Tigers Women's Basketball Hosts UT Martin In WNIT Thursday

Thursday, March 17

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm CT

University of Memphis

UT Martin

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tigers Women's Basketball Hosts UT Martin In WNIT Thursday

Mar 16, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Game time is 7 p.m. (CT) at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

By: Lamar Chance

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – March Madness is coming! March Madness is coming!

The University of Memphis women's basketball squad's March Madness quest starts Thursday, Mar. 17 with a Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) first-round game against UT Martin (21-9) at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Game time is 7 p.m. (CT), and tickets are $7 for chairbacks and $5 for general admission. University of Memphis students are admitted free to Thursday's game.

The Tigers (18-12) are excited about playing in the postseason and also thrilled to play another home game at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

"I am so happy for this team and this senior class (for earning a postseason berth)," said Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin. "I couldn't be more proud of this team.

"We love playing at home, and it's a great reward for our team. The (Elma Roane) Fieldhouse is a great environment for college basketball. Our seniors are probably the happiest that we are playing at home Thursday."

The Tigers, though, will have to temper their excitement a little and get down to business when the game tips at 7 p.m. (CT) Thursday. UT Martin enters the match-up as one of the nation's best shooting teams, especially from the three-point line.

The Skyhawks average 10.6 three-pointers made per game, which is second in the country. UT Martin also shoots 38.9 percent from the arc, which is sixth in the nation.

To further show their shooting prowess, the Skyhawks rank top-25 in the nation in field goal percentage (23^rd) and free throw percentage (8^th). UT Martin also shares the ball well, ranking 17^th in the nation in assists per game (16.5).

"Our players have already seen a lot of video on UT Martin, so they know we have to guard the perimeter well," said McFerrin. "They have four or five solid three-point shooters. Their three-point shooting percentages are as good as or better than many other teams' regular field goal percentages. They have two players that shoot three-pointers above 40 percent and another two that shoot in the high 30-percent range.

"We've got to guard the arc. We got to defend one-on-one because as soon as you try to play help defense, they will find another open three-point shooter."

Radio: 91.7 FM (WUMR)
Internet Video: GoTigersGo.com/Watch
Live Stats: memphis.statbroadcast.com
LiveTweet: @MemphisWBKB, #MEMWBKB, #GoTigersGo

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know
• The Tigers' 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) appearance is the program's ninth overall and the first since 2013. Memphis has a 4-8 overall record in its eight previous WNIT appearances. The Tigers' best finish in a WNIT was runner-up in the 1983 postseason event.

• In only eight seasons at the helm of the Tigers program, head coach Melissa McFerrin has guided Memphis to five postseason berths. The Tigers played in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2010 and WNIT from 2011-13. McFerrin's five postseason bids are the second-most by a head coach in the program's history (Lee-McNelis has eight). McFerrin, though, has the most postseason victories in the program's history with four (4-4 record).

• Memphis should be "postseason-strong" when it opens play in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). During the 2015-16 campaign, the Tigers played 11 teams that earned postseason berths a total of 15 times. Memphis had a 6-9 record in those 15 match-ups. The 11 postseason teams that Tigers played were three NCAA Tournament participants (Connecticut, George Washington, USF), seven WNIT participants (Central Michigan, Georgetown, Little Rock, Minnesota, Saint Louis, Temple, Tulane) and one WBI participant (Southern Illinois).

• Memphis holds a 27-3 all-time series lead against UT Martin. The Tigers have a 16-1 series lead in games played in the Bluff City. The last time the two programs played was the 2011-12 season, and Memphis won 90-69 at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse (Dec. 4, 2011). The Tigers and Skyhawks played one previous time in the WNIT in 1999. Memphis won that 1999 WNIT encounter 87-73 at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse Mar. 14, 1999.

• Memphis and UT Martin have played five common opponents in 2015-16. The two teams played Cincinnati, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Jacksonville State and Southern Illinois. The Tigers are a perfect 6-0 in those "common-foe" match-ups, and UT Martin is 5-1.

Scouting UT Martin
   The Skyhawks bring a 21-9 overall record into Thursday's Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) match-up. UT Martin posted a 14-2 Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) mark and won the league's regular-season crown. The Skyhawks lost in the OVC Tournament quarterfinal round, a narrow 78-76 setback to Murray State.
   Haley Howard (14.8 ppg) and Jessy Ward (13.2 ppg) pace the Skyhawks offense as the squad's only two double-figure scorers. Chelsea Roberts is UT Martin's top rebounder at 5.5 rpg. Howard is the team's second-leading rebounder at 4.9 rpg. Katie Schubert leads the Skyhawks with 128 assists (4.3 apg) and 56 steals (1.9 spg). Four Skyhawks — Roberts (45.6 percent), Ward (42.4), Schubert (39.7) and Howard (37.2) — all shoot 37 percent or better from the three-point arc.
   UT Martin is shooting 45.2 percent from the floor, 38.9 percent from the three-point arc and 77.6 percent from the free throw line. UT Martin is ranked in the top-10 among NCAA team statistical leaders in three-pointers made per game (second; 10.6) and three-point field goal percentage (sixth; 38.9). Opponents are out-rebounding the Skyhawks by an average margin of +5.5 boards per game (32.1-37.6).