Women's hoops heads to Houston to open AAC play

Sunday, January 5

Houston, Texas

3 PM

University of Memphis

Houston *

Memphis Women’s Basketball vs. Arkansas State University

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Jan 04, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes Live Stats ESPNU Link Listen

The Tigers finished their non-conference schedule with a 9-4 record

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After a successful non-conference season, the University of Memphis women's basketball team is set to begin conference play Sunday with a contest against Houston. Tipoff on ESPNU is slated for 3 p.m. in the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas.

Memphis is off to its best start since the 2010-11 season with a 9-4 overall record. The Tigers are winners of five straight and eight out of the last nine contests.

Game Details
Memphis (9-4) at Houston (7-7)
Location: Fertitta Center – Houston, Texas
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Network: ESPNU
Live Stats | Streaming Link | Listen

The Tigers returned from the holiday break and won its fifth game in a row after Alabama A&M on Dec. 30. Memphis overcame a strong second half by the Bulldogs to win its ninth game of the season.

Freshman guard Madison Griggs hit five three-pointers and scored a team-high 21 points to help lead Memphis to the 79-71 victory. As a result of her strong play against the Bulldogs, Griggs was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

Only two other players (Mooriah Rowser and Jamirah Shutes) have earned The American's Freshman of the Week honor two times in their Memphis careers. Griggs is one of five players averaging in double figures this season with 10.5 points per game.

Shutes continues to lead the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game. She is joined by Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (10.5 ppg), Griggs, Gazmyne Herndon (10.2 ppg) and Alana Davis (10.2) as the double-digit point scorers for Memphis. Fankam Mendjiadeu is the team-leader with 7.6 rebounds per game while Keke Hunter has boosted her rebounding total to 7.1 boards per contest.

The Tigers continue to show improvement offensively, averaging over 71 points per game this season. That total, along with field goal percentage (42.5 percent), three-point defense (27.5 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (34.1 percent) rank Memphis second in the AAC.

Memphis was picked to finish eighth in the AAC preseason poll. The Tigers won their first AAC Championship game since 2015 last season with a 59-58 comeback victory over Temple in the first round.

A Look At Houston
Houston enters conference play with a 7-7 overall record, most recently falling to Fordham on Dec. 30 by a score of 63-54. The Cougars have a Power 5 victory over Oklahoma at home. At the Fertitta Center, Houston is 5-1 this season.

Three players who have started in every game for Houston are averaging in double figures, led by Dorian Branch's 11.9 points per game. Tatyana Hill is the team's leading rebounder at 6.7 boards per game.

The Cougars are outscored by their opponents by two points every game but hold the edge in rebounding by 1.7 rebounds per contest.

Ronald Hughey is the head coach of the Cougars. He is currently in his sixth season at the helm with a 66-102 overall record.

Final Details
Tipoff against Houston is set for 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas. The game will broadcast on ESPNU. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisWBB.