Women's Basketball Earns Big Victory In Season Opener

Friday, November 11

Memphis, Tenn.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

1-0

Missouri State

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Missouri State	14	12	18	16	60
Memphis	17	10	21	21	69

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Women's Basketball Earns Big Victory In Season Opener

Nov 11, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Tigers knock off NCAA Tournament team Missouri State in first game of the year

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Career nights by senior Taylor Williams and junior Brea Elmore helped lead the University of Memphis women's basketball team to a 69-60 victory over Missouri State Friday evening at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Three players scored in double figures for the Tigers as Memphis improves to 1-0 on the season.

"We've talked a lot about our players finding new roles," said head coach Melissa McFerrin. "Tonight we really embraced it. Taylor Williams really embraced needing to be a double-digit scorer. I thought Cheyenne Creighton really embraced having to be our go-to post player. I thought Brea Elmore on the court was that junior/senior point guard you really want."

Williams finished with a career-high 17 points by going 7-for-8 from the floor with a perfect 3-for-3 showing from beyond the arc. In addition to her 17 points, she dished out six assists while pulling down five rebounds and recording two steals. Elmore, after starting the game 1-for-8 from the floor in the first two and a half quarters, finished going 4-for-4 with a career-high 13 points in 32 minutes of action.

The game started solid for both teams as each offense was clicking in the first five minutes of the contest. A three-pointer by Williams with 4:05 to play in the first ignited a 9-0 run by Memphis to pull the Tigers ahead of the Lady Bears, 17-9.

A quick 6-2 run to start the second for Missouri State quickly evened the game back out. Then, for the next almost two quarters, neither team had more than a four-point lead.

Five-straight points by Elmore followed up by another three-pointer by Williams to close out the third quarter gave Memphis a four-point, 48-44, advantage that the Tigers would hang on to throughout the remainder of the contest.

"Our defense was solid, we changed defenses a lot," added McFerrin. "I thought our team had a great awareness in what defense we were in and I think that really affected how Missouri State could execute."

With 3:03 remaining in the fourth, freshman Taylor Barnes produced a steal and quickly scored to put the Tigers up nine, its largest lead of the night. A 5-for-6 effort down the stretch at the charity stripe by redshirt-junior guard Breigha Wilder-Cochran helped secure the 69-60 victory for the Tigers.

In addition to the scoring efforts of Williams and Elmore, Creighton scored 16 for the Tigers with nine rebounds. As a whole, Memphis shot 57.4 percent from the floor, 55.6 percent from the three-point line and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Tigers outrebounded Missouri State 33-25 and finished the night with 20 assists on 27 made baskets.

Memphis has a quick turnaround this weekend with a Sunday game against Samford in Birmingham, Ala. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is slated for 2 p.m. For more information on the Memphis women's basketball team, follow us on Twitter at @MemphisWBB.