Women's Basketball Faces SMU In Dallas Saturday

Saturday, January 16

Dallas, Texas

2 pm CT

University of Memphis

SMU

Tickets

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Jan 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Memphis plays its seventh game in 18 days.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For all University of Memphis students, the 2016 spring semester starts Tuesday. A group that may welcome the start of the spring semester is the Tigers women's basketball team which plays its seventh game in 18 days Saturday when it meets SMU in Dallas, Texas. Game time is 2 p.m. (CT) from Moody Coliseum.

After returning from Christmas break, the Tigers started their WNBA-like schedule Dec. 30 at Temple and then played four games in a week's time from Jan. 3-10. Memphis hosted No. 1 Connecticut Jan. 13 and now plays at SMU Saturday. In between games, the Tigers had practices, video breakdown sessions and treatment.

It's a schedule so crazy that the players may want the college life normalcy of attending classes.

"Our players have not had a day off since they returned from Christmas break," said Tigers head coach Melissa McFerrin. "We need to manage the mental fatigue probably more than the physical fatigue."

The Tigers need to be ready both mentally and physically for the Mustangs Saturday. The Memphis-SMU series has been a close one recently, with six of the last nine meetings decided by single digits.

"We go to SMU Saturday," McFerrin said. "There is a little on the line, as they handed us a loss at our place in the last home game of the season. SMU is an improved team this year. They have the Australians which are back again this year and even better. SMU has added some guard play.

"It will be a difficult challenge Saturday, but it's a road game we need to find some way to win. We've got some big wins in Dallas in previous years. It's always been a competitive basketball game."

Radio: 91.7 FM (WUMR)
Internet Video: smumustangs.com/collegesportslive
Live Stats: smumustangs.com/gametracker
LiveTweet: @MemphisWBKB, #MEMWBKB, #GoTigersGo

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know
• SMU leads the all-time series 9-5. The teams split their two meetings in 2014-15. The Mustangs posted a 60-53 victory over the Tigers in the regular-season home finale at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Four days later, Memphis returned the favor with a 71-59 win over SMU in the American Athletic Conference Tournament first round. The Tigers' last win in Dallas came in the 2011-12 season, a 60-55 victory.

• The Memphis-SMU series has had some close calls in recent meetings. In the last nine encounters, the average margin of victory is 7.3 points. Of those nine games, six were decided by single digits. The Mustangs hold a narrow 5-4 series edge in the last nine match-ups.

• Saturday's game will have some international flavor. A total of six international players are on the two rosters, with each team having three. For Memphis, junior college transfer Loysha Morris (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Cheyenne Creighton (Pickering, Ontario) both are from Canada, and freshman Milena Bajic is from Montenegro. On the SMU roster, the Mustangs' three international players all are from Australia. Sophomores Alicia and Kelly Froling are from Queensland, and sophomore Stephanie Collins is from Melbourne.

• Saturday's game may come down to which team's defensive strength wins out. Memphis uses tough perimeter defense to create havoc which leads to turnovers and steals. The Tigers are second in the league in both steals (10.5 spg) and turnovers forced (18.6). On the other side, SMU – which boasts five players 6-foot-2 or taller – uses its height on defense. The Mustangs are second in the conference in blocked shots at 5.9 bpg.

• Sophomore Cheyenne Creighton is seemingly hitting everything she shoots in recent games. The 6-foot-1 forward is shooting a team-best 57.9 percent from the field, which also is second-best in the American Athletic Conference. In league play only (six games), she is hitting 69.7 percent from the floor (23-of-33).

Scouting SMU
The Mustangs enter Saturday's American Athletic Conference match-up with a 7-8 overall record and a 2-2 league mark. Saturday's game starts a three-game homestand for SMU. Following Saturday's Memphis game, the Mustangs host Tulane Jan. 20 and Connecticut Jan. 23. The Mustangs played three of their first four American Athletic Conference games on the road.

SMU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from their 2014-15 team. Sophomores McKenzie Adams (14.5 ppg) and Alicia Froling (12.1 ppg) are the Mustangs' two double-figure scorers. Froling leads SMU on the glass with a 10.7 rebounding average. Sophomore Stephanie Collins is second on the squad at 6.3 rpg. Adams is tops on the team with 38 assists (2.5 apg), and senior Gabrielle Wilkins leads the squad with 29 steals (1.9 spg). Adams also is the Mustangs' top three-point threat, hitting 35.2 percent from the arc.

SMU is shooting 37.5 percent from the floor, 27.5 percent from the three-point arc and 72.8 percent from the free throw line. The Mustangs are out-rebounding their opponents by an average margin of +4.1 boards per game (43.6-39.5).