Nov. 21, 2011
Marketing & Promotions: University of Memphis Faculty/Staff receive free admission with university ID.
Memphis Notes vs. Southeastern Louisiana
Tigers vs. Southeastern Louisiana
- This is the ninth meeting between Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana. Memphis leads the overall series 5-3, but it's the Lady Lions who hold the last victory in the series. The 2007-08 Lady Lion team upended Memphis 75-72 in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse in the last meeting.
- The Lady Lions also have some deep Mid-South roots. Senior guard Amber Crenshaw is a Memphis native, a graduate of Ridgeway High School, sophomore forward Aja Gibson is from nearby Somerville, junior forward Ja'Lessia Davis spent last season at Southwest Tennessee CC and junior Brandi Simmons is from Jackson, Miss.. Even head coach Lori Davis Jones has Memphis ties. She earned her master's degree in education from Memphis and her assistant coaches, Brent Harris and Eric Dumas, are both Lambuth (now University of Memphis at Lambuth) graduates. Jones coached at Lambuth for eight seasons, helping Lambuth to seven straight 20-win seasons, four straight NAIA National Tournament appearances and top 25 rankings for seven straight seasons before returning to her alma mater to rebuild the Lady Lion program.
- The Tigers' next game will be on Sunday, November 27th at 2 p.m.. That game will be the Tigers' Annual Take a Kid to the Game Day where all kids will receive free admission with one full-price adult ticket (adult tickets are just $5.00 at the door).
- Thanksgiving Break: Memphis will stay at home for Thanksgiving this year after spending the past two seasons in Seattle and Lawrence, Kan., at tournaments. Following Tuesday's game, the team will have a team meal on Thanksgiving and will go to the Memphis Union Mission on Friday to serve a meal there.
-Teddy Bear Promotion Game Set -- The game against UT Martin, an NCAA tournament team last year, will be the Teddy Bear Game this year. Fans bringing a bear to donate to the Mid-South Child Advocacy Center will receive free admission. At halftime, fans can toss their bears on to the court to win a prize and the bears will be collected after that to donate to the Child Advocacy Center. This is the third year the Tigers have collected stuffed bears for the group that works on behalf of abused children.
Lonlack Passes 900 Point Mark; Carter Passes 1,100
With her 10 points in the loss at Illinois, Ramses Lonlack edged closer to the 1,000 career point mark. The senior guard, known in Conference USA for her defensive pressure, is now just 89 points shy of becoming the 21st player in Memphis history to score 1,000 or more career points. Teammate Brittany Carter crossed the 1,100 point mark in the last game with a season-high 23 points.
Carter Snapping Out of Cold Streak?
Senior Brittany Carter found some rough going in the early part of the season. The senior was 0-for-10 from three-point range in the first three games, including an 0-for-6 stint at Illinois. But she snapped out of that in a big way Saturday afternoon, knocking down a career-high five three-point field goals.
Career Night for the Tiger Freshmen
Two of the Tiger freshmen turned in some career highs on Saturday afternoon. Point guard Lauren McGraw had a career-high eight points with five assists and four steals against just one turnover in 24 minutes, while Jailyn Norris finished with a career-best nine points and four steals.
Point Guard Platoon Solid on Saturday
Memphis lost senior guard Alex Winchell to graduation, the lone starter not back on this season's team. That has meant redshirt sophomore Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir has had to step in and that freshman guard Lauren McGraw and senior Danay Collier have had to spell her at the point. Add the loss of Ramses Lonlack for Saturday's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and the Tiger backcourt was a little thin. But it ended up not being a cause for concern. After Collier made her first career start in the absence of Lonlack, it was actually the combination of McGraw at the one and Abdul-Qaadir at the two that turned up the defensive pressure on the Golden Lions. And the duo had a highly effective game running the point, combining for 12 assists against just three turnovers and adding 10 steals. With Collier's numbers added in, it was 15 assists against three turnovers with 11 steals. Abdul-Qaadir finished with a career-high seven assists, while McGraw had a career-best five.
Double-Double Dickson
Junior forward Nicole Dickson was Memphis' zone breaker in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday afternoon, shooting 8-for-9 from inside the arc (although 1-for-5 from beyond the arc). But the Greeneville native also continued her double-double streak, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her third straight double-double. She is now averaging 10.0 points and 8.8 rebounds on the season. She becomes the first Tiger since Ashley Thornton to have three straight double-doubles. Thornton opened the 2008-09 season (McFerrin's first at Memphis) with three straight double-doubles (against Northern Arizona, at Belmont, vs. Louisiana Tech).
Dickson From a Distance
Dickson didn't have quite as much success from beyond the arc against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, shooting 1-for-5. But, that moved her to 63 triples for her career, just two shy of breaking in to the career top 10, where Jessica Hall currently sits.
Road Win Streak Snapped
The Tigers had their road season-opening winning streak snapped with the loss to Illinois. Memphis had won their last two road openers (at Missouri and at Indiana) and were up with less than six minutes to play in the eventual loss at Illinois.
