Not since the 1991-92 and 92-93 seasons have the Lady Tigers entered a conference tournament with a below-.500 winning percentage.
And with the possibility of not reaching postseason play for the first time in seven years facing it, Memphis (11-16, 5-9 in Conference USA) knows it must put together a good showing in the C-USA Tournament this weekend to have any hope of a postseason berth.
That showing starts Friday at 1 p.m. in Chicago as the Lady Tigers face seventh-seeded Charlotte in the first round of the tourney and Memphis head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said Tuesday the team has many things to work on before heading to the Windy City.
“There are several things we have to get better in,” Lee-McNelis said. “What we have to do is work on boxing-out and rebounding. We have to work on making hard cuts and protecting the basketball.”
Lee-McNelis said she hopes her team plans to play as if there is no tomorrow, because there won’t be if Memphis doesn’t win.
“It’s pretty much do-or-die,” Lee-McNelis said. “Either you do, or we are home for good. It would be the first time in seven years a (Memphis) team didn’t make it to postseason.”
Charlotte (15-12, 7-7 in C-USA) will be seeking revenge against the Lady Tigers after Memphis’ 91-56 win over the 49ers Feb. 3 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The win was the Lady Tigers’ last before their current six-game slide.
In that game, Kalara McFadyen recorded the Lady Tigers’ first-ever triple-double and Princess Swilley poured in a season-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field.
This time Memphis can expect tougher defense from the 49ers as Charlotte ranks third in C-USA in scoring defense, allowing just 60.1 points per game. Opponents are also shooting just 37 percent from the field against the 49ers.
Lee-McNelis said along with the defense of the 49ers, the offensive play of Charlotte junior forward Alicia Abernathy will be cause for concern for the Lady Tigers.
“We have to concentrate on Abernathy because she is the juice that makes them go,” Lee-McNelis said. “Abernathy opens up everything for that team.”
Abernathy leads the 49ers in scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.5 points and 7.3 boards per game.
The 49ers and Tigers enter Friday’s matchup each trying to end losing streaks.
Charlotte lost its last two games to Tulane and Southern Mississippi while Memphis has lost its last six in a row.
Lee-McNelis said she hopes her young team can put together a run for the tourney championship.
“No doubt we are not as talented and we don’t have the experience to win the tournament,” Lee-McNelis said. “When you look at what it’ll take for us to win, it will take heart, guts, and grit.”
