Jan. 4, 2002

MEMPHIS, TENN. - On Sunday, Jan. 6, the Lady Tigers will open C-USA action at Saint Louis in a meeting to be broadcast in St. Louis by Charter Communications. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Memphis is currently 4-2 in C-USA openers, and 2-2 in C-USA road openers.

The Lady Tigers have won three of their last four league openers, but have never opened the C-USA schedule against SLU. Memphis enters the meeting with a 6-7 record after dropping an 82-80 decision to Middle Tennessee in overtime on Wednesday evening. Junior Shannon Hamp led Memphis' efforts with 26 points off an 11-of-17 effort from the field. Senior Melissa Abraham also recorded her eighth career double-double with 12 points and 12 boards against MTSU.

Abraham currently leads Memphis in rebounding, averaging 7.4 boards a game while Hamp leads in scoring with 16.4 points per game. Junior point guard Kalara McFadyen leads the squad in steals with 40, after forcing seven steals against MTSU. She has stepped in to run the Lady Tiger offense, averaging 5.2 assists per game.

The Lady Tigers own a 16-1 series advantage over SLU, dating back to the 1976-77 season. Memphis has won the last three straight over the Billikens, including a 66-52 victory in the first round of the 2001 C-USA Tournament. The Lady Tigers are 7-0 in games played in Saint Louis, and their only loss to SLU was a 73-72 defeat in Memphis during the 1998-99 season.

The Billikens are 7-6 overall after losing to Austin Peay State, 78-61, Wednesday evening on the road. Angie Lewis leads SLU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds. She is one of just two Billikens to start all 13 games this season, and has scored in double digits in 11 games. The 6-1 sophomore is a 52 percent shooter from the field and leads her squad in blocked shots with 11. She scored 24 points against APSU earlier this week.

The Billikens have had a tough season as far as injuries are concerned as key players LaKia Jones, Shanda Greer, Kristi Holloway, Harmonie King, Christan Shelton and Stephanie Solomon are all listed as game-to-game with foot injuries.

SLU is currently 5-1 at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center this year. Their only home loss was a 64-53 defeat to Missouri.

The Lady Tigers will host Tulane and Southern Miss next weekend in traditionally one of the toughest C-USA series that Memphis has each year. Memphis will face the Green Wave on Friday at 7 p.m. and USM on Sunday at 3 p.m. Both games are slated for broadcast as Time Warner will tape the Tulane game for a delayed broadcast and WKNO-TV 10 will air the USM match-up live.