The University of Memphis women’s basketball team (10-17, 5-9 American Athletic Conference) will be facing the SMU Mustangs (10-17, 4-10 AAC) March 2 in their last away game of the regular season.
The Memphis Tigers’ women’s basketball team (6-10, American Athletic Conference 1-2) hopes to continue improving as they focus on conference play. The Tigers are currently ninth in the AAC standings and have an already-difficult uphill climb to take the top spot.
The Tigers’ made their first step towards improving their standings in their conference during their last game against Wichita State, who they defeated 71-50.
Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin said she was elated by her team’s performance and believes it was a culmination of all their hard work.
“We have had a great mentality,†McFerrin said. “We have walked into locker rooms really knowing that we have an opportunity to win but haven’t quite made it happen. It was great to get it on the road and get a nice tempo going in the game.â€
With so much turnover from last season to this season, the team has had a dip in overall individual statistics but have done more to get everyone on the bench involved.
Freshman guard Jamirah Shutes leads the team in points per game with 13.5, while sophomore forward Alana Davis leads the team in overall points scored with 201 this season and an average of 12.5 points per game. No other Tiger has averaged double digits.
Guard Taylor Barnes (left) brings the ball up court. Barnes was the team’s leading returning scorer from last season.
Junior guard Taylor Barnes leads the team in assists per game with 3.6, as the team averages 11.8 per game. Barnes has been the definitive leader for the team and leads the team in minutes with 519. Transfer junior Gazmyne Herndon is second on the team with 2.6.
Davis leads the team in rebounds per game with 8.6, including 4.1 offensive rebounds per game. Senior forward Jasmine Jones has also been making her presence felt in the pain, averaging 5.7 rebounds a game.
One of the biggest Achilles’ heels of the team are their pension for turning the ball over. This season, they currently have 311 turnovers and average 19.4 a game with three players who average over three turnovers a contest.
Another problem has been the team’s free throw shooting. Collectively, they shoot 64.3 percent from the free throw line. McFerrin has acknowledged that shooting has been an issue but believes that what they need to do is get into the gym rather than change their system.
Their next game will be this Saturday, when they take on the ECU Pirates at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. They hope to extend their current win streak to two games and build on their recent impressive performances. ECU will be looking to avenge the defeat they suffered to Tulsa 55-75 at home.
Even with the team feeling good about themselves, McFerrin doesn’t want her team to underestimate their upcoming opponent.
“ECU got off to a hot start, so they’re going to be ready to go,†McFerrin said. “They’re much improved from a year ago, but we’re happy to have them coming to our home court to see them firsthand with their new system.â€
