Hot off the heels of their first victory over a ranked team since 2003, the University of Memphis women's basketball team (10-8, 3-3 AAC) continued their winning ways Saturday afternoon with a 48-40 victory over the struggling Houston Cougars (4-13, 0-6 AAC) in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
In a low-scoring game, Memphis sophomore forward Asianna Fuqua-Bey set the Fieldhouse ablaze in the first half with nine made field goals in a span of 15 minutes.
"I just thought in the first half Asia kept us afloat and kept us in the lead," head Memphis coach Melissa McFerrin said. "One thing we don't get to see Asia do a lot is work in the post because we run her on the perimeter quite a bit to leave the low post open for (senior forward Pa'Sonna Hope), but you can tell how fundamental she is."
During the stretch, Fuqua-Bey made scoring look easy, unleashing an arsenal of shots near the basket-ranging from contested layups to up-and-under moves.
"In practice this week, Coach told us that we needed a big post game so that was something I was focusing on," Fuqua-Bey said. "Pa'Sonna's sick, so I knew that I had to pick up the slack, and, as a team, we had to pick up the slack somewhere so I just tried to go in, be big and get buckets for us."
Fuqua-Bey led the Tigers in scoring for the game with 18 points - all in the first half - on 9-15 shooting. She also grabbed eight rebounds.
It was an opportune time for Fuqua-Bey to have a huge night, as some of the other key Tigers had off-nights.
Sophomore guard Ariel Hearn ranks second in the American Athletic Conference at 18.4 points per game but she mustered just 10 points on 3-14 from the field against the Cougars. It wasn't all bad for Hearn who still dished out six assists.
Freshman guard Breigha Wilder-Cochran has scored the second most points for the Tigers this season but she missed all six of her field-goal attempts on Saturday.
Memphis took a three-point lead into halftime and they would hold that advantage for the remainder of the game. However, the Tigers wasted opportunities to put the Cougars away in the second half.
With just under eight minutes left to play, Memphis extended their lead to 11 but the Cougars came roaring back to within six points just three minutes before the final buzzer.
McFerrin wasn't extremely happy with how her team performed but she will take the win regardless.
"To be honest with you, given the week that we've had and the condition of some of our players, we're going to take this win and be happy with it and take a day or two off and try to get healthy," McFerrin said.
The Tigers have a tough road trip ahead of them with their next two games coming against the No. 1 Connecticut Huskies and the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals.
The U of M will be considered huge underdogs in both games, but Fuqua-Bey welcomes the challenge.
"We played UConn before so we know what to expect, and then Louisville, just like the other night we beat Rutgers, we could upset Louisville," Fuqua-Bey said of the Tigers' 90-49 loss at the FedExForum. "They're putting on the same shoes we are. We just have to go out there and compete and it could be anybody's game."
The undefeated Huskies have made quick work of their opponents this season, winning each of their games by an average of 36.3 points while leading the conference in points per game (84.2) and points allowed per game (47.9).
Of UConn's 19 victories on the season, eight of them have come against teams that were ranked at the time. Notable victories include an 83-61 road win at No. 2 Duke, a 76-57 victory against No. 3 Stanford and a 72-55 win at No. 8 Maryland.
Tipoff against the Huskies is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
