University of Memphis Athletics
Lady Tigers to Play Second Game at FedExForum Sunday
Jan 25, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
The University of Memphis women's basketball team will try to move out of seventh place in the league standings by hosting UAB, Sunday. The Blazers (4-1) are one of three C-USA squads in a tie for second in the league behind league-leading UTEP (5-0). Both Memphis and UAB split their conference slates last weekend, winning at Tulane and falling at UTEP. UAB has won four of its last five games, dating back to a 76-63 win over the Lady Tigers in Birmingham earlier this season. Memphis has won two of its last three games, defeating defending C-USA tournament champion East Carolina 69-50, then defeating the regular season champ from last season, Tulane, 74-66, on the road.
UAB brings an offense that averages over 66 points per game, with senior Diamond Rogers averaging 17.3 ppg and leading the team with 8.3 rebounds per game. Fellow senior Crystal McFadden returned this season after missing last year due to injury, and is averaging 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Britney Jones has spent a majority of the season at the point for the Blazers, adding 10.9 ppg while leading the team with 56 assists and 44 steals on the year. And freshman Amanda Peterson has found her niche in the Blazer offense, hitting a team-high 38 three-point field goals and averaging 9.1 points per game.
In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Memphis battled back from a 36-31 halftime deficit to take a 46-45 lead off a Latoya Bullard jumper with 14:15 remaining in the game, but Diamond Rogers answered with a three to put UAB back in front. Memphis kept the deficit to under six points until Amanda Peterson nailed a three and Crystal McFadden got loose for a lay-up to put UAB up 60-54 with 5:09 to play. Memphis answered with another Bullard lay-up, but then Peterson, who scored nine of her 11 points in the final five minutes of the game, hit a pair of threes to help UAB build a double-digit lead which Memphis could not trim before clock expired.
Memphis, which is playing its second game of the season in FedExForum, is 0-5 all-time in games in the NBA Arena located in downtown Memphis. The road win at Tulane was Memphis' first C-USA victory since Jan. 21, 2005, when Memphis won at UAB and marked the team's first back-to-back conference wins since the same date. Sophomore Latoya Bullard averaged 13.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while helping Memphis to a 1-1 mark last weekend, adding nine assists and six steals in two league games. Jessica Jackson posted back-to-back double-digit outings for the first time since league play began, averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the two games on the road last weekend. Three other Lady Tigers averaged nine or more points per game last week, with Jessica Hall and Ashley Thornton each averaging 9.5 ppg, while Paris Leonard averaged 9.0 ppg last weekend.
Memphis vs. UAB
This is the 38th meeting in the history between Memphis and UAB and while Memphis leads the overall series 24-13, the Lady Tigers are looking to snap a five-game losing streak to the Blazers. UAB won the earlier meeting to begin both team's C-USA seasons, 76-63, earlier this month.
Having to Close Out Leads
Memphis had league-leading UTEP on the ropes in El Paso on Sunday. Memphis, which led 36-35 at the break, opened the second half with an 11-5 run, building a 52-42 lead with 12:33 to play, forcing UTEP to burn a second time out in the first seven minutes of the half. But Memphis then gave up two three-point field goals on its next three defensive series, allowing UTEP to swing the momentum. The Miners kept pouring it on from there, closing the final 7:67 of the game on a 33-10 run. That is a similar story to the Lady Tigers' last meeting with UAB when Amanda Peterson came off the bench to knock down three threes in the final five minutes of the game to end a Memphis come-back from a 36-31 halftime deficit and to power the Blazers to a double-digit league win.
Jackson Posts Back-to-Back Double-Digit Outings
Junior center Jessica Jackson posted back-to-back double-digit scoring nights for the first time in league play last weekend. Jackson scored 10 points, with five rebounds, at Tulane, and added a team-high 12 points with seven rebounds at UTEP. The two double-digit outings helped Jackson bounce back from back-to-back scoreless outings against Marshall and East Carolina to open the Lady Tigers' conference home schedule. In the first meeting with UAB in Birmingham, Jackson struggled from the field, shooting 3-for-14, and scoring three of her nine points from the free-throw line.
Thornton Adding Offense Off the Bench
Through the first 18 games on the season, Memphis has had its bench out-scored by the opposing team's bench 15 times. Junior Ashley Thornton has helped stem that stat by moving from a starting spot to coming off the bench. In the last two games, Thornton has averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
Leonard Looking for 800th Point
Junior guard Paris Leonard continues to move up on the all-time scoring charts at Memphis, entering the UAB game with 751 points, just 49 shy of her 800th career point. Leonard, who averaged 7.8 ppg last season, is averaging 11.9 ppg in her junior year and already has more assists this year (26) than in any of her previous two seasons (21 in both 2005-06 and 2006-07).
Thornton Back in Double-Digitland
Junior Ashley Thornton scored double-digit points in eight of Memphis' first 12 games, but then moved to the forward spot after spending the past year and a half as the team's starting center. But the Pinson, Alabama, native has started to find her comfort zone as the four in the offense, scoring nine points at Tulane, then scoring double-digits at UTEP for the first time in six games.
Winchell Scoring Streak Reaches 12 Games
Freshman Alex Winchell is making a quick adjustment to college basketball. The Atlanta, Ga., native had scored in her first five career games before going scoreless against Alabama A&M. But Winchell has bounced back to score in 12 straight games, including her second double-digit career outing of 10 points at Tulane. Winchell has hit a three in eight of the past nine games.
Hall in a Helping Mood
Maybe it's finally being able to play basketball after two years off due to injury, but junior Jessica Hall has been in a helping mood as of late. Hall had nine assists last weekend, including a team-high five assists in the win at Tulane and four assists at UTEP. Even more impressive, she went without a turnover in both games, and covered up a loose ball that Latoya Bullard had tipped from the Tulane inbounder with 33 seconds remaining in the game and with Memphis hanging on to a two point lead. Hall then scored six points in the final 31 seconds of the game to help Memphis to its first road win since January of 2005.
Bullard Turning Up to Offense In League Play
Sophomore Latoya Bullard had played just one semester of college basketball before transferring to Memphis last year. So it's no surprise that it took a couple of games for her to find her offensive stroke, as she hit double-digit points in four of the first six games she played. But since the calendar has flipped to league play, Bullard has been a force opponents' better reckon with, as she has scored double digits in each of the first five C-USA games this year. In league-only games, she ranks seventh in the league in scoring with 15.8 ppg and leads the league with a 59.3 percent shooting stroke from the field.
Conference Defense Stepping Up
During the non-conference portion of the schedule, Memphis ranked in the bottom two in scoring defense and field goals percentage defense. But since league play began five games ago, Memphis has improved its defense and the Lady Tigers now rank sixth in the league in scoring defense with 65.6 ppg and has already faced three of the teams in the top six in the league in scoring offense (No. 2 UTEP, No. 3 UAB and No. 5 Marshall). Memphis is giving up fewer points, but when they are giving up shots, it tends to be of the high-percentage variety, as Memphis still ranks 11th in the league in field goal defense, allowing opponents to hit 42.5 percent of their shots. And Memphis also ranks 11th in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to hit 37.1 percent from beyond the arc through the first five league games.
Free-Throw Line Struggles Continue
After setting a school record with a team free-throw shooting percentage of 72.3 percent last season, the Lady Tigers are not finding points as easy to come by at the line in 2007-08, with a 65.3 percent shooting clip heading in to the second meeting with UAB.
Back-to-Back For First Time This Season
Memphis used a 74-66 road win at Tulane to post back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The road win also marked the first Memphis C-USA road win since Jan. 21, 2005, when Memphis won at UAB.
Must Have Been the Cake
Freshman guard Alex Winchell came off the bench to score 10 points in the win over Tulane, hitting two big threes to help Memphis build a nine-point second half lead Friday night. Winchell finished with 10 points in 17 minutes, but missed the last eight minutes of the second half after picking up back-to-back fouls while trying to draw a charge early in the opening minutes of the second half. Winchell was one of two Lady Tigers who celebrated a birthday the day before the Tulane game. She and teammate Aroha Jennings were birthday girls on Wednesday.
Offense Strongest Its Been Under Savage
The Lady Tigers are averaging just under 70 points per game (68.2 ppg) so far in 2007-08. That is the highest ppg average a Lady Tiger team has had under fourth year head coach Blair Savage-Lansden and was one of the reasons for the change to the motion offense on Savage's hire. Memphis' defense has improved since the calendar flipped over to league play as well, with Memphis ranking fourth in C-USA in scoring defense, giving up 62.3 ppg.
Jennings Passes 500 Point Mark
Given that she came to Memphis with just two seasons, Aroha Jennings will not make the Lady Tiger 1,000-career point mark, but that does not distract from the impressive fact that just 16 games in to the 2007-08 season, Jennings passed the 500 career-point mark with 14 points against East Carolina. Jennings also broke in to the Lady Tiger's Top 50 in career scoring. If she can get to the 600-point mark for her career, she will move in to the school's top 40 all-time scorers.
About our 2007-08 Opponents
Memphis will play 29 regular season games, including seven of the first eight at home. Here are how our past and future opponents are doing:
Tennessee Tech (3-16, 2-7 OVC overall): Lost to pre-season OVC favorite Southeast Missouri, 49-39; plays at Murray State, Thursday.
Southeastern Louisiana (7-10 overall, 1-3 SLC): Fell 72-60 to UT Arlington; plays at Nicholls State Saturday.
Creighton (9-7 overall, 2-3 MVC): Fell 75-74 in overtime at Southern Illinois; hosts Northern Iowa Thursday.
Tennessee State (7-11 overall, 4-5 OVC): Fell 69-59 to Eastern Illinois; hosts Eastern Kentucky Thursday.
Louisiana Tech (8-9 overall, 2-2 WAC): Defeated New Mexico State, 57-50; plays at Nevada, Thursday.
Alabama A&M (6-8 overall, 4-1 SWAC): Defeated Alabama State on the road, 71-69 in overtime; plays at Southern, Saturday.
Mississippi State (12-6 overall, 0-3 SEC): Remain winless in SEC following a 84-31 loss to No. 9 LSU; hosts Ole Miss, Thursday.
Belmont (9-9 overall, 3-2 A-Sun): Fell 73-63 to East Tennessee State; plays at Mercer, Saturday.
Arkansas (16-3 overall, 1-3 SEC): Fell to Florida, 92-74; plays at No. 2 Tennessee Thursday.
Loyola-Chicago (3-14 overall, 1-5 Horizon): Fell to Green Bay, 78-52; plays at Milwaukee Saturday.
Florida Gulf Coast (8-7 overall, 3-2 A-Sun): Won third straight A-Sun game, 84-45 over Mercer; plays at Gardner Webb Saturday.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-12 overall, 2-3 SWAC): Won second straight game, 62-57, over Alcorn State; plays at Prairie View A&M, Saturday.
Toledo (9-8 overall, 2-3 MAC): Fell 69-49 at Northern Illinois; hosts Akron Saturday.
UAB (8-10 overall, 4-1 C-USA): Picked up road win at Tulane, 67-56; plays at Memphis Sunday.
Marshall (11-7 overall, 3-2 C-USA): Tangled with No. 12 West Virginia, but fell just short, 58-51; plays at East Carolina, Sunday.
East Carolina (7-11, 1-4 C-USA): Got first league win, 62-52, over Tulsa; plays at Southern Miss, Sunday.
Tulane (11-7 overall, 1-4 C-USA): Dropped a pair of league home games, falling 67-56 to UAB; plays at league-leading UTEP Saturday.
UTEP (14-2 overall, 5-0 C-USA): Came back from 10 points down to beat Memphis 75-62; hosts Tulane, Saturday.
Houston (10-9 overall, 4-1 C-USA): Defeated Southern Miss 71-61; plays at cross-town foe Rice, Saturday.
Rice (8-11 overall, 1-4 C-USA): Fell to UCF 68-49; hosts Houston, Saturday.
Southern Miss (10-8 overall, 1-4 C-USA): Fell to Houston, 71-61; hosts UCF Friday.
UCF (8-10 overall, 1-4 C-USA): Defeated Rice, 6-49; plays at Southern Miss, Friday.
SMU (14-4 overall, 4-1): Won second straight road game, defeating Marshall 72-50; hosts Tulsa Saturday.
Tulsa (7-11 overall, 3-2): Fell to East Carolina, 62-52; plays at SMU Saturday.
