Memphis women's basketball season ends with WNIT Super 16 loss at Bowling Green
Memphis women's basketball enjoyed a strong homecourt advantage in its first two WNIT games. The Tigers hit the road for the Super 16 hoping to carry some magic with them.
Instead of success, the Tigers found cold shooting and stifling defense at Bowling Green on Thursday. Bowling Green used its defensive pressure to pull away in the third quarter as Memphis' best season in over a decade ended in crushing fashion.
The Tigers lost 73-60 in their first trip to the Super 16 since 1999 and things got ugly during the postgame handshake line. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Jamirah Shutes briefly leaves game, involved in postgame incident
Jamirah Shutes, the Tigers' leading scorer, played just eight minutes in the first half after taking an elbow to her face with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. The senior then left the court for to the locker room.
SENIOR LEADERS:Why Memphis women's basketball's Jamirah Shutes, Madison Griggs stayed to lead program's turnaround
SISTER, SISTER:How Memphis women's basketball coach Katrina Merriweather ended up hiring her sister
She didn't play in the second quarter and Memphis' offense suffered without her. The Tigers (22-11) were scoreless in the first five minutes before Hannah Riddick made a layup. Bowling Green, meanwhile, pushed ahead to a 30-22 halftime lead.
Shutes returned to start the second half and finished with 13 points. After the game, Shutes confronted Bowling Green's Elissa Brett in the handshake line and after the two appeared to exchange words, Shutes then hit Brett in the head.
Brett was down on the court for a brief moment while Shutes was escorted away by a Tigers assistant coach. Brett was tended to by teammates and coaches and eventually got up on her own power.
BGSU women’s basketball moving on to the final 8 of the WNIT after beating Memphis — but this will steal the headlines unfortunately.
Ugly, ugly scene in the handshake line. A Memphis player punched Elissa Brett. Just brutal. pic.twitter.com/2hptXYBEtj— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) March 24, 2023
Road shooting woes return
Memphis led wire-to-wire in its first two WNIT games due to hot shooting early on, including a 20-0 start Monday vs. Ball State. That didn't happen with Bowling Green (30-6), which led 30-22 at halftime and outscored the Tigers 28-8 in the third quarters.
The Tigers shot just 9-for-45 through three quarters as Bowling Green led by as many as 31 points in the second half. With just two 3-pointers until the fourth quarter, it felt similar to the Tigers' issues in the AAC Tournament where they shot 1-for-25 on 3-pointers in two games.
Memphis scored 29 fourth quarter points but it wasn't enough to offset just 31 points through three quarters. Madison Griggs, the Tigers' second-leading scorer, had 12 points of 5-of-22 shooting while Hannah Riddick added 12 points.
Too many turnovers
When Memphis wasn't missing shots, the Tigers struggled keeping the ball. They had 18 turnovers and Ball State, which is seventh nationally in forced turnovers per game, turned that into 17 points.
Allison Day had a team-high 18 points to lead four Falcons in double figures scoring. Bowling Green moved on to the Great 8 while the Tigers reflect on a season where they finished second in the AAC regular season standings, their highest finish since joining the AAC in 2013.
The Tigers also had their most wins since winning 25 games in 2012 and consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2011-12.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis women's basketball loses in WNIT Super 16 to Bowling Green
