Feb. 24, 2006

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Playing with just seven players Friday night, the Memphis (3-23, 1-14) fell 70-62 in a shootout with Houston. Memphis was without second-leading scorer, Paris Leonard, who sat out the game for a violation of team rules.

"Our girls played really hard tonight," Head Coach Blair Savage said. "We knew our bench would be short and that the rotation would be really important. I think in the second half, you saw how tired our legs were. We had a lot of shots hitting off the front of the rim and we were just not really fresh. Houston did a great job of penetrating and attacking the glass and getting to the free-throw line."

Memphis jumped out to an early start, with junior Devin Necaise opening the game with a three. Memphis sprinted out to a 12-4 lead off the strength of two steals and four Cougar turnovers. The Lady Tigers stretched that lead to 20-10 when Houston used a 7-0 run to pull to 20-17 at the 10:42 mark. Senior Tamika Butler answered Houston's run with a pair of threes to put the Lady Tigers back up 26-17 before Houston used some jumpers off the drive to pull back to 28-24 at the 6:21 mark.

Memphis was then whistled for fouls on consecutive trips down the floor, and Houston knocked down the free-throws to pull to 33-31 with 1:58 to play in the half. But sophomore Gresh Gorman drove the lane, drawing her own foul, knocking down both free-throws and sending Memphis to the locker room, up 35-31.

Houston made the adjustment to taking advantage of its athleticism by driving the lane over the break and came out and forced a quick Memphis turnover and a pair of hurried shots. On the offensive end, Houston used a quick 4-0 run to tie the game at 35 all off a jumper from Emily Fryers. Gorman bounced back with a steal, which she dished out to a waiting Tamika Butler in three-point range. But again the Cougars quickly answered back, as Ryan Meyers got the bucket and one to again knot the score at 38 all. Butler fed Megan Gooch for a 40-38 lead, but on the defensive end, junior guard Ashley Howard picked up her fourth foul at the 16:06 mark, shortening an already shallow Lady Tiger bench.

With Howard on the bench, a bulk of the responsibility for rebounding went to her teammates. Gooch responded, with a career-high 14 rebounds, including eight in the first half. But Houston answered with a 10-0 run, putting the Cougars up 54-47 with 9:47 to play, forcing Memphis to call a second timeout.

Gooch ended the Lady Tiger scoring drought with a turnaround jumper in the lane, starting a 4-0 Memphis run that cut the deficit to 55-51 at the 7:33 mark. The physical intensity of the game then went up a notch when Tye Jackson was whistled for an offensive charge, and then a subsequent technical foul, ending her night with five fouls at the 6:46 mark. But Butler stepped to the line and hit one of two technical shots, missing an opportunity to sway the momentum back to the home bench. A Nakazi Glover jumper and a Sha'Ratta Hawkins three pulled Houston up 62-54.

But Memphis was still not done. Butler hit a quick three to pull to 62-57, forcing Houston to call a timeout. Memphis turned up the pressure on the Cougar guards, resulting in an Ashley Howard steal which she turned into an assist when she found a wide open Devin Necaise for three after corralling an offensive rebound, making the score 65-62 with 51 seconds remaining. Memphis called a timeout to set up the team's strategy, which included fouling the Cougar guards. But Becky Gibson was up to the challenge, stepping to the line and hitting both free-throws to keep Memphis at bay and to help Houston cap the game with a 70-62 final score.

"You have to give Gibson credit," Savage said. "Houston was last in the league in free-throw shooting and she was the one we wanted to foul and she just stepped to the line and hit her shots."

Tamika Butler led all scorers with 22 points, including five shots from three-point range. Devin Necaise added 13 points, but struggling with 5-for-21 shooting. Both Lady Tiger guards played all 40 minutes of the game. Megan Gooch finished with a career-high 14 rebounds, adding five points, while Ashley Howard, who battled foul trouble all night, finished with 1- rebounds and six points.

Nakazi Glover led Houston with 19 points, while Sha'Ratta Hawkins added 14 points. Emily Fryters fell just short of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Memphis will wrap up its 2005 regular season with a Sunday contest against Rice. That game will be the final home game for Lady Tiger seniors Jamie Bradley and Tamika Butler. Rice comes in off an 83-69 win and in a three-way fight for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming C-USA tournament.