Entering Friday night's game, The University of Memphis Lady Tigers will play a familiar opponent. Their preparation for the game was anything but familiar.
The new practice competition was not simply another team, but a team of another sex.
But it's a move that senior guard Raven Rogers enjoyed.
"I'm so glad they brought them in today," Rogers said.
Men scrimmaged against The Lady Tigers (10-9 overall, 3-3 in Conference USA) to help them prepare for the Louisville Cardinals (13-5, 4-1).
The game should be one of the toughest yet as the Cardinals are coming off weekend wins over TCU (14-6, 5-1) and Houston (14-4, 5-1), the top two teams in Conference-USA.
Cardinals center Jazz Covington put the blues on both teams by scoring a combined 34 points and snatching 19 rebounds in the two games, gaining C-USA player of the week honors.
The other side of the equation that may cause trouble for the Lady Tigers is Missy Taylor, a 6-3 sophomore forward who scored 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds over the weekend.
"They both can shoot the three and they both can penetrate," said head coach Blair Savage. "They have a real knack for one another on the court and they're tough to defend."
The Lady Tigers will combat their big frontcourt -- in stature and production -- with a lineup featuring four guards.
"Normally when we play a team heavy in the post, we just outrun them," said Rogers. "Most teams can run with us early, but in the second half they're pretty much winded and holding their shorts."Ranked first in C-USA for field goal percentage defense, the Lady Tigers will try to stifle a team shooting the second best percentage in the conference and scoring more points per game than 10 other teams in the league.
Averaging almost 22 turnovers per game, The Lady Tigers will have to take care of the ball to limit the chances of Louisville's stellar frontcourt.
"We're trying to work on it, it's just a matter of becoming a habit," said Savage. "You can only run them so much and you can only discipline them so much. Sometime it has to go off in their heads."
"We've been fortunate to have 20 plus (turnovers) and win," she said.The Lady Tigers will have to pick their poison tonight between Covington and Taylor or the rest of the team, according to Savage."You have to decide if you want them to beat you or do you want someone else to beat you," she said.
The game starts tonight at 7 p.m. at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
