Tulane Green Wave’s Frantic Rally Falls Short Against Memphis Tigers

The Tulane Green Wave women’s basketball team had an incredible fourth quarter against Memphis, but it wasn’t enough to claim a victory.

Mar 6, 2023; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Tulane Green Wave guard Kyren Whittington (0) shoots against Cincinnati Bearcats forward Malea Williams (22) during the second half at Dickies Arena. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team had an incredible fourth quarter against Memphis on Saturday — but they needed just a little bit more.

In spite of outscoring the Tigers, 15-2, in the fourth quarter, the Green Wave lost, 68-65, in American Athletic Conference action on Saturday.

Tulane (11-7, 4-3 in AAC) returned home to Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse hoping to make it a 2-0 weekend with a win over the Tigers (4-13, 2-4). But, when the fourth quarter started the Green Wave were down, 66-50. The game appeared to be over.

But, the Green Wave rallied fast. Kendall Sneed’s lay-up sparked an 8-0, with baskets from Sherese Pittman, Dyllan Hanna and Sneed to follow. That cut Memphis’ lead to 66-58 with 5:40 left.

Memphis then scored its only points of the fourth quarter on a layup by DeeDee Hagemann, which pushed the Tigers lead to 68-58 with 4:09 left.

From there, it was all Tulane but not enough. The Green Wave got a layup from Amira Mabry, a 3-pointers from Keenan and another lay-up from Pittman to cut the lead to 68-65 with 1:56 left.

The Green Wave had two more shots to tie the game. On one possession, Pittman missed a jumper, and Keenan missed a 3-pointer before Memphis got the ball back. On the next possession, Tilly Boler turned the ball over and gave the Green Wave one last chance with 11 seconds left.

But, Sadie Shores turned the ball over on a pass with nine seconds left, which ended any hope of the Green Wave extending the game into overtime.

The Green Wave shot better than the Tigers for the game, firing 47% to Memphis’ 41%. But, the Tigers shot 48% from the arc and made 10 3-pointers.

Keenan led the Green Wave with 17 points, which included five 3-pointers. She was one of only two Tulane players to hit from distance. Pittman scored 14 points and finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double. She had three assists but turned the ball over seven times. Sneed added 10 points, which included a team-high seven assists.

Hagemann led Memphis with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. She also dished out seven assists and had two steals. Boler added 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, with five rebounds.

The Green Wave will host USF on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a road trip to Temple on Saturday.