Feb. 2, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
Memphis will wrap up a three-game home stand Sunday, at 2 p.m., against Rice. The game will feature a pair of teams looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
Rice has lost three straight after picking up their first C-USA win of the season at Southern Mississippi, while Memphis is looking for another win after last winning back-to-back games against East Carolina and Tulane before embarking on a three-game part of the schedule that pitted the Lady Tigers against the top three teams in the C-USA standings (UTEP, UAB, Houston).
The Owls are 1-2 in league games on the road, but are essentially playing all their games on the road this season thanks to a $25 million renovation of Autry Gymnasium. While the renovation will give the Owls first rate practice facilities and a new format for its gymnasium and athletic offices, it has meant playing all games this year away from campus. After going 11-3 at home last season, the Owls are 3-4 at home this year while playing at Houston Baptist's gym.
Rice has had to weather more adversity with the loss of senior center Valeriya Berezhynska due to injury. Berezhynska leads Rice with 16.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and had 19 blocks in 13 games before an ankle injury against Baylor forced her out of the line-up. The opening inside has meant greatly increased playing time for freshman Morgan Mayse. Mayse posted a double-double in the Owls' loss at UAB, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. In the backcourt, the owls have senior guard Kadie Riverin, a hard-nosed guard who averages 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and who leads the team with 72 assists on the season. Riverin scored 20 points Friday against the high-scoring UAB Blazers, going a perfect 8-for8 from the free-throw line.
Memphis probably wishes it could have the first four minutes back against Houston after spotting the Cougars an 11-0 lead to start the game. The two teams played pretty evenly for the remainder of the game, and Memphis cut the deficit to single digits two different times in the game, but could never work all the way out of the hole from the opening minutes of the contest. Junior Jessica Hall finished with 20 points, including 7-for-14 shooting, while Alex Winchell added 11 points and four assists in her ninth career start. Winchell started at the point in place of sophomore Latoya Bullard, who missed the game due to illness.
But rebounds and free-throws cost Memphis any other opportunity to pressure the Cougars, as Houston outworked Memphis 53-25 on the glass, while Memphis hit just 13-of-22 free-throws (59.1 percent).
The home game will be the last for Memphis for almost two full weeks, as the Lady Tigers will play at Southern Miss Thursday, and UCF Saturday, before a Valentine's Day game at SMU.
Memphis vs. Rice
This is the fifth meeting between Rice and Memphis and the Owls lead the overall series 3-1, including both meetings between the two teams as members of Conference USA. Memphis' one win in the series was a 62-61 win in 1999 and Rice answered back with a 70-58 win in 2000.
Pack Your Bags....
Following this afternoon's game against Rice, it will be time for the Lady Tigers to clear all the liquids out of their carry-on luggage as Memphis will spend the next two weeks on the road, opening at Southern Miss Thursday. From there, the Lady Tigers will wing to UCF for a Saturday match-up before venturing to Dallas to face SMU on Valentine's Day. Memphis will not play at home again until Feb. 17th when Memphis hosts Tulsa before embarking on another two-game road trip. Memphis has just three games remaining at home after this afternoon's game.
Is There an IR List in College Basketball?
Both teams have had roster changes as of late due to injuries and illness. Rice has been without senior center Valeriya Berezhynska since late December. The Owls had just barely gotten Emery Carter back from a knee injury that cost her 19 games last season in addition to the first eight games this year before losing their senior center.
Memphis was without starting point guard Latoya Bullard for the last game against a Houston team with two players the Cougars were touting for All-America honors at guard at the beginning of the season. Bullard missed the game due to illness and would likely be listed as questionable if this were an injury report for the other big game on Sunday.
Hall Suiting Up For Number 50
Jessica Hall is suiting up for her 50th career game at Memphis on Sunday. The Tallahassee, Fla. native is Memphis' leading scorer in league play with 12.4 ppg. It's taken Hall the better part of four seasons to get to the 50 game mark thanks to three separate Achilles surgeries which cost her two entire seasons worth of games following a freshman season that saw her earn Team Defensive MVP honors in 2004-05. She has come back with a vengeance though, averaging 11.8 points this year and 7.2 ppg in her young Lady Tiger career. In 50 career games, she is just six threes shy of having as many three-point field goals (44) as games played. She has already passed the 50-steals mark with five steals against Houston Friday night.
Winchell Makes Ninth Career Start
In the absence of Latoya Bullard, freshman Alex Winchell moved back to the point, where she started eight games earlier this season. Winchell had a nice shooting night from the perimeter, finishing with 11 points. She was 3-for-5 from three-point range, but 1-for-4 from shots inside the arc. She also finished with a team-high four assists against six turnovers in 32 minutes.
Leonard 21 Away From 800
Leonard now has 779 career points. She needs just 21 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.
Jackson Looking for 100th Career Point
Junior center Jessica Jackson has only suited up for 13 games as a Lady Tiger, but is just four points shy of her 100th career point at Memphis heading in to Sunday's game against Rice. She also has a block in four straight games and leads the team with 19 blocks on the season, 10 in league play.
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.
