Jan. 15, 2000

Box Score

MEMPHIS, TENN. - The University of Memphis Lady Tiger Basketball Team trounced the Lady Cougars of Houston Saturday afternoon in convincing fashion, 69-48. Freshman center Shannon Hamp was the games' leading scorer with 16 points in 29 minutes of action.

The Lady Tigers, (9-7, 3-2 Conference USA) got off to a fast start going up 6-0 in the opening minutes of action and would never relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. Houston got as close as four points early on but never could get on track. Memphis went on a 21-6 run in the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 35-16 lead to the locker room at the half. Hamp scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half off a 5-of-5 shooting effort from the field and a 2-of-2 mark from the charity stripe. Memphis also forced 16 turnovers in the first half.

"I was please with our aggressiveness as a whole today," said coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "I think the major key to our win was our energy and enthusiasm in our press. We played a great first half, and then we came out in the second half in a lull for the first five minutes. I applaud our first half, and our rebounding in the second half."

The second half would resemble the first as the Lady Tigers continued their intensity and dominated the rest of the game after going up by 20 with 16 minutes to go. A trey from freshman guard Tamika Rogers extended Memphis' lead to 25 and from there on the lead was never smaller than 21 points. From that point, the Lady Tigers' biggest lead was 28 points which occurred with just under six minutes to play.

As a team, the Lady Tigers shot 78 percent from the charity stripe while the Lady Cougars shot a dismal 52 percent. Memphis shot 48.2 percent from the field while Houston shot 28.8 percent from the field. The Lady Tigers looked more composed in the first half, turning the ball over just nine times, but then Houston forced the Lady Tigers to give up the ball 17 times in the second half.

Other Lady Tigers scoring in double figures were junior forward Tiffany Adkins, and sophomore forward Melissa Abraham who chipped in with 12 and 10, respectively. Adkins had a great all-around effort as she registered team-high eight rebounds to go along with six steals, which also led the Lady Tigers.

ShaRonda Lasseter was the leading scorer for the Lady Cougars with nine points while Shunta Hart was the leading rebounder, grabbing seven boards in 29 minutes of action.

With this win, Memphis has now beaten Houston eight straight times since the start of the series which began with the 1996-97 season. It also continues an 11-game winning streak at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

The Lady Tigers will play their only road game in five meetings when they travel to Chicago to face American Division foe DePaul on Jan. 20. The Lady Tigers will then continue their home stand when they host Marquette (1/23), Cincinnati (1/28), and Louisville (1/30).