First Official Practice In The Books For Women's Basketball

Photo by: George Walker/DFWsportsonline

First Official Practice In The Books For Women's Basketball

Sep 24, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Tigers kick off the 2019-20 season Tuesday afternoon

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The time is finally here for the University of Memphis women's basketball team and its top-ranked recruiting class as the Tigers held their first official team practice Tuesday afternoon at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Memphis kicks off the season on Oct. 30 with an exhibition against Christian Brothers before opening the season on Nov. 5 against Alcorn State.

"In addition to bringing in the junior college class, I'm really excited about this freshman class," said head coach Melissa McFerrin. "I'm excited about this season overall because of the depth, the talent and the athleticism this team has."

The No. 31 ranked recruiting class in the nation features eight newcomers, including Memphis area players in Madison Griggs and Lanetta and Lanyce Williams. The Tigers also welcome freshman Aerial Wilson from Canada and junior college transfers Dulcy Mendjiadeu Fankam, Keke Hunter, Julan McDonald and Jennifer Parker.

Recruiting Class Highlights

Madison Griggs, a three-star guard, led her Houston HS squad to a runner-up finish at the state tournament and was named to the District 15AAA second-team.
Lanetta Williams, a four-star forward, was a 2019 McDonald's All-American Nominee as well as a Gatorade Player of the Year Candidate.
Lanyce Williams, a three-star forward, was named to the District 14AAA All-Tournament Team and won first place at the NAACP ACT-SO regional contest.
Aerial Wilson, a four-star guard, was one of 12 athletes invited to the Canada Basketball U19 Assessment Camp to compete for a position on Team Canada-FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu was named a second-team all-america player at Walters State Community after averaging a team-leading 15.4 points per game last season.
Keke Hunter was the 15^th-ranked post player in NJCAA and led her South Plains College team to a NJCAA Division 1 Elite Eight finish.
Julan McDonald averaged 9.6 points per game and shot 42.0 percent from the field while leading Odessa College to the Region 5 Championship and a trip back to the NJCAA National Championship.
Jennifer Parker averaged 7.6 rebounds per game with 10 double-digit rebound games at Trinity Valley Community College.

Memphis has five returners, including the top two returning scorers in Jamirah Shutes and Alana Davis. Shutes was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team after leading Memphis with 13.9 points per game and 42 steals. Shutes set the program record with 38 consecutive made free throws made from Jan. 30 through Mar. 2.

Davis, who scored a career-high 11.8 points per game, led the Tigers with 7.7 rebounds per contest. She was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly honor roll four times last season and finished the year with nine double-doubles.

Gazmyne Herndon returns as the lone senior on the 2019-20 squad. Herndon, a Walters State Community College transfer, averaged 6.1 points per game and led Memphis with 88 assists as the starting point guard. She scored in double-digits three times last year and tallied a career-high eight assists on two occasions.

Malainna 'Rudy' White and Camille Buckhanon return for their sophomore campaigns in 2019-20. White appeared in 22 games for the Blue and Gray and scored a career-high six points in her second career start against SMU. Buckhanon played in 15 games for Memphis and pulled down a career-high six rebounds in the conference opener against UCF.

"We've been able to round out our talent," added McFerrin. "We're much longer, much more athletic."

The non-conference schedule is highlighted with seven home games and an international trip to the Bahamas where Memphis will compete in the Junkanoo Jam on Nov. 29 and 30.

In conference play, the Tigers have home and away meetings against UCF, UConn, ECU, Tulane and SMU, home-only games against Cincinnati (Jan. 8), Tulsa (Feb. 1) and USF (Feb. 22) and road-only match-ups at Houston (Jan. 5), at Wichita State (Feb. 12) and at Temple (Feb. 19).

Memphis Madness is scheduled for Oct. 3 at FedExForum with $5 tickets available at www.GoTigersGoTix.com. To reserve your season tickets for the upcoming season, call the Memphis ticket office at 901-678-2331. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow the Tigers on Facebook and Twitter at @MemphisWBB.