2015-16 Tigers Women's Basketball: A Look Back

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – What a year! Let's say that again. What a year!

The 2015-16 University of Memphis women's basketball season may go down as one of the most exciting in the program's history. From outstanding individual performances to thrilling finishes, Tiger Nation was on the edge of its seats the entire year.

"We had a lot of fun this season," said Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin. "We also were challenged a lot, and we overcame those challenges. We had a lot of close games, and a lot of excitement on the bench and also for our fans in the stands."

Let's count the season's top moments – and there are several:

Remember when Ariel Hearn hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Southern Illinois?
Or when Taylor Williams, Loysha Morris and Hearn combined for late-game heroics for the victory at Central Michigan?
What about the Tigers playing four games in a week in early January and winning three out of the four?
How about Memphis hosting No. 1 Connecticut before a capacity crowd at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse?
Recall the Tigers with their upset win over No. 15 USF in overtime? Brianna Wright's game-tying basket to send the game to overtime? And then Hearn's career-high 33-point performance, including the game-clinching free throws in overtime?
How about that USF game beginning a stretch in which the Tigers won nine of their final 11 regular-season games?
Remember Cheyenne Creighton's near-perfect shooting game (7-of-8 FG; 3-of-6 FT) when she scored a career-best 17 points versus UCF?
Recall honoring Brea Elmore's mother, Dianne, at halftime of the Feb. 6 Cincinnati/Play 4Kay game for her courageous battle with cancer?
Speaking of career highs, what about Mooriah Rowser's 26 points at UCF?
How about the overtime comeback victory at East Carolina when Hearn and Asianna Fuqua-Bey executed a perfect missed-free throw putback to send the game to overtime?
Of course, who can forget the Memphis-Temple NCAA-record tying five overtime marathon? Or Wright's career-high 35 points? Or Rowser's NCAA-record 64 minutes played? Or Elmore's clutch five points in the third overtime?
And remember the emotional Senior Day ceremonies before the East Carolina game in which the Tigers were down nine points with only 1:55 on the clock? And how they stormed back to send another game to overtime? And how the four seniors – in such appropriate fashion – accounted for 13 of the team's 14 points in overtime for the win?
What about Fuqua-Bey's career-high 22 points on a near-perfect shooting game (8-of-10 FG; 6-of-6 FT) in the regular-season finale at Houston? And her 11 rebounds for a double-double performance?
Finally, how about the Tigers' return to the postseason for the first time since 2013 with a Women's NIT bid?

The memories of the games and individual performances will be with Tiger Nation forever, and so will the team accomplishments from the 2015-16 campaign:

An 18-13 overall record and a 12-6 American Athletic Conference mark
The 18 overall victories were the most since 2011-12 and are tied for the fifth-most wins for a season in the 21^st century (since 2000-01)
The 12 conference victories were the most since 2011-12 (13 wins) and are the second-most in the 21^st century (since 2000-01)
The 12 league wins are tied for the third-most in a season in the program's history (trails the 13 conference victories in 1997-98 and 2011-12; tied with 1996-97 team's 12 league wins)
A fourth-place finish in the American Athletic Conference regular-season standings after picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches' poll
The fourth-place finish was the program's best since coming in second in Conference USA in 2011-12
The fourth-place finish is the program's second-best finish in the 21^st century (since 2000-01; 2011-12 team was second in Conference USA)
The No. 4 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament
One of the league's hottest teams from Jan. 19-Feb. 29 with a 9-2 record in conference play
The 9-2 conference record from Jan. 19-Feb. 29 was the second-best mark in the league over that span of time; second only to No. 1 Connecticut's 12-0 league record over that stretch
Tied for most wins (6) in the month of January in the Melissa McFerrin era
Tied for the most wins (6) in the month of February in the McFerrin era
Five conference road wins, the most since 2011-12 (6)
A perfect 7-0 record in games decided by five or fewer points
A perfect 4-0 record in overtime games
An NCAA-record tying five overtime game versus Temple, a 100-97 Tigers victory
An NCAA-record tying eight overtime sessions played (three 1 OT games; one 5 OT game); tied with Navy, which also played eight overtime periods in 2015-16

University of Memphis Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Cheyenne Creighton

Brea Elmore

Asianna Fuqua-Bey

Ariel Hearn

Loysha Morris

Mooriah Rowser

Taylor Williams

Brianna Wright

Related Videos