University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Wichita State
Tigers Return to Action at Wichita State
Jan 19, 2026 | Women's Basketball
WICHITA, Kan. – After their first bye week of American Conference play, Memphis women's basketball is back in action in Kansas, taking on Wichita State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 20.
The Tigers (7-11, 1-4 American) are looking to snap a two-game losing skid after playing two of the top four teams in the conference in a four-day span. They fell to South Florida at home before losing to North Texas in Denton last Tuesday.
Daejah Richmond and Tamya Smith have done the heavy lifting in the first five conference games of the season, averaging over 14 points each. Richmond has added 6.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per contest, and Smith has 12 steals and eight blocks across the five games.
Wichita State is still searching for its first conference win, having lost their first six American Conference contests. Memphis will have a distinct rest advantage coming off a weekend off; the Shockers fell in Tampa on Saturday afternoon to South Florida.
Last season, Memphis defeated the Shockers, 93-83, in the conference opener on New Year's Day. DeeDee Hagemann had a career-high 12 assists, the most by a Tiger since 2011. Each team has won five matchups since Wichita joined the American in 2017; the Tigers eliminated WSU in the WBI quarterfinals, 74-58, in 2010.
Terry Nooner is in his third season leading the Shockers, having been announced in the same week as Memphis coach Alex Simmons. He boasts assistant coaching experience at Kansas, Texas, Maryland, Alabama and Southern Illinois.
Jaila Harding leads the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game on 32.7 minutes, although her production has waned in conference play after a strong start to the season. The biggest advantage for the Tigers lies in their aggressive defense, which will need to travel effectively to get them back in the win column. They rank top 30 nationally in turnovers forced, while the Shockers are outside the top 300 in ball security.
Following Tuesday's game, Memphis will be back home to take on UTSA at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 24. Tickets can be purchased HERE; a full preview will be available later in the week.
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.
