University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
5-7,0-0American
Southeastern Louisiana
2-7,1-2Southland
Richmond Scores 26 in Tigers' Win at Southeastern Louisiana
Dec 20, 2025 | Women's Basketball
HAMMOND, La. – Memphis women's basketball picked up its third road win of the season on Saturday afternoon, using a dominant second half to defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 70-66.
Guard Daejah Richmond was the pacemaker for the Tigers (5-7), scoring a career-high 26 points, including 22 in the second half. Tamya Smith added 14 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double and second of Memphis' season (Paris Gaines).
The Lions (2-7) led by as much as 15 in the second quarter thanks to a 13-0 run, and a late bucket from Lihi Azouri made it 39-27 heading into the halftime break.
Smith sparked a 25-point third frame for the Tigers, their most since the fourth game of the season against Ball State. The sophomore had six points in the opening four minutes of the half, forcing SLU into a timeout with the deficit down to six.
From there, it was all Richmond. After scoring just four points through the first 24 minutes, the Cordova native posted 11 in both the third and fourth quarters, fueled by two corner threes to give the Tigers their first lead since the first quarter.
After shooting 6-of-15 from deep in the opening half, the lid closed for the Lions as they made just two threes on 10 attempts after halftime. Memphis used the SLU misses to control the tempo, scoring 17 fast break points.
The lead changed hands four times in the final frame, and the Lions used a 7-0 run to take a 65-63 lead with 2:35 remaining. It was then that Richmond scored her biggest buckets of the evening, a mid-range jumper from the right elbow and a banked shot from the left side of the paint in quick succession to re-claim the Memphis lead.
Natalie Huff split a pair at the line for SLU to make it 67-66 with 39.1 seconds remaining. The Tigers used up most of the shot clock before Jordan Hunter drew a shooting foul, delivering both free throws to go up three with 10.5 seconds remaining. The Lions' 2025-26 leading scorer Aliyah Collins took an off-the-dribble three, which rattled off the front rim and into the hands of Richmond to seal the win.
Memphis won the rebounding battle for the third time this season, moving to 3-0 when doing so. Freshman Jah'Naesia Spiers posted career highs in boards (eight) and points (seven), and Cori Allen added nine rebounds, four points, four assists and zero turnovers. Kennedi Alexander added eight boards, the first time since at least 2009 that four players logged eight or more rebounds.
The Tigers will conclude non-conference play against Rust College at home on Sunday, December 28 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, and fans can buy tickets HERE.
How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
