University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UAB
Lady Tiger Win 15th Straight at Roane Fieldhouse
Feb 13, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2000
MEMPHIS, TN - The streak is still alive. With a 66-58 win over the Lady Blazers of UAB (14-9, 6-6 C-USA), the University of Memphis Lady Tiger basketball team (15-8, 9-3 C-USA) extended its winning streak to 15 straight in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
The win was also a key victory in the National Division, as Memphis remains tied with Tulane for the division title and three games ahead of UAB. The Lady Tigers will meet the Lady Wave in a crucial game Saturday morning at 11 a.m. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net from the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Freshman center Shannon Hamp led the Lady Tigers past UAB with 15 points and brought down five rebounds in the win Sunday afternoon. Hamp has scored in double digits in four of the last five games, and is the squad's third leading scorer.
A slow paced first half featured a total of 23 turnovers by both teams, seven by Memphis and 16 for UAB. The Lady Tigers would trail the majority of the first half, tying the score twice just before the 10- minute mark. Memphis overcame a shooting slump (26 percent), and fought back to narrow the gap to within five points before the end of the half. The Lady Tigers went into halftime down, 29-24 despite UAB shooting nearly 50 percent as a team. Memphis took 13 more shots from the field in the first half and was outrebounded, 21-19.
"We only had two major runs in that game," said coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "But they were two runs when we needed them. I thought we played awful in the final three minutes of the first half, but we came out strong in the first three minutes of the second half, which I was proud of. They know, and I know, that we didn't get off to a great start. It was a sloppy up-and-down game for us. I knew UAB was going to come in here feeling like they owed us one, because we got lucky when we won earlier this season in Birmingham."
The second half would feature Memphis' first lead coming at 17:56, off a lay-up by sophomore forward Melissa Abraham which made the score 30-29. The lead would change hands seven more times before the end of the game. With 1:30 left on the clock, Hamp off an inside feed converted a pivotal lay-up that put the Lady Tigers up for good, 59-58. After a turnover on UAB's next possession, sophomore forward Lauren Jackson nailed a three-point basket and delivered the knockout blow, making the score 62-58. A couple of trips to the foul line and converted free throws sealed up the win.
Scoring in double figures for Memphis were Shannon Hamp and sophomore center Malissa Abraham, who finished with 15 and 10, respectively. Junior forward Tiffany Adkins paced the Lady Tigers with six boards, four assists and four steals on top of an eight-point effort.
Lady Blazer Deanna Jackson was nearly unstoppable going for 27, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Jackson also grabbed 14 rebounds, 10 of which were in the first half. She recorded her 18th double-double of the season, and also led the way in blocked shots with five.
The U of M will close out it's home season next week when they host Southern Miss and Tulane, both of which they lost to earlier this season on the road. Memphis welcomes the Golden Eagles to the Fieldhouse on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. and the Green Wave on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Tulane game, which is also slated for "Senior Day" activities, will be broadcast on FoxSports Net as part of the C-USA television package.
