Women's Basketball

The American Today: Memphis Upsets No. 23 Rutgers in Overtime

Memphis upset No. 23 Rutgers in overtime and Temple defeated SMU at the Liacouras Center in women’s basketball action around the American Athletic Conference on Tuesday.

Memphis picked up its first win over a ranked opponent since 2003 with a 74-73 overtime victory over No. 23 Rutgers at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

The Tigers erased a nine-point halftime deficit and took their first lead of the game on a Pa’Sonna Hope basket with 1:55 left in regulation. Ariel Hearn’s trey gave Memphis a 66-62 lead with 1:31 remaining, but Tyler Scaife and Betnijah Laney scored consecutive points for Rutgers to tie things up at 66 and send the game to overtime.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the extra frame with both teams trading free-throws. Asianna Fuqua-Bey gave Memphis the lead for good after knocking down a pair of shots from the charity stripe with nine seconds remaining.

Hearn led the Tigers with 18 points, four assists and four steals. Fuqua-Bey (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Pa’Sonna Hope (16 points, 10 rebounds) finished with double-doubles. Kahleah Copper led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting.

Temple defeated SMU 80-66 in its first home game in 10 days. The win snapped a two-game skid for the Owls.

Feyonda Fitzgerald and Tyonna Williams led the Owls with 16 points apiece. Natasha Thames had a game-high 12 rebounds.

SMU shot a season-high 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field but could not overcome a second half run by Temple. The Owls outscored the Mustangs 18-4 midway through the second period and took a 66-54 lead with 5:05 left to play.

Four Mustangs scored in double figures, including Keena Mays, who led SMU with a game-high 23 points. Akil Simpson led the team in rebounds with nine.

UCF travels to No. 5/5 Louisville on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, WHAS-DT2) in the only conference game of the day.