Tournament Time; Memphis Takes On No. 9 Tulsa In Quarterfinals

Friday, March 3

Uncasville, Conn.

3:00 PM

University of Memphis

Tulsa

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tournament Time; Memphis Takes On No. 9 Tulsa In Quarterfinals

Mar 02, 2017 | Women's Basketball

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The two teams will play in the first game of the tournament Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The University of Memphis women's basketball team has earned the No. 8 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship after finishing in a four-way tie for fifth place in the American Athletic Conference standings. As a result, the Tigers will play No. 9 Tulsa in the first round of the tournament at 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Memphis finished the regular season with a 14-15 overall record and 7-9 mark in The American after winning in storybook fashion Monday evening on Senior Night against Tulane.

GAME 30 – THE AMERICAN QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 Memphis (14-15; 7-9 AAC) vs. No. 9 Tulsa (9-20; 5-11 AAC)
Tip-off: 3:00 p.m. CT
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Conn.
TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Radio: 91.7 WUMR
Watch | Live Stats | Listen

Seniors Loysha Morris and Taylor Williams had a senior night to remember on Monday as both played crucial roles toward the Tigers' victory. Morris had the opportunity to score the first basket of the ball game as well as be the defender on the final shot attempt by Tulane. Williams scored a team-high 19 points and hit the game winning three-pointer with 20.8 seconds remaining.

Williams was then named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this season after averaging 13.7 points per game last week in addition to her game winning shot.

Cheyenne Creighton leads the Tigers in scoring and rebounding with 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. In addition to Creighton's efforts, Brea Elmore adds 12.7 points per game while Williams is averaging 11.8 points per contest.

With a three-pointer in the second quarter against Tulane on Monday, Elmore extended her made three-point streak to 21 games.

The Tigers were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll, but finished the conference season in a tie for fifth place. Notable victories during conference play include the win at home over No. 20 USF, the two wins over Tulane, and the sweep over UCF. This was the first time since 1991 that the Tigers swept Tulane during the regular season.

Memphis is led by Melissa McFerrin who is in her ninth season at the helm of the Tiger program. Earlier this season, McFerrin signed a contract extension that will run through the 2018-19 season.

A Look At Tulsa
Tulsa earned the No. 9 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship with a 5-11 conference record. Overall, the Golden Hurricane are 9-20 under the direction of Matilda Mossman.

The Golden Hurricane started the conference season with a 4-5 record before dropping six straight in the month of February.

On the final game of the regular season, Tulsa pulled off a notable upset in the standings at Cincinnati by a score of 78-61. The win over the Bearcats is what granted Tulane the No. 5 seed, despite Memphis defeating the Green Wave twice.

Erika Wakefield leads Tulsa in scoring with 11.5 points per game and Kendrian Elliott, a freshman, leads the squad with 7.9 rebounds per game. Elliott also has a team-high 24 blocks for Tulsa. Tulsa is just three, three-pointers shy of hitting 200 this season as a team.

Series History With Tulsa
This marks the 16th meeting all-time against Tulsa with the Golden Hurricane holding the slight 8-7 advantage. Memphis only competed against Tulsa one time this season, and that was the second conference game of the season. The Golden Hurricane defeated the Tigers by a 57-52 margin. Tulsa leads the neutral site meetings 1-0.

Final Details
Tip-off against the Golden Hurricane is set for 3 p.m. CT at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The game will broadcast on ESPN3. Fans can hear the game on the air waves at 91.7 FM WUMR with Jeff Brightwell on the call. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow us on Twitter at @MemphisWBB.