QUICK FACTS SCHOOL INFORMATION Location: ...............................Memphis, Tenn. Founded: ............................................... 1912 Enrollment: ......................................... 22,725 Nickname:............................................ Tigers Colors: .................................... Blue and Gray Arena: ......................Elma Roane Fieldhouse Capacity:............................................... 2,565 President: ......................... Dr. Shirley Raines Athletic Director: ......................... Tom Bowen SWA: ......................................... Lynn Parkes Conference: ........................ Conference USA Web Site: ......................www.gotigersgo.com
STAFF INFORMATION Head Coach:.......................Melissa McFerrin Alma Mater: ............................Missouri, 1983 Record at Memphis: ...............81-54/5th year Overall record: ....................131-124/8th year Associate Head Coach: .............. Keila Whittington Alma Mater: ...............................Dillard, 1989 Assistant Coach:...........................Erin Grant Alma Mater: ....................... Texas Tech, 2006 Assistant Coach:...................Michael Wholey Alma Mater: ............. Emerson College, 2004 Dir. of Basketball Opps: ..............Donease Smith Alma Mater: ..........Central Missouri St., 1998
Athletics Communications Director: ........................................Ron Mears WBKB Contact:..................... Tammy DeGroff Office Phone: ...........................901-678-5787 Cell Phone: ..............................901-734-1504 Email:........................tdegroff@memphis.edu
GAME DAY BROADCASTS Game-day station ............... WUMR, 91.7 FM Play-by-play .............................Jeff Brightwell
TEAM INFORMATION 2011-12 Record: .....................................25-8 ............Home (17-2) Away (7-5) Neutral (1-1) 2011-12 C-USA Record/Finish: .......13-3/2nd Starters Returning/Lost:............................ 2/3 Letterwinners Returning/Lost:................... 5/6 Newcomers:................................................. 8
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE #10....................Bill KEESE Ob dool Ka deer #11 .................. Ja MEE lah Uh JOHN uh coo #21..................Aze ee ahn ah Foo kwah Bay #55..............................Krih SHUN da Harvey
Tigers vs. Prairie View A&M This is the first meeting between Memphis and Prairie View A&M. The two teams were on a collision course last year to meet in the St. John’s tournament, but the Tigers avoided that meeting with a win over Louisiana Tech and faced host St. John’s instead. With the Win at UT Arlington - Memphis closes out a three-game road swing with a 2-1 record. - Nicole Dickson did some major rewrites in the Tigers’ game notes. She posted the team’s first doubledouble of the season, finishing 30 points and 13 rebounds. She becomes the first Tiger to score between 30 and 35 points since Brittany Carter scored 31 against East Carolina on Feb. 6, 2011. She is also the first Tiger to connect of five or more three-point field goals (she finished with six) since Danay Collier had five last year in a win at Southern Miss (1/19/12). - Sophomore post Ann Jones finished with a career-high 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the field. She was just three rebounds shy of her first career double-double, finishing with seven rebounds in 18 minutes of play. Dickson Goes Hits 30 Point Mark for Second Straight Game Nicole Dickson finished the UT Arlington win with 30 points, marking the first time in her career that she has put together back-to-back 30-point outings. She had set a career-high with 36 points in the win at Illinois State on Sunday. Dickson hit a career-best five three-point field goals in the first half of the win at UT Arlington, finishing with six triples, 30 points and 13 rebounds. The double-double was the first of the season for the senior, but was the 11th of her career. Two Over 20 Again In the first four games, Memphis has had a pair of Tigers score 20 or more points in a game twice -- both of those involving Nicole Dickson. In the season-opener, it was freshman Mooriah Rowser (24) teaming with Dickson to score 20 or more points (Dickson finished with 20). In the win at UT Arlington, it was sophomore Ann Jones, who complemented Dickson’s 30 point night with a 22 point effort of her own in a win. Freshman point guard Ariel Hearn just missed becoming the third Tiger to hit the 20-point mark, finishing wiht 17 points. Another Start for McGraw With the injury to freshman Mooriah Rowser in the Illinois State win, sophomore guard Lauren McGraw stepped into the Tigers’ starting lineup for the first time this season. The role as a starter is one that McGraw should be familiar with. She started four games last season and played in all 32 contests. Tigers Gain Another Player for the 2012-13 Roster Memphis got word on Tuesday that they will have the services of senior guard Jamila Ajanaku for the remainder of the 2012-13 season. Ajanaku is a 6-1 senior guard who transferred back to Memphis from Middle Tennessee State over the summer. Ajanaku played in 38 games with two starts in three seasons at Middle Tennessee. She comes to her hometown team after playing at Central High School in Memphis, where she was the No. 20 ranked wing in the country according to ESPN.com. She received a waiver from the NCAA to play this season in order to be closer to home for family medical reasons. Dickson With a Career-High Sunday Night Melissa McFerrin had her hands full early in the first half of the game at Illinois State. Ariel Hearn and Ann Jones were both on the bench with two fouls when freshman Mooriah Rowser, the Tigers’ leading scorer in the early part of the season, went down with an injury that kept her on the bench for the rest of the game. But Nicole Dickson took on the scoring burden from there, scoring 18 straight points from the 1:23 mark in the first half until the 15:00 minute mark in the second half. Dickson went on to finish with a career-high 36 points on 15-for-25 shooting. Dickson’s 36 points marked the first time a Tiger scored between 35-40 points since Victoria Crawford scored 38 points in a WNIT loss at Western Kentucky in 2004. Only One in Double Digits in a Win Senior forward Nicole Dickson was the only Tiger to score double-digit points on Sunday night, but with her scoring 36 points, it still worked in the Tigers’ favor. The last time Memphis had just one player score double-digit points was on Nov. 28th of 2010 when Alex Winchell went 5-for-10 from three-point range to finish with 15 points in a 58-55 victory over North Dakota State at the Kansas University Thanskgiving tournament. The last time Memphis did not have a starter score double-digit points? Dec. 29th of 2010 in a 6234 win over McNeese State.
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Dickson Nabs a Pair of Weekly Honors Scoring a career-best 36 points, adding a team-best four steals and two blocked shots to go with two assists in 38 minutes of play helped net senior forward Nicole Dickson a pair of weekly honors. She earned her first career C-USA Player of the Week honor and was also named the Tennessee Sportswriters Association women’s basketball player of the week. It was her first career honor with the TSWA as well. About the Freshman Starters When Ariel Hearn and Mooriah Rowser appeared in the starting line-up in the season opener against Grambling State, they were doing something that isn’t done often at Memphis. They became the first two freshmen to start the regular season opener since Malissa Bush and Kelly Herron appeared in the starting line-up in 1997-98. Memphis lost that game with Bush and Herron in the line-up, 68-65, at Southern Illinois, but that team went on to post a record of 22-8 overall and 13-3 in Conference USA play, winning the C-USA championship and appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Bush and Herron did have some more experienced teammates to help them out though. Former WNBA players Tamika Whitmore and LaTonya Johnson were Tigers teammates to the duo. UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
2012-13 MEMPHIS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES