University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UCF
@MemphisWBKB Starts Two-Game Swing in Florida
Jan 05, 2015 | Women's Basketball
The Memphis women's basketball team (7-7, 1-2 American) starts a two-game road swing in Florida, playing at UCF (6-7, 2-0 American), Wednesday night at CFE Arena at 7 p.m. (ET).
Series History -- Tigers vs UCF
This is the 21st meeting between Memphis and UCF and the series is dead even at 10-10. It took a pair of Memphis wins in the series last year to get the series back to even. The Tigers won the first meeting in Orlando last season, 88-52, then hung on for a 62-53 win over the Knights in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Memphis is 5-5 all time in games played in Orlando.
The series has been all one-sided over the last three years. Memphis won both meetings in the 2011-12 season, then UCF won both in the 2012-13 season. The Tigers turned it back their way last season. Six times in the overall series, one of the two teams has swept the season meetings, three times apiece.
Hearn Named to American Weekly Honor Roll
Junior guard Ariel Hearn was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll after scoring 26 points in the overtime win over East Carolina, Sunday. Hearn passed the 1,200 career point mark in the ECU win and her 26 point effort was her 21st career 20-point game.
She is the third Tiger to earn a spot on the conference's weekly honor roll. Mooriah Rowser and Breigha Wilder-Cochran also have earned weekly honors from the American this season.
Getting the All-Important First Conference Win
Head Coach Melissa McFerrin talked about how the East Carolina game would be a scrappy one, and it lived up to the billing. The two teams ended regulation tied at 49 points. Both teams struggled to shoot in the first half, with ECU shooting 22.9 percent and the Tigers shooting 28.1 percent. ECU righted the ship in the second half, shooting 40 percent and out-scoring Memphis 29-22, but a foul on Brianna Wright with 0.1 left on the clock with the Pirates up 49-47 gave the Tigers a glimmer of hope. Wright, a 41.6 percent free-throw shooter heading in to the game, hit both foul shots and sent Memphis to its first overtime game since Jan. 14th last year.
Neither team wanted an 0-3 start to the season, especially in light of the Tigers' pending two-game road trip this week and ECU's looking to host Tulane this week.
The overtime win was the first for the Tigers since that Jan. 14th game last year when Memphis upended #23 Rutgers in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Fuqua-Bey Joins 500-500 Club
Junior forward Asianna Fuqua-Bey grabbed eight rebounds in the win over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Those eight boards pushed her past 500 for her career, making her just the 25th player in Memphis' 43-year women's basketball history to have over 500 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Fuqua-Bey is actually just 21 points away from her 600th career point heading in to the match-up at UCF, Wednesday night.
Hearn Moves to 18th on Tiger Scoring Chart
Junior guard Ariel Hearn moved to 18th on the Memphis career scoring chart against Temple. She heads in to the game at UCF with 1,223 career points. She is 76 points shy of moving to 17th all-time, where Victoria Crawford's mark (2002-05) of 1,299 points sits.
Her 26 point night against ECU was the 21st 20-point plus game of her Memphis career and was her first 20-plus point game since scoring 20 or more in three straight games (Minnesota, Southern Illinois, UALR).
First Start for Holmes
Freshman guard Amber Holmes, who missed her entire senior season of high school ball due to a knee injury, made her first collegiate start in the win over East Carolina.
In 13 minutes against a pressing Pirate defense, the freshman finished with two assists against one turnover, with a steal and a rebound. With Breigha Wilder-Cochran missing the ECU game with a hand injury, the Tigers used Holmes at the point in order to give Ariel Hearn opportunities at the two-guard spot.
Looking to Get Offense Back on Track
The Tigers scored 79 points in their season opener and it seemed like scoring would be a major strength of the team's this season. But as the scouting reports became more defined, the Tigers' scoring output dropped.
The Tigers have not scored 65 or more points in any of their last eight games and have passed the 65 point mark just two times this season (they are 1-1 when scoring more than 65 points).
Building Off Tough Non-Conference Slate
Memphis has a 20-win season and a post-season bid as a team goal this year. And the Tigers' have been well-tested to date, having already faced six teams in the top 100 in the latest NCAA RPI Report. In all, Memphis will play 11 games this season against teams currently ranked in the top 100.
RPI Team
2 Connecticut (2 games)
18 Minnesota (L, 68-62)
19 at USF (L, 72-39, 1 game left)
21 at George Washington (L, 63-44)
40 UALR (L, 66-59)
50 Tulane (1 game)
62 at Illinois (L, 60-58)
93 East Carolina (W, 60-57 OT, 1 game left)
And five more games are against teams inside the top 174 in the country:
104 Central Michigan (W, 62-61)
125 at Southern Illinois (L, 82-75)
169 UCF (2 games)
174 Temple (L, 58-57, 1 game left)
Getting on the Glass
Controlling the glass will be important for the Tigers as they hit the road. Memphis is tied for fourth in league-only contests with 16.5 offensive rebounds per game, but is tied for last in the league with 20.5 defensive boards a night. Part of the defensive ranking may come from the amount of zone the Tigers have played this year.
Memphis has been out-rebounded in 10 of 14 games so far this season and is an even 5-5 when getting fewer missed shots than their opponents. They are 2-2 when getting more rebounds than their opponents.
Williams Ties Career High in Third Start of the Season
Sophomore guard Taylor Williams tied a career-high with her nine-rebound effort in the win over East Carolina, Sunday. Williams scored six of Memphis' first eight points in the game and played in a career-high 36 minutes in the win before fouling out in the overtime session. Of her nine rebounds, five came off the offensive glass.
Checking up on our opponents
MISSOURI STATE (4-9, 1-1 MVC): Picked up first Missouri Valley Conference win, 74-66, over visiting Indiana State; hosts preseason MVC favorite Wichita State, Friday.
SAMFORD (7-8): Downed Auburn-Montgomery, 62-36, in non-conference finale; plays at UNC Greensboro, Saturday.
ILLINOIS (10-4, 1-1 Big 10): Won at Penn State for the first time since 1998, 91-76; hosts No. 20 Iowa, Thursday.
MINNESOTA (14-1, 3-0): Moved in to the AP Top 25 following a 72-60 win at Wisconsin to move to 3-0 in league play; hosts No. 14/10 Maryland, Sunday.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (8-4, 1-0 MVC): Won conference opener at Illinois State, 65-56; plays at Northern Iowa, Friday.
UALR (9-2, 2-0 Sun Belt): Got a career-high 21 points from Alexius Dawn in a 75-55 win over Georgia State; hosts South Alabama, Monday.
AUSTIN PEAY (4-10, 1-0 Ohio Valley): Came back from a 16-point deficit to win at Eastern Kentucky, 81-71; plays at Jacksonville State, Thursday.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (6-6, 1-0 Mid-American): In first game without starting guard Jessica Green (knee), won 83-62 on the road at Kent State; hosts Buffalo, Wednesday.
GEORGETOWN (3-12, 1-2 BIG EAST): Lost to #25/24 DePaul, 105-85; hosts Providence College, Friday.
GEORGE WASHINGTON (12-2, 1-0 Atlantic 10): Downed preseason favorites Dayton on the road, 69-66, ending the nation's longest home winning streak; hosts Saint Joseph's Wednesday.
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE (2-10, 0-1 SWAC): Lost 65-47 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff; hosts Alabama A&M, Saturday.
TEMPLE (7-8, 3-0 American): Remained undefeated in league play with a 81-64 road win against Cincinnati; steps out of league play for a Big 5 game against Penn, Monday.
USF (12-3, 3-0 American): Won sixth straight, winning on the road at Tulane, 53-40; plays at Temple, Sunday.
East Carolina (9-5, 0-3 American): Lost on the road at Memphis in overtime, 60-57; hosts Tulane, Wednesday.
Tulsa (6-7, 1-1 American): Double-double from Ashley Clark was not enough in a 76-70 loss at UCF; hosts #2/2 UConn, Wednesday.
UCF (6-7, 2-0 American): Had a pair of 20-point scorers in a 76-70 win over Tulsa; hosts Memphis Wednesday.
Cincinnati (1-11, 0-3 American): Lost to visiting Temple, 81-64; plays at Houston, Wednesday.
Houston (6-8, 1-2 American): Picked up their first conference win, 63-45, at SMU; hosts Cincinnati, Wednesday.
Connecticut (12-1, 2-0): Downed St. John's 70-54 at the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Gardens; plays at Tulsa, Wednesday.
Tulane (11-3, 2-1 The American): Tough shooting day cost the Green Wave, 53-40, against visiting USF; plays at East Carolina, Wednesday.
SMU (4-10, 0-3 The American): Lost to visiting Houston, 63-45; hosts #2 UConn, Sunday.
