Dec. 21, 2007

Complete Box Score in PDF Format

Box Score

FT. MYERS, Fla. - - NOTE: Due to stat program issues, no box score is available from tonight's game.

Playing a third road game in five days, the Lady Tigers battled but fell short 71-49 in the championship game of the Florida Gulf Coast Holiday Classic.

"We got the defensive stops we wanted and would get the shot clock wound all the way down and they would throw up shots that would just convert. I thought fatigue played a big part of it, and when we couldn't rebound, it unfortunately carried over on the offensive end," Head Coach Blair Savage-Lansden said.

Memphis trailed 33-24 at the break as Jessica Hall was the lone Lady Tiger to find any consistent points, scoring 14 in the opening 20 minutes as her tired teammates expended a lot of energy trying to defend not only the fast-paced Eagle offense, but the entire perimeter as nine different Eagle players came in to the championship game having connected from three-point range.

The second half was more of the same, as Memphis kept getting defensive possessions and running the clock down, but FGCU spread the ball around, with four different players scoring double-digits.

Hall was the lone Lady Tiger to score double-digits, finishing with 16 points. Ashley Thornton added nine points, while Jessica Jackson scored eight in the loss. Thornton also earned her second all-tournament honor after scoring 24 points over the two games.

Memphis will break for a couple of days for the holidays, then will return home to host a final pair of non-conference contests before opening C-USA play at UAB in January. The Lady Tigers will welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, Dec. 28th, at 7 p.m.