Memphis Women's Basketball opened the new year and conference play with a bang, winning 93-83 at home against Wichita State. This result snaps an eight game losing streak as the Tigers look to turn up the heat in the AAC.
This is the most points Memphis has scored in a game this season and had a renewed energy and renewed confidence in themselves.
"I thought we played really good team basketball today," said Alex Simmons after the game. "I thought we were in a really good flow."
The game was close for most of the contest, with Memphis showcasing an offensive explosion in the first half. They hit 10 threes in the first half, with four Tigers, Tilly Boler, DeeDee Hagemann, Elauna Eaton, and Alasia Smith, finishing in double-digits for the game.
Boler reached the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game, finishing the game with 25. Alasia Smith also reached 20 points, which is one of her highest totals this season.
"[Boler] has a scoring prowess and she's going to take all types of shots, and at the end of the day, we have to be okay with that," said Simmons. "We have rebounders, we have people that she can kick it out too...I'm extremely happy with her performance."
The Shockers stayed in it for a while with great interior play, they had 24 points in the paint in the first half and shot 59% from the field. Their points were much more spread around, with all 12 players in their rotation scoring at some point in the game, but no one scoring more than 11.
Despite a gritty and defensive thrid quarter, Memphis pulled away in the fourth by forcing nine second-half turnovers while maintaining form on the offensive end. A big reason for that was DeeDee Hagemann having a another big outing, with 16 points and 12 assists.
The Tigers will try to make it two in a row when they host North Texas on Jan. 4 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
