Women's Basketball Prepares for AAC Championship on Friday

Friday, March 6

Uncasville, Conn.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

SMU

Tickets

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Women's Basketball Prepares for AAC Championship on Friday

Mar 05, 2020 | Women's Basketball

No. 11 seed Tigers open tournament against SMU

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The time has come for the University of Memphis women's basketball team to compete in the American Athletic Conference Championships. As the No. 11 seed, the Tigers will face the No. 6 seed SMU Mustangs in a rematch of Monday's regular season closer. Game time against the Mustangs is set for 7 p.m. CT.

Game Details
No. 11 Memphis (13-16, 4-12 AAC) vs. No 6. SMU (13-15, 7-9 AAC)
Location: Uncasville, Conn.
Tipoff: 7 p.m. CT
Watch | Listen | Stats

In Monday's matchup, freshman guard Madison Griggs continued to rain three-pointers, knocking down seven to lead the team with 21 points. It was her sixth time connecting on five or more triples, and her third time making at least seven. Twice this season, she has hit a school-record eight three-pointers.

With 88 three-pointers so far this season, Griggs has made more three-pointers than any other freshman in the history of Memphis basketball (men's or women's). She leads the league in three-pointers and is first nationally among freshmen.

Other performances of note came from Gazmyne Herndon and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu. Herndon turned in 13 points and eight assists in the final regular season game of her Memphis career, while Fankam Mendjiadeu added nine points and seven rebounds.

Fankam Mendjiadeu's 13 double-doubles currently rank 12th all-time at Memphis. On the year, she averages 11.8 points and 8.4 rebounds.

Friday marks the third time in six years that Memphis will start the conference tournament facing the team it closed the regular season against. In 2014-15, Memphis lost the regular season finale to SMU before defeating them in the first round of the tournament. Again in 2018-19, Memphis closed the season against Temple, falling on Senior Day, before erasing a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter of the opening round of the AAC Championship and winning against the Owls.

A Look At The Mustangs
SMU enters the Championship with wins in three of its last four games. Finishing the regular season with a 7-9 AAC record, the Mustangs earned the No. 6 seed this weekend.

Against the Tigers on Monday, the Mustangs put up the most made three-pointers in a game this season while posting the second-highest field-goal percentage of the year. It also marked just the third time this season that SMU has scored at least 69 points in a game.

Johnasia Cash leads the Mustangs in scoring with 10.9 points per game after scoring 16 on Monday. Cash is also the team's leading rebounder at 9.5 boards per game. Kayla White also scores in double-figures for the Mustangs, averaging 10.6 points per contest.

The Mustangs are coached by Travis Mays, currently in his fourth season at the helm for the Mustangs.

Tigers in the AAC Championship
Last season, the Tigers opened the conference tournament against Temple. Down as much as 19 in the second half and 15 in the fourth quarter, Memphis scored 28 points in the final stanza to complete the comeback and steal a victory.

The 19-point comeback marked the largest in AAC Championship history. Herndon led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds. Alana Davis added eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds. The Tigers turned 20 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points and hit seven second-half three-pointers to grab the win from the jaws of defeat.

Final Details
Tipoff against the Mustangs is set for 7 p.m. CT at the Mohegan Sun Arena. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow the Tigers on Twitter at @MemphisWBB.