The Lady Tigers ended their home season this weekend with two league losses, running their losing streak to four straight games and dropping into the ninth-place spot in Conference USA.
On Sunday, Memphis (11-14, 5-7 in C-USA) fell victim to the hot shooting of C-USA Co-Player of the Week Chandi Jones, who scored a game-high 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting to help Houston (19-6, 9-3 in C-USA play) spoil Senior Day for the Lady Tigers with an 84-70 win.
The win was Houston’s first-ever at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse and leaves Memphis needing wins in its final two regular season games at UAB and South Florida to assure itself of a spot in the March 1 C-USA Tournament in Chicago. The top 12 of the league’s 14 teams qualify to play in the tourney.
“We don’t have a choice, actually,” sophomore guard Princess Swilley said of the Lady Tigers’ need to win out. “The most important thing that we need to do is stay together, and we need to believe that we can go on the road and win the rest of these games we have in order to get to the tournament.
Swilley finished Sunday’s contest with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to offset Jones’ performance. Jones, who stands just 12 points away from becoming the fastest player in C-USA history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, had 20 points at the half to Memphis’ 29.
After trailing 47-29 at the break, Memphis came out in the second half on a 10-0 run and managed to cut Houston’s lead to 55-50 with 10:24 remaining on junior forward Rita Beckwith’s three-pointer. However, the Lady Tigers were outscored 17-6 over the next 5:44 to ice it for Houston.
“We have to focus and we have to maintain that focus,” Swilley said. “We can’t have lapses in the game where one minute we’re playing great basketball and the next five minutes we’re just out of control.”
Memphis seniors Melissa Abraham (six points, eight rebounds) and Lauren Jackson (seven points, seven assists) were honored after the game in a ceremony which featured video clips of their careers.
“I’ve had four really good years,” Jackson said. “My teammates, from (former Lady Tiger standout Tamika) Whitmore and Heather Phillips my freshman year to now, are great girls and I’m going to miss them. It’s that kind of sister feeling that you have that’s so special.”
Jackson and Abraham were much more effective in the Tigers’ loss Sunday than in Memphis’ 65-59 loss to C-USA leader TCU (20-5, 10-2 in C-USA) Friday when the two combined for six points and no rebounds.
Despite forcing 36 turnovers, the Lady Tigers were unable to hold off TCU, which enjoyed a 47-21 rebounding advantage for the game.
“We’re just not very smart basketball players,” head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. “The bottom line is this team has got to be able to put it all together.”
Junior center Shannon Hamp led Memphis with 16 points Friday while freshman forward Victoria Crawford chipped in with 12.
Memphis travels to UAB Friday before traveling to South Florida Sunday.
