Nov. 27, 2009

Box Score

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SEATTLE, Wash. - - Sophomore guard Brittany Carter scored a school-record 49 points with 11 rebounds in a 98-83 win over Sacramento State (1-4) at the University of Washington tournament, Friday. The win is the third straight for the Tigers and bumps them to 3-2 on the season. Carter's 49 points broke Tamika Whitmore's school record of 45 points against Arkansas State on Mar. 17th, 1999.

"I never imagined breaking (Tamika Whitmore)'s record. I hadn't even thought of it," Carter said. "I'm excited, I'm more excited we got the win," Carter said. "I had a lot of help from my teammates, (LaToya) was making plays, Alex hit those threes...it was a team effort, it was fun playing with them and this is exactly how I like to play. My uncle and my mom flew in from Atlanta. It's exciting to have them here to see me play. "

The game opened as the track meet the Tigers expected, with both teams knotted at 10-10 at the under 16 minute media timeout. Sacramento State launched four threes in the first 4:04 of the game, connecting with two.

"I'm really proud of our kids because I watched the first 10 minutes of a game against Sacramento State and went `wow,' because that type of team forces you to adjust so many things you do. This is a team that is capable of beating a lot of people. They threw some zone at us, the thing that made it so successful for them was they scored, we got the ball on the floor slowly and they absolutely had the zone set by the time we got there," Head Coach Melissa McFerrin said.

Memphis built up a lead of six at 24-17, but the high-energy Hornets got Memphis posts Savannah Ellis and Nicole Dickson in foul trouble, with both picking up a second personal foul before the under 12 minute media timeout. In to the Memphis bench, the Hornets then started finding open shooters, using a 5-0 run to close the Memphis lead to 24-21. But Memphis attacked the Hornet zone that had allowed Brittany Carter to score 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the game, and pulled back ahead 30-23 with 7:37 to play in the opening stanza.

The Tigers held on to the lead until Ramses Lonlack took an elbow to the face, opening a cut over her eye as her offensive player knocked down a three to cut the deficit to one at 1:55 to play in the first. But junior center Starkitsha Luellen-Higgins hit one of two free-throws to make it a field goal difference between the two teams, and the two teams traded a pair of free-throws before the Tigers hit the locker room up 43-41 at the half. Sophomore guard Brittany Carter scored 21 points in the opening half, forcing Sacramento State to resort to a 2-3 zone for a majority of the later minutes of the first half.

Memphis started a sluggish second half with five turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half, but two different times with a defender's hand right in her face, Carter knocked down long jumpers to pushed the Memphis lead 54-49.

The Tigers could not push the lead any further ahead than nine, as the game tempo picked up again and the Hornets used scoring from six different players to power a 9-2 run that cut the Memphis lead to one at 72-71.

The Hornets would bounce back to tie the game two more times, including a 78-78 tie with 5:01 to play following a Jasmine Cannady layup. Cannady would score 20 in the loss, but Carter answered back with a pair of jumpers to push the Tigers back in front 82-78 with 4:00 to play. Following a break to remove an injured Tiger player, Sacramento State got a three from Emily Christensen that against pulled Sacramento State within one at 82-81. But Carter was fouled again, and stepped to the line and knocked down a pair of free-throws to make the lead three at 84-81. Taylor Mumphrey then grabbed one of her five offensive rebounds and stuck it back for a 86-81 lead, and Winchell added a three from the wing with the clock winding down to push the lead to eight. From there, Carter went 7-for-8, giving Memphis its first double-digit lead since the 12:03 mark early in the second half.

Nicole Dickson put back a shot to make the final, 98-83, in the Tigers favor.

Carter finished with 49 points and 11 rebounds, while Winchell, a former AAU teammate of Carter's back in Georgia, added a season-high 17 points and a team-high five assists. Mumphrey led the team with nine rebounds, including five offensive, while adding eight points.

"Brittany's been a little inconsistent with us to date," McFerrin said, "and yesterday after Brittany did not have a good practice and we were on the bus on the way to the hotel, I told her we have got to figure this out. You need to be the best player in the gym every day, and that's the conversation we just had yesterday. The great thing about Brittany is that she took that conversation to heart and she was the best player in the gym today."

Charday Hunt and Jasmine Cannady each scored 20 points for Sacramento State, which Memphis held to just 7-for-25 from three-point range.

Memphis will remain in the Seattle area and will face Sacramento State's fellow Big Sky Conference member, Eastern Washington, Sunday at noon (PT). Fans can hear that game on 91.7 FM (WUMR). Fans outside WUMR's listening area can also listen to the online stream of the game for free at www.gotigersgo.com.

-www.gotigersgo.com-