The American Athletic Conference took note of one University of Memphis women's basketball player on Monday after her solid performance in the season opening weekend.
The American named redshirt freshman Mooriah Rowser the Freshman of the Week. The young Tiger led the U of M in scoring in game one Friday with 15 points against East Tennessee State University and was second on the team in that category against Samford University on Sunday, adding 13 to the board.
Head women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin said after missing a year due to injury, Rowser goes to the gym everyday and puts in the work.
"I'm not surprised that Mooriah has come back strong, even in the early part of the season," McFerrin said. "The good thing is that Mooriah is doing the things that we expect her to do. She is hitting pull-up jumpers. She's a great mid-range player. She's a great lane runner, and those are the things she did to score for us."
The Tigers squeaked by ETSU in overtime to collect the 77-74 victory Friday but received the bitter taste of defeat Sunday against Samford. With four seconds left on the clock, down by one, the U of M's final shot attempt was no good. Samford went to the free throw line one last time, sinking one of the two baskets, and the Tigers stepped off their own court with the 62-60 loss.
Rowser saw 30 minutes of playing time in Friday's game and 29 minutes against Samford.
"The other good news is that she's (Rowser) not 100 percent yet," McFerrin said. "We can still plan on seeing some improvement from Mooriah - I think particularly on the defensive side of the basketball. But we brought Mooriah here to be impactful, and she's proven that she is going to do that, even in the American Athletic Conference."
Also making women's basketball news this week was senior transfer Jasbriell Swain. The team announced Tuesday that the NCAA granted Swain a transfer waiver. The new Tiger is now eligible to play with the team for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.
Swain comes to Memphis via Binghamton University, where she spent the last three years playing for the Bearcats. As a junior, Swain appeared in all 30 games for Binghamton and started all but one. The veteran guard was named to the American East All-Defensive Team following her junior campaign.
The Memphis native now comprises one of the three seniors on the Memphis squad.
The U of M is back in action at 6 p.m. on Friday when they head to Dayton, Ohio, to face the Raiders of Wright State University.
