Jan. 5, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
The University of Memphis women's basketball team will open its 2007-08 league slate Sunday at 2 p.m. at UAB.
This is the 37th meeting between Memphis and UAB, with the Lady Tigers leading the all-time series 24-12. But UAB is on a four-game win streak in the overall series, having swept both games of the two-game conference slate in each of the past two seasons.
Memphis is coming off back-to-back games in which the Lady Tigers have been forced to overtime. Memphis held double-digit leads in the second half in both games, and were out-scored 11-8 in the last game against Toledo at FedExForum, Friday night.
UAB has won two of its last four games, but is looking to get back in the win column after falling to Florida State, 66-52, and Mississippi State, 79-69, in each of the past two games. A pair of seniors, Diamond Rogers and Crystal McFadden, average double-digits, led by Rogers' 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds. McFadden, who missed last season due to injury, has bounced back to average 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. At the guard spot, junior Britney Jones is replacing 2006-07 C-USA Player of the Year Carmen Guzman at the point, and is third on the team with 11.2 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game while leading the team with 35 steals.
Memphis vs. UAB
This is the 37th meeting between Memphis and UAB and the Lady Tigers lead the overall series 24-12. But UAB is on a four-game winning streak in the overall series, having swept both meetings in the league schedule in each of the past two seasons.
Back-to-Back Overtime Meetings
For the first time in school history, Memphis has played back-to-back overtime contests with the losses to Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Toledo. Memphis fell to 5-11 in all-time history in overtime contests, and 0-3 in overtime under Savage. The Lady Tigers have never played in double overtime.
Another Double-Double for Jackson
Junior center Jessica Jackson finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds against Toledo for a second straight double-double. Memphis has had a player tally a double-double in six of the first 13 games. Ashley Thornton leads the team with three double-doubles, with Jackson being the only other Lady Tiger with multiple double-doubles so far this season. Aroha Jennings is the third Lady Tiger with a double-double to her credit so far this season.
Blocking Brigade
Led by a career-high five blocks from center Jessica Jackson, Memphis finished the Toledo game with a season-high 10 blocks. Memphis now has 57 blocked shots on the season, compared to 29 for Lady Tiger opponents.
Perimeter Defense
The match-up will UAB will feature two of C-USA's top perimeter defending teams. The Blazers lead the league, allowing opponent's to connect on just 29.7 percent of shots from beyond the arc, while Memphis, which ranked first in the league before the break, now ranks fourth, allowing opponents to hit 31.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Leonard Moves to 31st All-Time in Scoring
Junior Paris Leonard moved to 31st all-time on the Lady Tiger scoring charts with her 16-point effort against Toledo. With 716 points, Leonard ranks 31st on the all-time Memphis scoring charts and needs just 22 points to score as many points this season as she did all of last year. She has scored double-digit points in nine of the last 10 games and in 10 of the first 13 games on the season.
Winchell Finding Production in New Role
Freshman Alex Winchell has had a new role to embrace. Winchell, who stepped in to the starting line-up as the Lady Tigers' point guard in the second game of the season, is now logging minutes at the two guard spot, giving Memphis two good ball handlers on the court against full court presses and giving the Lady Tigers a threat from three-point range. Heading in to the UAB game, Winchell has hit a three in each of the past four outings. She has also scored in all but one game in her freshman season.
Hall Crashing the Glass
The Lady Tigers have stressed boxing out and rebounding, and Jessica Hall has gotten the memo. In the last four games, Hall is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game from the guard spot, after averaging just 2.3 rebounds a game through the first semester. Hall has also had up and down shooting nights, hitting double-digit points in four of the last six games, but shooting 40 percent or better just one time.
Bullard A Multiple Threat on the Floor
Latoya Bullard has taken over as the Lady Tigers' starting point guard, and after tallying eight steals against UA Pine Bluff, has also set and tied career-highs in rebounding in each of the last two games. Bullard set a new personal best with seven rebounds against UAPB, then tying that performance with seven boards against Toledo. Over the last four games, Bullard is averaging 6.25 rebounds per game and has handed out 14 assists against 123 turnovers.
Davis Earning Minutes as a Defender
Sophomore Alysse Davis established herself as a three-point threat to league coaches last season, but the sophomore has added another weapon to her repertoire, as she currently ranks 10th in the league with 1.08 blocks per game. Against Toledo, Davis logged 25 minutes because of her ability to provide perimeter defense, especially against teams that like to shoot the three.
Jennings Role Change
Senior forward Aroha Jennings has been recast with the Lady Tigers. The senior, who led the team in scoring last season, is averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game after averaging 11.9 ppg last season. She is also taking fewer shots with more frontcourt held, getting off 5.7 shots per game so far this season after averaging 8.74 shots per game last season. She is coming off her best shooting percentage of the season though, hitting 4-of-6 shots from the floor. She has not seen the double digit mark in awhile though, as she has gone through the last five games without a double-digit scoring performance.
