Tulane nearly erases 19-point deficit In loss to Memphis

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane nearly erased a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit against Memphis on Saturday afternoon, but the Tigers did just enough to hold on for a 65-59 victory at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Trailing 52-33 with 6:49 left to play, Tulane (15-10, 5-7 American Athletic Conference) went on a furious 11-0 run to cut that lead to just 8 points and eventually got within 2 points at 59-57 with 39 seconds left.

But Memphis (10-15, 5-7) hit all six of its free throws down the stretch as time ran out on the Tulane comeback.

In her first career start, Mia Heide had a career-high 10 points and fellow freshman Dynah Jones was the team’s leading scorer with 17. Krystal Freeman was one rebound short of her second straight double-double with 10 boards and nine rebounds, and Sierra Cheatham was Tulane’s fourth double-digit scorer as she went 3 of 6 from downtown.

Memphis seemed in total control after its started the fourth quarter on an 8-3 run, expanding its lead to 19 points with just under seven minutes to go.

Tulane refused to give in, though, getting its 11-0 run started with a Jones 3-pointer and two more free throws from the freshman. Cheatham followed with two consecutive 3-pointers – her second and third of the fourth quarter – and Memphis called a timeout with its nearly 20-point lead all of a sudden down to 8 in less than two minutes.

Memphis got a layup after that timeout, but Tulane scored the next five points on a Cheatham jumper and a fast-break and-1 play from Erin Gutierrez. After another Memphis basket, Jones and Freeman hit back-to-back baskets for Tulane and it was down to a one-possession game at 56-53 with 2:09 on the clock.

From there, though, Memphis answered every time Tulane scored. The Tigers got one more layup and then seven free throws to close out the narrow victory.

Besides her team-high 17 points, Jones added a career-high seven rebounds during the game.

Tulane tied its season high with 11 rebounds, an incredible five of which came from Cheatham to set a new career high for her. Heide had three blocks, Harlyn Wyatt had two and Meredith Schulte added another. Kaila Anderson led the team with five assists while Gutierrez and Jones chipped in four apiece. Gutierrez also had a team-high four steals.

After allowing the Tigers to hit a 3 on their opening possession, the Green Wave played lockdown defense the rest of the first quarter. Memphis made just two field goals the rest of the period, and Tulane had six total blocks in the first 10 minutes including two each from Harlyn Wyatt and Sierra Cheatham. Freeman had 6 points in the first quarter and Heide added 4, giving Tulane a 12-8 lead entering the second.Mia Hei

But the second quarter belonged to the Tigers, especially in the final few minutes. A Dynah Jones and-1 play gave Tulane a 22-21 edge with 3:10 left on the clock, but Memphis went on a 9-0 run after that to take a 30-22 lead into halftime. Tulane was in foul trouble for much of the second quarter with Freeman having two fouls and playing just 10 minutes in the first half. Tulane also turned the ball over 11 times in the first half.

After a terrific 6-0 run to start the third quarter for Tulane, the rest of the period belonged to the visitors. Leading just 30-28, Memphis closed the third quarter on a 14-2 run with the Green Wave’s only points coming on Tatyana Lofton free throws. That set up the fourth quarter where Memphis expanded its lead to 19 points only for Tulane to fight back until the final buzzer.

During the game, Anderson grabbed her 100th rebound and Lofton scored her 250th point.

The Green Wave are back on the road next week, heading to Houston for a battle with the Cougars. Tipoff time is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN3.