Tigers Women's Basketball Hosts UCF Wednesday

Wednesday, January 27

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm CT

University of Memphis

UCF

Tickets

Brianna Wright, Asianna Fuqua-Bey, Taylor Williams

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Jan 26, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Memphis looks for third-straight win.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – What a difference getting into a routine makes. That's what the University of Memphis women's basketball squad's recent shooting statistics show as it heads into Wednesday's American Athletic Conference match-up against UCF.

Game time is 7 p.m. (CT) at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Near the end of their "seven-games-in-18-days" stretch during the semester break, the Tigers' field goal shooting percentage dipped to 30.3 percent in their final 2.5 games (since second half of Jan. 10 game against Tulsa).

However, enter the start of the 2016 spring semester Jan. 19 with a "regular" school routine, and Memphis has found its shooting touch again. In their two wins over No. 15 USF (home) and Tulsa (road), the Tigers are shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 94.4 percent from the free throw line. Furthermore, Memphis shot 50 percent or better in three of the four halves since Jan. 19.

Memphis hopes to continue its hot shooting Wednesday against UCF to extend its conference win streak to three straight.

Radio: 91.7 FM (WUMR)
Internet Video: American Digital Network (theamerican.org/watch)
Live Stats: memphis.statbroadcast.com
LiveTweet: @MemphisWBKB, #MEMWBKB, #GoTigersGo

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know
• Memphis holds a narrow 12-10 lead in the series and has won the last four meetings. The Tigers swept last season's encounters, 70-66 in Orlando and 65-49 in Memphis. UCF last defeated Memphis in the 2012-13 campaign, an 83-62 victory in Orlando, Fla.

• The Tigers are wishing this January would not come to an end. Memphis has a 5-3 record this January and goes for win No. 6 in this month Wednesday. If successful, Memphis would tie for the most victories in the month of January in the Melissa McFerrin era. The Tigers under McFerrin also won six games in January in the 2009-10 and 2011-12 campaigns.

• With a win Wednesday, Memphis would get over that .500 hump for its first 10 games in conference play. A victory would put the Tigers at 6-4 in the first 10 league games this season. That would be a good sign for Memphis. The three previous times they started conference play with an above .500 mark in the first 10 games, the Tigers went to the postseason.

• The Tigers didn't have a "ranked-team" hangover Jan. 23, as the posted a 69-58 victory over Tulsa after defeating No. 15 USF Jan. 20. Since 1990-91, Memphis now is 7-4 in games after beating a ranked opponent. So what about the game after the win after the upset the six previous times? Memphis is 3-3 in those scenarios.

• Senior Ariel Hearn needs only 13 points to reach the 1,800-point milestone for her career. She still is in the No. 10 spot on the Tigers all-time scoring chart. Up next for Hearn is Kitty Allen, who is No. 9 with 1,823 points. Hearn also needs only seven rebounds to reach 500 boards for her career. When she grabs her 500^th rebounds, Hearn will become only player in school history – male or female – to have 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 350 assists.

Scouting UCF
The Knights bring a 4-15 overall record and a 1-7 league mark into Wednesday's American Athletic Conference encounter. Wednesday's contest begins a stretch in which UCF plays three of its next four games on the road. After Wednesday's game, the Knights return home to host Tulsa Jan. 30 before traveling to Houston Feb. 3 and SMU Feb. 6. The Knights have a 2-6 overall record in road games in 2015-16. UCF's lone conference win was an 80-60 road victory at Cincinnati Jan. 16.

UCF returns three starters, but only four letterwinners from its 2014-15 team. Zykira Lewis is the Knights' only double-figure scorer at 15.9 ppg. Joslyn Massey is the team's second-leading scorer at 9.6 ppg. Massey's 8.4 rebounds per game lead UCF (sixth in The American). Ashley Polacek is tops on the team with 56 assists (2.9 apg). Lewis is UCF's top three-point threat, taking 143 three-point attempts and hitting 32.2 percent from the arc.

The Knights are shooting 37.6 percent from the floor, 25.6 percent from the three-point arc and 68.9 percent from the free throw line. UCF is out-rebounding its opponents by an average margin of +4.0 boards per game (43.3-39.3).