Tigers Women's Basketball Closes Regular Season At Houston Monday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It's the last day of the regular season Monday, but don't tell the University of Memphis women's basketball team and head coach Melissa McFerrin there is nothing to play for.

According to McFerrin, the Tigers have a lot to play for when they meet Houston at 7 p.m. (CT) at Hofheinz Pavilion Monday.

"We're setting ourselves up for the conference tournament," said McFerrin. "That top-four seed for us is important. We want to go into the tournament as the No. 4 seed, not the No. 5 seed. A top-four finish has been a goal for this team."

With a win, Memphis claims the No. 4 spot in the regular-season standings outright with a 12-6 league mark. In the preseason coaches' poll, the Tigers were picked to finish seventh.

If Memphis falls to Houston and Tulane wins Monday, the teams would tie for fourth place with 11-7 conference records. The Tigers, though, would earn the tournament's No. 4 seed by virtue of their Jan. 3 83-67 win over the Green Wave at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The No. 4-No. 5 seed American Athletic Conference Tournament game is set for Saturday, Mar. 5 at 11 a.m. (CT).

For Memphis to win Monday, the Tigers will have to overcome the Cougars' "Senior Night" and the usual conference craziness that can occur on the regular-season's final day.

"Houston is a difficult place to play, and we know that from our experience of playing there many times," McFerrin said. "Houston is not a team that you want to go into the game and sleep on.

"It's going to be their Senior Night, and they're going to be sending off some seniors. Emotions can run deep, and we need to be aware of that."

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Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know
• Memphis is one of the hottest teams in league play since mid-January and the record proves it. Since Jan. 19, the Tigers have an 8-2 conference mark, which is the third-best record over that span of time. The only two teams with better records over that stretch are No. 1 Connecticut (11-0) and No. 21 USF (9-2). Also, the Tigers' only two losses over that span were road setbacks at Connecticut and USF.

• Memphis leads the all-time series 17-13 and has won three straight match-ups with Houston. The Tigers won this season's earlier meeting, a 74-57 victory at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse Jan. 5. In games played in Houston, the series is tied at 7-7. Memphis won last season's match-up at Hofheinz Pavilion with a 64-58 victory Feb. 11, 2015. Houston's last win over the Tigers on its homecourt came on Jan. 10, 2013, by a 77-74 score.

• Monday is Leap Day (Feb. 29) of this Leap Year, and Memphis plays its third Leap Day game since 1980. The Tigers are 1-1 on Leap Day since 1980. Memphis last played a Leap Day game in the 1991-92 campaign. The Tigers defeated Cincinnati 79-59 at Memorial Fieldhouse (not yet dedicated in Elma Roane's honor) on Feb. 29, 1992.

• Someone better see if we can extend the month of February for a few more days for Tigers senior Mooriah Rowser. In six games this month (Tigers are 5-1), the 5-foot-9 guard is averaging 18.3 points on 53 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from the arc. The Rockville, Md., native also is averaging 40 minutes played per game, a large part of that as a result of her NCAA Division I women's basketball record 64 minutes played in the five-overtime win over Temple Feb. 18. Following her 64-minute marathon against Temple, Rowser played 36 minutes versus USF Feb. 21 and 38 minutes against East Carolina Feb. 27.

• The Tigers can't seem to run and hide from overtime in 2015-16. Memphis has played four overtime games and won all four. Overall, the Tigers have played eight overtime sessions, so they have played an extra game that won't show up on the stats sheet. In the Melissa McFerrin era, Memphis has a 12-3 record (.800 winning percentage) in overtime games. For the Tigers' three four-year seniors, they have played 11 overtime games and are 9-2 in those contests.

Scouting Houston
The Cougars bring a 6-22 overall record and a 2-15 American Athletic Conference mark into Monday's regular-season finale. The Cougars have a 2-10 overall home record in 2015-16, including a 1-7 mark in conference action. Of the seven league setbacks at Hofheinz Pavilion, five were by single digits.

Houston returns all five starters and seven letterwinners from the 2014-15 team. Freshman guard Serithia Hawkins leads the Cougars in scoring (8.6 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg) and steals (45; 1.6 spg). Senior guard Alecia Smith leads the squad with 62 assists (2.6 apg). Senior forward Marche' Anderson is the Cougars' second-leading scorer at 7.8 ppg. Anderson also is the squad's top three-point shooter at 34.5 percent from the arc.

Houston is shooting 34.2 percent from the floor, 28.3 percent from the three-point arc and 68.7 percent from the free throw line. Opponents are out-rebounding the Cougars by an average margin of +1.9 boards per game (37.3-39.2).

Tigers Women's Basketball Closes Regular Season At Houston Monday

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Players Mentioned

Mooriah Rowser

University of Memphis Athletics