Tigers Open AAC Championship with Wednesday Night Rematch of ECU

Monday, March 7

Fort Worth, Texas

3 p.m.

University of Memphis

East Carolina

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers Open AAC Championship with Wednesday Night Rematch of ECU

Mar 05, 2022 | Women's Basketball

MEMPHIS, Tenn.– Following an outstanding regular season that saw the Memphis women's basketball team finish with 15 wins for the first time in six years, the Tigers will open the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship against East Carolina. This will be the third time the Tigers and Pirates have met this season.

Memphis (15-11, 6-9 AAC) had their best season of play in nearly six years. The team recorded the programs first 15-win season since 2015-16 and added Jamirah Shutes to the 1,000-point club. They improved their overall record, conference record, three-point field goal percentage, average rebounds per game and total blocks from a season ago.

The Tigers picked up notable wins against Liberty, who finished the season 26-3, Howard, who notched 17 wins this season, Houston and SMU.

Three Tiger players finished the season averaging eight points or more; Jamirah Shutes led the team with 11.3 points per contest while Emani Jefferson and Alana Davis added in 9.7 and 8.6 points, respectively. On the boards, Davis, Jefferson, Tyler Frierson and Lanetta Williams have dominated the rebound game for Memphis with Frierson leading the pack with 157 total rebounds.

ECU (11-17, 4-11 AAC) is currently on a two-game losing skid after falling 56-53 to Memphis this past Wednesday night. The Tigers would have a dominating third quarter where they went 9-16 from the field to take their first lead of the half. ECU would be unable to make a comeback in the fourth quarter and suffer the three-point loss.

For the season, Taniyah Thompson, who led the team and is second in the conference with 18.6 points per game, has been the Pirates biggest offensive threat for the year. She, along with Tylar Bennett, have been ECU's go-to duo for rebounds with a combined 253 rebounds for the year.

This will be the third meeting between the Pirates and Tigers this season. Most recently, Memphis walked away with the 56-53 win this past Wednesday night in the regular season finale. Alana Davis led the Tigers with 15 points and nine rebounds while Shutes and Maya Stovall added in nine points each.

Tip-off is scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m. CT at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Tickets to Monday's game can be purchased at TheAmerican.org.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.