Tiger women’s basketball could not withstand UConn’s offense, losing 102-45

Despite their best efforts, the Memphis Tigers were unable to pull off the upset over the No. 3 ranked UConn Huskies, losing the game 102-45. This is their sixteenth loss of the season and their eighth in conference play. The Tigers were unable to compete with the shooting barrage that the Huskies dished out, making it difficult for them to truly get into rhythm. 

UConn shows early that their offense is too much to overcome

As soon as the game got started, it was clear that UConn had every intention of being aggressive. Led by forward, Katie Lou Samuelson, the Huskies scored 36 points in the first quarter. They managed to shoot 63.6 percent from the field and spread the ball around well, getting 13 assists in just the first 10 minutes.

UConn had their biggest impact from behind the arc, where they converted on 7 of their 12 attempts, good for 58.3 percent. Samuelson led the way with four threes, with two other Huskies making threes of their own. The Tigers did their best to get their three-point shot going as well, with guard Jada Stinson making three of her five three-point attempts.

When the game was all said and done, the Huskies shot an impressive 54.9 percent from the field and were led in scoring by Samuelson who had 33 points and shot 8 of 11 from three.

Memphis strayed away from their style of basketball

The bread and butter of the Tigers’ offense this season has consistently been their scoring in the paint. It’s been the one area of comfort for the team and has regularly been the one constant for their offense.

Against UConn, it was clear they wanted to get more of their outside shooting going, which hurt them on the score board. They scored just 45 points in the game, one of their lowest totals of the season.

Only 12 points came from the paint and usually-high-producing forward Alana Davis scored just two points, ending her streak of double-digit scoring games at four games.

Jada Stinson is the Tigers’ go-to three-point shooter

It’s no secret that the Tigers have had their shooting struggles, especially behind the arc. Prior to this game, they averaged just 24.5 percent from three and converted just 95 of their 387 attempts from range.

Against UConn, they knew they were going to have to make some if they wanted the game to stay relatively competitive. So they turned to the one player who has proven somewhat capable from knocking down shots from down.

Guard Jada Stinson is often descried as a “3 and D†player, meaning she specializes in three-point shooting and defense. She’s third on the team in made threes with 20 on the season but hasn’t had much playing time as she is coming off the bench behind players such as Jamirah Shutes and Taylor Barnes.

Against the Huskies, Stinson started the game and connected on four of her nine three-point attempts. She was tied with forward Jessica James for the most points in the game with 12 points.

By herself, she couldn’t combat the persistent scoring display that UConn showed, but her play in the first quarter should impress head coach Melissa McFerrin and her staff that Stinson should continue to be their top option when they need a three.

Conclusion

This game had a lot of potential to get ugly very quickly, and that’s what happened. Memphis’ offense just could not compete, and when they weren’t able to keep getting their three-point shots to drop, UConn began to pull away.

There were not many positives that could be taken away from this game, so it’s best for the Tigers to look ahead and prepare for Sunday’s game against Houston. Houston is also going to be a tough challenge for the Tigers too, but Memphis matches up with them better than they did against UConn.

If the Tigers can get their defense back on track and not let this latest defeat rattle them too much, they will be in a much better position to pull off the upset.