Tigers declaw the Cougars

Houston scored the first four points in Sunday's game against the University of Memphis, but the Tigers answered with an 11-0 run and never looked back.

The University of Memphis women's basketball team (19-5, 9-2 C-USA) dominated Houston (2-21, 1-10 C-USA), 69-41 at home Sunday. The team was led by Nicole Dickson's 14 points and Jasmine Lee's nine points.

The Tigers' defense stole the show, holding Houston to just 11-of-55 (20 percent) from the floor while Memphis's offense took advantage, shooting 25-of-71 (35 percent).  

"The last two weeks, we have been nothing but defending and rebounding," said head coach Melissa McFerrin. "That has been our mantra in practices."

Memphis entered the second half with a 30-20 lead and broke the game open with a 21-5 run to open the half.

The second-half lead gave freshmen Jailyn Norris and Lauren McGraw the opportunity to play more minutes than usual. Norris scored a career-high 13 points during her 15 minutes in the game.

"When the lead goes up and you get minutes, you still have to do everything right." McGraw said. "You can't just go in there and ‘junk up' shots."

The Cougars were led by Roxana Button's 14 points and Amanda Law's seven points and 11 boards. McFerrin said shutting down Button was a high priority for Memphis.

"(Button) got to the free throw line a little bit more than I would have liked," McFerrin said. "She shot 4-of-22, and we thought she was the key to the game."

Lee grabbed a career-high 17 boards that helped the Tigers outrebound the Cougars 62-35, and earned her a CollegeSportsMadness.com Conference USA Women's Basketball Player of the Week award for the third time this season.

Following Saturday's win, the Tigers remain in second place behind UTEP in the conference standings, and with five games remaining before the C-USA tournament, the Tigers will have a target on their back with the end of the season approaching.

"We have never been in a position where we've truly been the hunted," McFerrin said. "We're going to get that kind of effort, every night, from teams that are trying to make a move in the standings, particularly for conference tournament seeding."

The U of M will embark on a two-game road trip beginning with Marshall on Thursday. In the last meeting between the teams, the Tigers, led by Lee's 21 points and 15 rebounds, defeated the Thundering Herd 71-58 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.