Feb. 5, 2008

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

The University of Memphis women's basketball team (6-15, 3-5 C-USA) will open a three-game, C-USA road swing, Thursday at Southern Miss, beginning at 7 p.m. The game will feature a pair of teams currently tied for eighth overall in the league standings and which salvaged splits last weekend after losing the first game of the series.

Southern Miss fell to defending C-USA tournament champ East Carolina, 86-70, then bounced back to upend Marshall, 77-51. The Eagles have won two of their last three games after snapping a season-long four-game losing streak that included three league road games and a home loss to Rice.

Memphis salvaged the weekend with a 62-56 win over Rice after falling to second-place Houston, 70-54. The Lady Tigers have gone 3-3 over their last six games and are 3-5 in league play through the first half of the conference slate.

Southern Miss ranks fifth in the league in team offense since conference play began, averaging 69.4 ppg. Memphis' defense also ranks fifth in the league in C-USA play, holding opponents to 65.8 ppg. The Golden Eagles look to convert the high-percentage shot, with eight of the 10 team members hitting better than 40 percent from the field through the first 21 games of the season.

Sophomore Pauline Love leads Southern Miss with 16.6 ppg, adding 10.9 rpg from her forward spot. She has accounted for almost a quarter of all of USM's field goal attempts (24.6 percent), and has nearly twice as many attempts as her nearest teammate, junior Kendra Reed (153 attempts), who averages 11.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Love will launch from beyond the arc just as easily as she'll crash the glass for a rebound. Her 81 attempts from three-point range trails only Reed's 88 attempts, with Reed knocking down a team-high 40 shots for a 45.5 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc. Three other Eagles have also hit double-digit threes on the season (Erica Williams, 14; Andrea Barber, 12; Liz Biland 10). And when USM isn't firing from the outside, the Golden Eagles can look to 6-4 center Stephanie Helgeson. Helgeson has been a formidable force inside with 48 blocks on the season, and adds 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Lost in the shuffle a bit is junior Amber Eugene, a C-USA third team honoree last season who wasn't even a starter in Southern Miss' last three games. Eugene averages 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Memphis finally solved some rebounding and free-throw shooting woes in the win over Rice, out-rebounding the Owls 52-42 and hitting 84.2 percent from the free-throw line (16-for-19). The Lady Tigers turned in one of their most balanced offensive outings of the year with eight of the 10 players who played scoring and with nine of 10 rebounding.

Memphis vs. Southern Miss
This is the 44th meeting between Memphis and Southern Miss, and the Lady Tigers hold a slight edge in the series, 23-20. The Lady Tigers are looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles and are 10-10 all-time in games in Hattiesburg.

Another coaching link
In addition to the two head coaches of this evening's match-up working together for seven seasons, there is an additional coaching link for the Memphis/Southern Miss match-up. Former Lady Tiger Shannon Hamp is in her first season as a full-time assistant coach for the Golden Eagles after spending last season working in basketball operations. The former Memphis center capped her four-year career in 2003, finishing 13th in the Memphis scoring book with 1,427 career points and 567 career rebounds.

On the Road Again....
Memphis will break out the Willie Nelson and venture out on the road again after going 1-2 at home in the last three-game home stretch of the season. The Lady Tigers will now play three straight games on the road, beginning at Southern Miss, Thursday, before flying to Orlando for a Sunday game against UCF. Memphis will then venture to Dallas to face SMU on Valentine's Day before finally returning home on Feb. 17th for a home contest against Tulsa.

Hall Makes Number 50 Memorable....
Jessica Hall played in her 50th career game for the Lady Tigers on Sunday against Rice, and made it one to remember, scoring a team-high 18 points, including a streak of seven straight points to power an 11-0 Memphis run to retake the lead for good with 6:02 remaining in the game. For the weekend, Hall averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals and shot 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.

They're Free, We Might As Well Make Them Count
Memphis has struggled a times from the free-throw line, missing opportunities to put points on the board with the clock stopped. But Sunday was not one of those times, as Memphis knocked down 16-of-19 free-throws. The 84.2 percent shooting stroke was the best team effort of the season.

The Arc Not Being Kind to the Lady Tigers
While Memphis hit a season-high from the free-throw line, the Lady Tigers also connected on just 2-of-12 three-point field goals attempts for 16.7 percent, their lowest shooting stroke of the season from behind the arc.

Comeback Victory(ies)M
Memphis definitely accomplished a couple of things you like to have in order when you are about to embark on a three-game road swing. Memphis had its best shooting night from the free-throw line, and also came back for their first win after trailing at the half. The Lady Tigers have been down at the break 12 times in the first 21 games and trailed Rice 25-24 before coming back for the victory. The flip side is Memphis has led three games at the half that they have lost (UAB, Toledo, Southeastern Louisiana). But the Lady Tigers have protected more halftime leads than they have lost, picking up five wins after leading at the break (at Tulane, East Carolina, Loyola, Alabama A&M, Tennessee State).

Balance...
Memphis had one of its most balanced games of the season against Rice, with eight of 10 players scoring and nine of 10 getting a rebound. As a matter of fact, eight of the Lady Tigers had five rebounds or more in the win over Rice, as Memphis out-rebounded the Owls 52-42, including 20 offensive rebounds.

Leonard 11 Away From 800
Paris Leonard now has 789 career points. She needs just 11 more points to hit the 800-point mark and to tie Lady Tiger assistant coach Jennifer Sullivan for 25th on the Memphis all-time scoring charts. Leonard's 87 career three-point field goals also means she is just 13 treys shy of becoming the sixth player in Memphis history to pass the 100-career three-point field goal mark. The Wooddale HS product is also just six rebounds shy of the 100 rebound mark for the season. Leonard has worked a lot harder on the glass this year, pushing the 100 rebound mark with the second half of the league slate still to play after grabbing just 59 rebounds last season.

Jackson Looking for 100th Career Point
Junior center Jessica Jackson has only suited up for 14 games as a Lady Tiger, but is just two points shy of her 100th career point at Memphis heading in to Thursday's game against Southern Miss. She also has a block in five straight games and leads the team with 21 blocks on the season, 12 in league play. Freshman point guard Alex Winchell is also single-digits away from the century mark, entering the Southern Miss game with 94 points in 21 career games.

Thornton 18 Points From 500
Junior Ashley Thornton has only played in 52 career games with Memphis after spending her freshman season at Birmingham Southern College. But she is just 18 points shy of her 500th career point at Memphis, which would put her in the Memphis top 50 career scorers with the second half of the Conference USA slate still to play.

Hall Looking for Fourth Straight Double-Digit Game
Jessica Hall has now scored double-digit points in three straight games, tying a season-high streak from the beginning of conference play (Marshall, East Carolina, Tulane). A six-point game at UTEP broke up her double-digit scoring streak, but the junior shooter got back on track, hitting double-digits in the next three games (UAB, Houston, Rice).

Jennings Warming Up at the Line
Aroha Jennings capped last season as the 28th-ranked free-throw shooter in the NCAA last season after shooting 84.9 percent, but was a little off-pace earlier this season, dipping below the 80 percent mark for a couple of weeks. But the senior has been back on pace in the past three games, shooting 15-for-17 (88.2 percent). Since Memphis has entered league play, Jennings has connected on 83.8 percent of her attempts from the stripe.

Thornton Goes for Double-Digit Rebounds Again
Ashley Thornton finished the Rice win with four of her 10 rebounds in a two-minute stretch that saw Memphis trying to hold on to a lead it had just taken for the first time in the second half. The double-digit rebounding night was the sixth of the season for Thornton, but her first in league play and her first since a Dec. 21st game against Florida Gulf Coast. That pushed her average for the season back to 7.0 boards a game, after it had dipped below the seven rebound per game mark for the first time in her Lady Tiger career following a two rebound night against UAB and a five rebound night against Houston.

Jackson Looking to Pass 100 Single Season Rebound Mark
Jessica Jackson will enter the Southern Miss game needing 27 more boards to pass the 100-mark for the season. Heading in to the USM game, only Ashley Thornton has passed the century rebound mark for the season. Teammate Aroha Jennings needs just two more rebounds to pass the 100 mark for this season as well.

About our 2007-08 Opponents
Memphis will play 29 regular season games, including seven of the first eight at home. Here are how our past and future opponents are doing:

Tennessee Tech (5-18, 4-9 OVC overall): Won back-to-back games for the first time this season defeating Eastern Kentucky, 77-64; hosts Jacksonville State Thursday.
Southeastern Louisiana (7-13 overall, 1-6 SLC): Lost at Northwestern State, 75-65; plays at McNeese State Thursday.
Creighton (13-7 overall, 6-3 MVC): Upset No. 24 Illinois State, 75-71; plays at Drake Saturday.
Tennessee State (10-12 overall, 7-6 OVC): Held on for a 74-72 win over Austin Peay; plays at UT Martin, Thursday.
Louisiana Tech (10-10 overall, 4-3 WAC): Ran past Hawaii, 90-53; hosts Fresno State, Thursday.
Alabama A&M (7-11 overall, 5-4 SWAC): Upended Southern Texas 50-45; plays at UA-Pine Bluff Saturday.
Mississippi State (14-8 overall, 2-6 SEC): Fell 68-42 at Auburn; hosts No. 2 Tennessee, Thursday.
Belmont (11-11 overall, 5-4 A-Sun): Won at Stetson, 74-63; hosts North Florida Saturday.
Arkansas (17-5 overall, 2-5 SEC): Fell 59-50 at South Carolina; hosts ranked Georgia, Thursday.
Loyola-Chicago (4-16 overall, 2-7 Horizon): Fell to Wright State 56-49; plays at Valparaiso, Thursday.
Florida Gulf Coast (12-7 overall, 7-2 A-Sun): Won seventh straight game, defeating Lipscomb 65-51; hosts USC Upstate, Saturday.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-14 overall, 4-5 SWAC): Defeated Jackson State, 52-51; hosts Alabama A&M, Saturday.
Toledo (10-9 overall, 3-4 MAC): Fell 71-41 to Bowling Green; plays at Buffalo Saturday.
UAB (9-11 overall, 5-2 C-USA): Fell to Houston, 80-76 in overtime; plays at UCF, Thursday.
Marshall (12-9 overall, 4-4 C-USA): Fell 77-51 at Southern Miss, hosts league undefeated UTEP, Thursday.
East Carolina (10-11, 4-4 C-USA): Won at UCF, 80-66; hosts Tulane, Thursday.
Tulane (11-10 overall, 1-7 C-USA): Fell 81-69 to SMU; plays at East Carolina, Thursday.
UTEP (17-2 overall, 8-0 C-USA): Made it through the first half of the conference schedule with an unblemished mark following a 58-44 win vs. Tulsa; plays at Marshall, Thursday.
Houston (13-9 overall, 7-1 C-USA): Grabbed sole possession of second place in the league standings with an 80-76 win at UAB; hosts Tulsa, Thursday.
Rice (8-14 overall, 1-7 C-USA): Fell 62-56 at Memphis; hosts SMU Thursday.
Southern Miss (12-9 overall, 3-5 C-USA): Defeated Marshall, 77-51; hosts Memphis Thursday.
UCF (8-13 overall, 1-7 C-USA): Fell to East Carolina, 80-66; hosts UAB Thursday.
SMU (15-4 overall, 5-1): Defeated Tulane 81-69; plays at Rice Thursday.
Tulsa (9-12 overall, 5-3): Fell to league leader UTEP 58-44; plays at Houston Thursday.