Feb. 14, 2010

Box Score

Complete Box Score in PDF Format

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - The University of Memphis women's basketball team (15-9, 8-3 C-USA) was wearing pink on Valentine's Day to raise breast cancer awareness. They also continued to make Conference USA fans aware that they weren't going anywhere in the fight for first place with a 76-72 win over visiting UCF (7-13, 4-7 C-USA).

The win keeps Memphis tied for first place with Tulane in C-USA with an 8-3 conference record. Memphis visits Tulane Thursday night.

Four Tigers scored in double figures. Freshman Nicole Dickson and sophomore Brittany Carter both scored 17 points to lead the Tigers, while Alex Winchell added 12, and Ramses Lonlack 11. LaToya Bullard added eight assists and four steals for the Tigers.

Memphis began the game on a 7-0 run after a Carter jumper, a Dickson three-pointer from the top of the key, and a Lonlack transition layup. D'Nay Daniels, a former AAU teammate of Tigers Carter and Winchell, got UCF on the board with a pair of free throws, and the Knights would cut the lead to 9-6 with the help of a three-pointer and free throw from Aisha Patrick.

Bullard would find Savannah Ellis for two and slash for a score of her own to help equal two UCF buckets. Then Carter then hit a jumper at the shot clock buzzer and found Lonlack for another transition layup to put Memphis up 17-10.

UCF's Marshay White connected from long rangecutting Memphis' lead to 17-15 before Winchell sparked a 13-3 Memphis run with assists to Dickson and Taylor Mumphrey, as well as three triples of her own, the last coming with less than eight minutes to play in the first half that made the score 30-18.

Daniels led a 13-4 UCF run with eight points of her own to cut the Tiger lead to 34-31. UCF would come within a point (36-35) with a brief run, but two baskets by Dickson, who'd finish the first half with a team-high 11 points, kept the Tigers ahead 38-35 at halftime.

In the first half Memphis shot 57.1 percent (16-28), while holding UCF to 31.4 percent (11-35). Memphis outscored UCF in the paint 22-6 in the half.

Memphis began the second half on a 6-0 run, followed by a 5-0 run by UCF that put the score at 44-40. With 11:46 to play, Emma Cannon's follow would extend a Knight run to 8-3 and give UCF its first lead of the game at 50-49.

Mumphrey and Cannon would both make shots to swap the lead before Carter's three-pointer from the wing and an Ellis bank turnaround gave Memphis a 56-52 lead, one they wouldn't relinquish.

Two baskets by Daniels sandwiched another Carter 3-pointer off an assist from Ellis. Then, helped by Anjelica Mealing's 3-pointer, UCF would creep back to within one (61-60) after a Daniels free throw with just more than six minutes to play.

After baskets by Dickson and two free throws by Carter, UCF would twice cut the deficit back to one, but another Carter basket and baseline jumper from Lonlack would give Memphis a 69-64 lead. The Knights would cut the lead to three twice more, but four straight free throws by Bullard helped Memphis maintain a 73-68 lead when they called a timeout with 1:36 to play.

With 43.1 seconds on the clock Bullard hit a free throw and got the rebound after she missed the second attempt. Lonlack was fouled with 39.5 seconds and hit the first before Dickson rebounded the miss after the second attempt. Then Carter was fouled and missed both free throws with Memphis still leading 75-68.

Carter would hit a free throw, and Cannon would score at the buzzer for UCF to make the final score 76-72.

Daniels led UCF with 25 points, adding nine rebounds and three steals, while Marshay White came off the bench with 16 points and four assists in 36 minutes of play. Emma Cannon came off the bench to lead all rebounders with 14 boards, including 10 offensive, but a trio of those came at the end of the game before she finally stuck in the final bucket of the game.

Memphis returns to C-USA play on Thursday with a first-place battle at Tulane. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. Central Standard Time tipoff at Fogelman Arena on Tulane's campus in New Orleans. The game will be broadcast via radio on FM 91.7 WUMR.