Tigers Women's Basketball Defeats Houston 74-57 Tuesday

Tuesday, January 5

Memphis, Tenn.

5 pm CT

University of Memphis

8-6, 2-1AAC

Houston

0-34-10. AAC

Houston

Memphis

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers Women's Basketball Defeats Houston 74-57 Tuesday

Jan 05, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Hearn's 20 points, Wright's 18 points lead the way for Memphis.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Two down, two to go for the University of Memphis women's basketball team this week. The Tigers began a stretch this past Sunday of playing four games in seven days. So far, the results have been tremendous for Memphis.

For the second game in a row, Memphis used a balanced scoring attack and solid shooting to post a 74-57 American Athletic Conference win over Houston at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse Tuesday. With the win, the Tigers improve to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the league. Houston falls to 4-10 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

Memphis' 2-1 conference record is its best league start since 2011-12 when that squad began conference play 6-1. The Tigers look to keep the momentum going Thursday, Jan. 7 when they play at Cincinnati. Game time is 6 p.m. (CT) from Fifth Third Arena.

Seniors Ariel Hearn and Brianna Wright led the Tigers offense with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Hearn's 20-point performance moves her career total to 1,698 points, needing only two points to reach the 1,700-point milestone. Wright was two points shy of tying her career high of 20 points. Both players sat out the final half of the fourth period.

Wright added five rebounds and a career-high tying four blocked shots. Hearn had two boards and two assists.

Junior college transfer Loysha Morris scored 11 points, and sophomore Cheyenne Creighton added 10 points to give the Tigers four double-figure scorers. Morris also had three assists and two steals.

For the second-straight game, Memphis hit over 50 percent from the floor, this time shooting 55.6 percent for the game. The Tigers defense proved stingy Tuesday, holding the Cougars to 29.8 percent shooting from the field and forcing 28 Houston turnovers.

Memphis jumped on the Cougars early and never looked back. Four Tigers scored in their game-opening 13-0 run. The Memphis defense held Houston scoreless until the 5:21 mark of the first quarter when Alecia Smith hit a three-pointer. The Cougars closed the gap to seven points at 17-10 with 1:38 left, but got no closer the rest of the contest.

In the second period, Memphis maintained its double-digit lead throughout and held a 38-23 advantage at the break.

After halftime, the Tigers increased their advantage to as many as 21 points before securing the 74-57 final.

Kierra Graves led Houston with 11 points, and Marche' Amerson added 10 points. Serithia Hawkins grabbed a game-high six boards.