Memphis plunders the Lady Pirates

The University of Memphis women's basketball team (16-4, 6-1 C-USA) made it five in a row on Sunday, extending their five-game Conference USA winning streak 69-56 on the road over East Carolina (6-14, 0-6 C-USA).

The Tigers stayed on top throughout, leading by double digits for most of the game and by as many as 18 points in the second half.

"I thought our team was outstanding," head coach Melissa McFerrin said. "I thought our energy was great all night long."

Jasmine Lee led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds, her third straight double-double and tenth of the season. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir added 12 points, and Nicole Dickson contributed 10 points and led the team with six assists.

"She (Lee) has been absolutely outstanding," McFerrin said. "Jasmine is going and getting. She is seeking the basketball at every moment."

The U of M dominated defensively in the first half, forcing seven ECU turnovers. A three-pointer by Dickson opened up a double-digit lead that would last throughout the half. The Tigers went to the locker room on top, 36-24.

Despite trailing for most of the game, ECU stayed competitive. The Lady Pirates responded to their halftime deficit, rallying early in the second period with a 5-3 run that narrowed the deficit to 39-30.

Memphis answered with an 18-9 run that extended their advantage to 18, but the Lady Pirates would not back down. With 4:26 left in regulation, ECU's Kristine Mial and Katie Paschal teamed up to score seven straight points to cut the lead to single digits, 61-52.

"Very seldom is there going to be a game where you come onto somebody's home court, go up 18 and they just decide, ‘Eighteen is good enough; let's let it go to 20,'" McFerrin said.

Dickson ended ECU's momentum with a shot in the paint. The Tigers scored eight more points in the final minutes of the game to finish off the Lady Pirates, 69-56.

Lee was recognized for her performance as CollegeSportsMadness.com high-major player of the week and C-USA player of the week for the second time this season.

The Tigers will face Southern Miss for the second time this season tomorrow night. In their last meeting, The U of M dominated the Lady Eagles 85-44 in Hattiesburg.

Although USM has struggled this season, McFerrin said she doesn't expect this matchup to be as easy as the last.

"We'll expect nothing less than a really tough fight when Southern Miss comes to our place Thursday," McFerrin said.