Jan. 30, 2008
Complete Weekly Release in PDF Format 
The University of Memphis women's basketball team will host a pair of West Division C-USA foes this weekend, beginning with a Friday night game against Houston. That game will be Memphis' `Pack the House' night, where all children wearing a jersey receive free admission. `Pack the House' is a single game attendance contest between all C-USA schools.
The game against Houston means that the Lady Tigers will have faced the top three teams in the league in their last three games. Memphis led, but fell, at league-leading UTEP to begin the three-game stretch, then led, but fell, to UAB, the team Houston is tied with for second in the league standings.
Houston has won six of their last eight games and carries a five-game winning streak in to Friday night's match-up. Led by All-American candidates Tye Jackson and Twiggy McIntyre. McIntyre leads Houston with 15.3 ppg, including 20.5 ppg in six previous C-USA games, while Jackson, the 2007-08 C-USA Pre-Season Player of the Year, averages 11.9 ppg and 9.0 ppg in league play. But if the formidable backcourt were not enough of a scoring threat, the Cougars have two freshmen who have emerged up front to keep defenses honest. Center forward Courtney Taylor has found a lot of scoring success against league foes, averaging 11.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Taylor is a load on the offensive glass, grabbing 22 of the team's 77 offensive boards so far in league play, while fellow freshman Cobilyn Hill, a 6-3 center who ranks fourth in the league with 2.15 blocked shots per game, averages 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
The magic number for Memphis against Houston may be a number bigger than 70. When the Cougars have held their opponents to under 70 points, they are 10-3. When their opponents score 70 or more points, Houston is 1-6. Memphis has scored 70 or more points in just one previous league game, scoring 74 in the win at Tulane and is 1-11 when scoring under 70 points on the season.
Memphis is looking to snap a two-game losing streak heading in to the Friday night contest. It's been a tale of two teams for Memphis through the first six conference games. In the previous three games played at home, the Lady Tigers are led in scoring by junior Jessica Hall (16.0 ppg), senior Aroha Jennings (12.0) and junior Paris Leonard (11.7). Sophomore Latoya Bullard also averages 11.7 ppg in the first three C-USA home games, but the remainder of the team is averaging just 8.4 ppg combined (Ashley Thornton, 4.0 ppg; Shekeira Copeland 2.7 ppg; Alex Winchell 1.7 ppg; Savannah Ellis, 1.0 ppg; Jessica Jackson 0.0 ppg, Shae Seagraves 0.0 ppg). That's a very different story than the Lady Tigers on the road, where seven different Lady Tigers average over 5.0 ppg, led by Latoya Bullard's 16.7 ppg and Jessica Jackson's 10.3 ppg.
Memphis vs. UAB
This is the 19th meeting between Memphis and Houston. Memphis leads the all-time series 11-7, but has lost the last four meetings between the two programs, dating back to 2003-04. Memphis is 5-3 in games in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse against the Cougars, who are without head coach Joe Curl, who suffered a heart-attack in October.
While Curl is recuperating, assistant Danny Hughes has been elevated to the interim head coaching spot for the Cougars. Hughes has the Cougars surging at the right time after a difficult pre-season schedule that included games against LSU, Texas Tech, and Duke. Houston has won five straight games and seven of its last nine games, including an overtime win against Lamar which saw the Cougars come back from 26 points down in the second half to win the game 82-75 in overtime. Houston trailed 46-22 at the half and took the lead with 2:29 remaining in the game. The 26-point comeback is the second-largest deficit overcome in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball history.
A Tale of Two Teams?
Memphis has been two different teams in the first six C-USA games. When Memphis is playing on the road against league foes, the Lady Tigers have seven different players averaging 6.0 or more points per game led by 16.7 ppg from Latoya Bullard and 10.3 ppg from Jessica Jackson. But at home in league games, Memphis is led in scoring by Jessica Hall with 16.0 ppg and Aroha Jenninsg with 12.0 ppg. Paris Leonard and Latoya Bullard add 11.7 ppg, but the remainder of the Lady Tiger roster averages a combined 9.4 ppg among seven players. Three Lady Tigers are still scoreless at home in league play (Valencia Tucker, Jessica Jackson, and Shae Seagraves). Memphis is also being out-rebounded by 10.0 rebounds per game at home, while keeping closer on the road under the glass, being out-rebounded by 4.3 rpg.
Leonard Scores 20 For Fourth Time
Junior guard Paris Leonard had her best shooting night of the season in Memphis' last game, hitting 57.1 percent of her shots from the field against UAB and finishing with 22 points. The 22-point effort is her fourth 20+ point game of the season, the eighth of her career (she had four 20+ games as a freshman and none last year as a sophomore).
Leonard 27 Away From 800
Following the 22-point night against UAB, Leonard now has 773 career points. She needs just 27 more points to hit the 800-point mark and to tie Lady Tiger assistant coach Jennifer Sullivan for 25th on the Memphis all-time scoring charts. Leonard's 87 career three-point field goals also means she is just 13 treys shy of becoming the sixth player in Memphis history to pass the 100-career three-point field goal mark.
Jennings Adds Double-Double in 50th Career Game
Senior Aroha Jennings made her 50th career game at Memphis a memorable one, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to UAB. The double-double is the third of her young Lady Tiger career. She also added three assists and two steals in 31 minutes of play. The 10 rebounds marks the third time in her career and the second time this season she has had double-digit rebounds. Her last double-double was a 16 point, 11-rebound effort in the win over Alabama A&M.
Winchell Scoring Streak Snapped
Freshman Alex Winchell was 0-for-2 against UAB as league opponents have learned to look for the freshman to shoot the ball. The scoreless night snapped a 12-game scoring streak for the true freshman, who scored 10 points on the road at Tulane.
Hall Uncharacteristic at Free-Throw Line
Junior Jessica Hall is one of Memphis' top scorers and already ranks among the career top 10 at Memphis in career free-throw percentage. But the junior, who is shooting 72.7 percent from the free-throw line, has gone a combined 0-for-6 in the last two games. Hall has never gone more than three attempts from the line before a make prior to the UAB game (0-for-4).
Bullard Working Toward 50th Career Steal
Sophomore point guard Latoya Bullard has only been eligible for 10 games so far this season, but is now just 12 steals shy of her 50th career steal. Having a point guard who can pressure the ball has helped the Memphis defense as Bullard settles in to the line-up. With 10 regular season games remaining, Bullard is also on pace to possibly hit the 100 single season assist mark. Bullard is averaging 5.8 assists per game and needs 42 more to hit the 100 single assist mark in just one semester of eligibility. She would need to average 4.2 assists per game to hit the single season 100 assist mark, a feat that has been accomplished just 23 other times in Lady Tiger history.
Bullard Double Digit Streak Snapped
After she scored 23 on UAB in the first meeting, UAB made sure that Latoya Bullard didn't hurt them in the second meeting, holding her to just 2-for-8 shooting and six points. That snapped a five-game double-digit scoring streak for the sophomore point guard.
Copeland Gives Big Effort Off Bench
Freshman forward Shekeira Copeland played just eight minutes against UAB, but scored six points on 3-of-6 shooting. The eight minutes also saw Copeland force Britney Jones to turn the ball over as Copeland rotated over on defense and forces Jones, who was about to shoot, to bring the ball back down after going up for a lay-up.
Thornton Held to Career-Low Two Rebounds
Playing in her 50th career game at Memphis, Ashley Thornton has already established a reputation in the league as being a force on the boards. But the junior struggled Sunday against UAB, managing just two defensive rebounds in the loss to the Blazers. Thornton posted double-digit rebounds in five of the first 11 games this season, but hasn't gotten to the double-digit mark since a Dec. 21st game at Florida Gulf Coast.
Jackson Posts Block for Third Straight Game
Junior center Jessica Jackson has posted a block in three straight league games coming in to the Houston contest. She now has 18 blocks on the season in 10 career games, but has struggled on the offensive end as of late, going scoreless in three of the last five games for Memphis after scoring double-digit points in three of her first six games as a Lady Tiger.
Having to Close Out Leads
Memphis has been much more competitive in league play this season, having held a lead in the second half of all but one league game so far this season (Marshall). The Lady Tigers have sent notice to league foes that they are ready to compete this season, but now need to work on turning leads in to victories. At Tulane, Memphis held on to a six-point lead for a majority of the game, but had trouble getting the lead to double-digits and holding it there, allowing Tulane to cut it to two with less than two minutes remaining. Six straight points from Jessica Hall helped close out that road win.
