The Memphis Tigers women’s basketball team is hungry for improvement after finishing last season with a 10-20 record and being in eighth place in the American Athletic Conference.
Gone are last season’s top two leading scorers, Brea Elmore and Cheyenne Creighton, and junior guard Taylor Barnes figures to be a key cog in this year’s squad. Though with the season still about two months away, other additions to the roster still have time to earn their opportunity when the games begin.
Kiana Coomber, a junior transfer who has attended both Loyola-Chicago and Chipola College, projects as an important piece on this team after losing the production from Elmore and Creighton. Coomber shot 43.1 percent from beyond the three-point line in her sophomore season, and she will look to continue with that steady percentage to help stretch the floor on offense.
In addition to Coomber, Gazmyne Herndon also seems poised for a significant role after transferring from Walters State Community College. During her freshman season, Herndon ranked fifth in the country with 207 assists and was listed as the 11th best shooting guard in Dan Olson’s junior college player rankings. In addition to this pair of transfers who seem ready to handle essential roles right away, the Tigers also added some freshmen to lead them into their future.
Camille Buckhanon, a freshman center from Talladega, Alabama, was named the 30th overall center in the recruiting class after posting averages of 26 points and 15 rebounds per game during her senior season in high school. Additionally, the Tigers added Malainna White, a 5-foot-9 guard from Pensacola, Florida. During her high school career, White was named the Girls Athlete of the Year at her school and finished rated as the 28th overall small forward in the class of 2018. Lastly, the team added Jamirah Shutes, a 5-foot-6 guard from Brownsville, Tennessee, who was named the All-West Tennessee Player of the Year and amassed a total of 3,034 points during her high school career. Shutes averaged 33 points and 11 rebounds per game during her senior campaign.
While the additions to the Tigers’ roster figure to help the team’s goal of improving their record from last season, it is important to note the major games on the schedule for a team looking for a bounce-back year. In one of their more high-profile, non-conference games of the season, the Tigers will take on the University of Toledo at Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Dec. 1. To go along with their contest against Toledo, the Tigers will take on the likes of Louisiana Tech, Samford, Southeast Missouri State and Jackson State all at home. Their slate of non-conference road games sees the team travel to Arkansas State, Alabama Birmingham, Mercer and Coastal Carolina.
Despite playing a conference schedule that figures to be as tough as it gets, the real test comes in conference play. Juggernauts UCF, Houston and Cincinnati will all visit the Fieldhouse, and the Tigers will take trips to SMU, USF and national powerhouse UConn.
Despite losing their top two scorers from a season ago, the Tigers women’s basketball team has reloaded itself with the pieces necessary to compete in the AAC. Through a tough in-conference schedule and a non-conference slate that sees a wide variety of opponents, these Tigers will certainly be tested early and often. However, this team is one that is hungry for improvement.
The Tigers tip off their season on Nov. 3 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse against LeMoyne-Owen College at 2 p.m.
Brea Elmore drives inside past a UConn defender.
