Gonzaga edges No. 23 Tennessee for 3rd place at Atlantis
Nov 21, 2022, 12:42 AM | Updated: 2:43 pm
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Yvonne Ejim scored the go-ahead basket inside with 12.4 seconds left and Gonzaga survived three missed shots by No. 23 Tennessee on the final play to win 73-72 in Monday’s third-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Ejim scored 20 of her 22 points after halftime to go with nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-1), who closed a three-day stay in the Bahamas with two wins against ranked opponents. They upset then-No. 6 Louisville in Saturday’s first round before losing to Marquette in Sunday’s semifinals.
Ejim’s basket capped a fourth quarter in which neither team led by more than four, though the Lady Vols (2-4) came close to pulling this one out.
First Jasmine Powell attacked the paint but missed her drive, only to see teammate Jordan Horston grab the rebound. But she found herself with her back to the basket and being defended by two Gonzaga players.
Horston missed the contested turnaround, but Powell ripped the rebound out of the air away from Gonzaga’s Calli Stokes for one frantic final shot — but this one bounced off the rim at the horn sounded.
That sent Gonzaga’s players sprinting to midcourt to celebrate.
Horston finished with 19 points for Tennessee, which fell 12 spots in Monday’s new AP Top 25 poll after losing to now-No. 20 UCLA in Sunday’s semifinals. They went 1-2 in their Atlantis appearance, falling to 2-4 for the first time since the 1981-82 season.
___
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
