Family relations were no obstacle for the Memphis Lady Tigers who downed the visiting East Carolina Pirates 75-69 to end a monthlong drought at home on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
The conference game featured a matchup between Tigers senior point guard DeeDee Hagemann and her younger sister, Devin, who is the starting point guard for the Pirates.
The older sibling contributed 11 points and distributed five assists in the win. Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers defense forced the younger Hagemann into eight turnovers, to blemish a 14 points and six assists game.
“She’ll definitely hear about that,” laughed DeeDee Hagemann. “As a point guard, we shouldn’t have that amount of turnovers. Give credit to Tanyuel Welch and our defense as well.”
As old grudges were being revisited at the point, Welch was the offensive catalyst for Memphis. The redshirt sophomore led the Lady Tigers with a game high 21 points. Backup guard Tilly Boler pitched in 19 points off the bench.
Senior forward Alasia Smith provided energy, while scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
“She’s not allowed to take a play off. I stay on Alasia harder than anyone,” said Memphis coach Alex Simmons said. “She knows she has to do what she does consistently so that our team and our program can be successful.”
Trailing 33-32 at the intermission, Memphis turned up the defensive pressure in the second half. The Lady Tigers forced 12 turnovers from East Carolina.
Offensively, the turnaround was keyed by five Lady Tigers three-pointers. The long-range shooting allowed Memphis to build a lead, despite giving up a higher shooting percentage in the second half.
Freshman forward Bailey Gilmore, chipped in seven points and five rebounds off the bench in 22 minutes, after starter Latazia Williamson ran into foul trouble early.
“We knew that they would try and attack our post players, so her size and strength really helped us,” Simmons said.
Memphis will travel to Philadelphia to face the Temple Owls on Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. Their next home game is against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 8.
