Dec. 29, 2000

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Golden Eaglettes of Tennessee Tech (6-4) snuck away with an 85-83 win over the University of Memphis Lady Tigers (7-4), off a last-second shot by Misty Garrett with less than 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation. Tech led for the majority of the game, after Memphis allowed a season-high eight three-pointers, in the loss. The Golden Eaglettes were lethal from all over, shooting 52 percent from the floor including an 8-for-17 effort from behind the arc and have now converted at least one three point shot, in 102 consecutive games.

Memphis went 4-for-7 from the line in the last five minutes of regulation, after suffering the fourth loss of the year. This also marks the Lady Tigers first home loss in "The Jungle," this season.

Tennessee Tech fell behind early but managed to roll back and grabbed a 47-35 lead, entering the half. The second half featured nine lead changes with Memphis grabbing the advantage with 14 minutes remaining, after junior forward Melissa Abraham made a lay-up to put the Lady Tigers in front, 56-55. The U of M held the lead for the next six minutes but after sophomore forward Shannon Hamp was called for a foul, she was then whistled for a technical after slamming the ball on the court. Janet Holt then converted all four free throws for Tech, putting the Golden Eaglettes up by three, 67-64 with under eight minutes left. Two minutes later, Memphis would scrape back and eventually take the lead off an 18 foot jumper by senior forward Patrice Boyd, making the score 70-69. The Lady Tigers continued to hold the lead for the remainder of the contest and looked prime for their eighth win of 2000. That was until Rachel Gobble buried an awkward three-pointer to pull the Golden Eaglettes within one with exactly 1.1 seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbounds pass, senior forward Tiffany Adkins was charged with a foul which sent Gobble to the line. Gobble made the first shot but missed the second which gave Garrett one last chance for the win. Garrett then grabbed the rebound and took a one-handed runner, falling out-of-bounds and sealed the game-winning shot, just before the final horn sounded.

Said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis, "The bottom line is that the game came down to the final five minutes and they executed while we missed free throws and made silly fouls. The biggest thing was that in crunch time they executed and we didn't."

Adkins led the way for Memphis going 7-for-10 to finish with 20 points. After picking up two early fouls, Adkins was forced to sit for the remainder of the first half which helped allow Tech to grab the lead going into the intermission. Abraham notched her first double-double of the season, after grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds and dropping in 12 points in only 21 minutes of action. Senior guard Tiffany Collins paced the U of M attack with nine assists and also scored a season-high 15 points. Boyd secured a season-high effort as well, going for 14 points, off a solid 6-of-11 performance from the floor.

The Golden Eaglettes were paced by Holt, who finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Gobble was second with 10 points and also grabbed six boards, in the win.