Temple University Athletics
Friday, December 30
Philadelphia, Pa.
2:00 P.M.
Temple University
vs
Memphis
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Women’s Basketball Opens Conference Play with Visit from Memphis
12.28.22 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple women's basketball team (5-7, 0-0 AAC) will open conference play on Friday, Dec. 30 as the Owls host the Memphis Tigers (8-5, 0-0 AAC). This will conclude an eight-day holiday break for both Temple and Memphis.
LAST TIME OUT: Ole Miss 75 @ Temple 55
> Temple suffered its largest loss of the season, falling to the visiting Ole Miss Rebels.
> Ole Miss got up 26-9 after the first quarter and never relinquished the lead.
> Wing Tiarra East scored 14 points and led the team in rebounding (5).
THE OWLS
> Point guard Aleah Nelson leads the Cherry & White in scoring, putting up 15.4 points per game. Nelson has consistently been near the top of the conference in assists as well. The Baltimore native is currently second in the conference with 4.5 apg.
> East is second in the team in scoring with 12.0 ppg. She has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, while grabbing at least five rebounds in the last six contests. The Louisville, Ky. native is leading the team in rebounds with 6.5 per game.
> Guard Jasha Clinton ranks third on the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game. She scored a team-high 16 points against Ole Miss.
> Shooting guard Tarriyonna Gary scored 11 against the Rebels. Gary is scoring 9.3 points per contest. She is tied for fourth in the American in three-point percentage (.383).
SCOUTING MEMPHIS
> Memphis had a solid 2021-22 campaign, earning its first winning record (16-12) since the 2015-16 season. The Tigers went 6-9 in conference play and won their opening round game versus 10 seed East Carolina in the conference tournament before dropping to 2 seed USF.
> This season, the team sits at 8-5 entering conference play. The Tigers have taken losses to Columbia, St. John's, No. 6 Indiana, No. 1 South Carolina, and Middle Tennessee State. They are currently on a three-game winning streak, with victories over Towson, Saint Louis, and Xavier.
> Madison Griggs and Jamirah Shutes have made noise this season for Memphis. Shutes is a fifth-year guard who has scored in double-figures in each game this season. She is third in the conference in scoring (15.7 ppg). Griggs is also averaging double-figures (12.6 ppg) while shooting at an elite clip. She ranks second in the American in three-point shooting percentage (.444).
> Katrina Merriweather has been at the helm for Memphis since last season. Merriweather has overseen a tremendous turnaround for a program that had only seen one winning season in the previous eight years. Before her time as a Tiger, Merriweather was the head coach at Wright State for five seasons where she was the first coach in program history to lead the Raiders to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. She is 24-17 at Memphis and 137-64 overall.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and Memphis have played each other every season since Temple joined the AAC in 2013. The Owls hold an 11-4 advantage over the Tigers.
> Temple lost the lone matchup between the two last season, 64-61 on the road. East had one of her best performances of her freshman campaign, scoring nine points and grabbing ten rebounds.
> The Cherry & White had taken the previous five matchups before that. Prior to last season, Memphis' last victory was a 100-97, 5 overtime win in 2016.
UP NEXT
> Temple opens the road portion of its conference slate, taking a trip down to Florida to face USF on Jan. 3. The game will be nationally broadcasted on ESPNU.
LAST TIME OUT: Ole Miss 75 @ Temple 55
> Temple suffered its largest loss of the season, falling to the visiting Ole Miss Rebels.
> Ole Miss got up 26-9 after the first quarter and never relinquished the lead.
> Wing Tiarra East scored 14 points and led the team in rebounding (5).
THE OWLS
> Point guard Aleah Nelson leads the Cherry & White in scoring, putting up 15.4 points per game. Nelson has consistently been near the top of the conference in assists as well. The Baltimore native is currently second in the conference with 4.5 apg.
> East is second in the team in scoring with 12.0 ppg. She has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, while grabbing at least five rebounds in the last six contests. The Louisville, Ky. native is leading the team in rebounds with 6.5 per game.
> Guard Jasha Clinton ranks third on the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game. She scored a team-high 16 points against Ole Miss.
> Shooting guard Tarriyonna Gary scored 11 against the Rebels. Gary is scoring 9.3 points per contest. She is tied for fourth in the American in three-point percentage (.383).
SCOUTING MEMPHIS
> Memphis had a solid 2021-22 campaign, earning its first winning record (16-12) since the 2015-16 season. The Tigers went 6-9 in conference play and won their opening round game versus 10 seed East Carolina in the conference tournament before dropping to 2 seed USF.
> This season, the team sits at 8-5 entering conference play. The Tigers have taken losses to Columbia, St. John's, No. 6 Indiana, No. 1 South Carolina, and Middle Tennessee State. They are currently on a three-game winning streak, with victories over Towson, Saint Louis, and Xavier.
> Madison Griggs and Jamirah Shutes have made noise this season for Memphis. Shutes is a fifth-year guard who has scored in double-figures in each game this season. She is third in the conference in scoring (15.7 ppg). Griggs is also averaging double-figures (12.6 ppg) while shooting at an elite clip. She ranks second in the American in three-point shooting percentage (.444).
> Katrina Merriweather has been at the helm for Memphis since last season. Merriweather has overseen a tremendous turnaround for a program that had only seen one winning season in the previous eight years. Before her time as a Tiger, Merriweather was the head coach at Wright State for five seasons where she was the first coach in program history to lead the Raiders to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. She is 24-17 at Memphis and 137-64 overall.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and Memphis have played each other every season since Temple joined the AAC in 2013. The Owls hold an 11-4 advantage over the Tigers.
> Temple lost the lone matchup between the two last season, 64-61 on the road. East had one of her best performances of her freshman campaign, scoring nine points and grabbing ten rebounds.
> The Cherry & White had taken the previous five matchups before that. Prior to last season, Memphis' last victory was a 100-97, 5 overtime win in 2016.
UP NEXT
> Temple opens the road portion of its conference slate, taking a trip down to Florida to face USF on Jan. 3. The game will be nationally broadcasted on ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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