Riddick's Career Day Fuels Tigers Over MVSU, 89-78

Monday, November 4

Memphis, Tenn.

11:00 AM

University of Memphis

1-0,0-0AAC

Mississippi Valley State

0-1,0-0SWAC

Mississippi Val.

Memphis

Nov 04, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis women's basketball defeated Mississippi Valley State, 89-78, in the season opener on Monday afternoon in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Senior forward Hannah Riddick had a career-high in points (26) and rebounds (17), recording her fourth career double-double in the first half.

"Hannah is someone we challenged to come out here and take the game," said head coach Alex Simmons, who picked up her first season-opening victory in her second year at the helm. "She's been working all summer and it showed off here today."

Memphis (1-0) out-rebounded the Devilettes, 52-33, thanks to 25 offensive rebounds. They also went to the charity stripe 39 times and converted 69.2% of their attempts at the line.
Transfer guard Elauna Eaton added 14 points on a career-high four three-pointers. Tanyuel Welch filled up the box score in her first game in nearly 18 months, scoring 11 points to go with seven rebounds, six steals and five assists.

The Tigers opened the game with an 11-4 run, but the Devilettes (0-1) responded with three straight buckets to knot the game. They went to a zone defense early which stifled the Tigers for a few minutes before a Riddick floater and Eaton jumper gave them a four-point lead.

Memphis crashed the glass to the tune of 11 offensive boards in the first stanza to lead 19-13 thanks to shooting 10-of-12 at the free-throw line. The Tigers settled in offensively in quarter two, going on 10-0 run to extend their lead to 31-18. They shot 62% in the second quarter after just 21% in the opening 10 minutes and led, 48-32, at the interval.

MVSU went on a 4-0 run coming out of halftime to force an early Memphis timeout, but Eaton drilled her third three of the game to calm the Memphis offense. The lead trimmed to nine on multiple occasions in the third and early fourth quarter, but Memphis would find responses every time to keep the visitors at arm's length.

Riddick's first-half dominance, which netted her 17 points and 11 boards in the first half, carried over into the third period where she added nine points and six rebounds.

Mississippi Valley State was led by Sh'Diamond McKnight, who led the team in points (22), rebounds (eight) and assists (eight).

The Tigers will hit the road to take on Mississippi State on Thursday, Nov. 7, in Starkville at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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.