6-1 run to go up 58-57 with under a minute to play. Temple regained the lead with a pair of Fountain free throws to make it 59-58, but Memphis' Williams hit a free throw to tie it at 59-59 with 9.4 seconds left. Temple was unable to get a clean shot off, sending the game into double overtime.

The second overtime featured six lead changes, but it was Memphis who held a 70-68 edge with 22 seconds remaining. The Owls quickly tied things with 9.4 on the clock, as Atkinson cut under the bucket and sank a lay-up knotting things at 70-70. Memphis had time with one more possession, but junior Safiya Martin blocked the Tigers' final attempt, sending the game to triple overtime.

The Owls looked to take control in the third overtime, going up 80-73 with 2:35 to play. However, a 10-2 Memphis run knotted the game at 82-82 and Temple's final shot of the frame hit the rim.

In the fourth overtime, Temple led by five early, 89-84, but a Wright bucket and a Rowser three knotted it at 89-89. Memphis took a 93-91 lead with 22 seconds on the clock, but an Atkinson bucket forced the fifth OT.

Scoring was scarce in the fifth and final overtime but Temple opened with a Fitzgerald bucket to make it 95-93. Four-straight points from Memphis had them up 97-95, but Fitzgerald countered with a bucket that tied things up with 17 seconds on the clock. Wright's lay-up and Elmore's free throw then won the game for the Tigers.

Wright finished with 35 points to lead Memphis, while Mooriah Rowser added 21.

Temple returns home for a "pink" game on Tuesday, February 23 against Tulane at McGonigle Hall. The game honors former N.C. State coach Kay Yow who passed away in 2009 after a long battle with breast cancer. Donations can be made online at www.play4kay.org/templeowls.

Box Score (PDF)

Post-Game Notes: Tonight's five OT affair tied Drexel and Northeastern's 2007 game for the longest in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. The Dragons came out on top in that one, 98-90... This was the first overtime game of the season for Temple... If the game went to a sixth overtime session, the Owls would have had just five eligible players, as five of Temple's 10 players fouled out... Tanaya Atkinson's 20 rebounds were the most for the program since Rhonda Bates had 23 in a 1990 game against George Washington... The 197 total points scored tonight was a Temple program record, surpassing 188 in the Owls' 97-91 win over Florida on November 13, 2015 (prior to that, the previous record of 186 had stood for 33 years).