The University of Memphis women's basketball team can't seem to get it together on the big stage this season.
On Sunday night at Hofheinz Pavilion, the Tigers (14-6, 3-3 Conference USA) lost to the C-USA- leading University of Houston Cougars, 81-68. The game was tightly contested for much of the first half and midway through the second, but the Cougars used a 9-2 spurt to break away in the second half.
The Tigers' all-time record is an even .500 (20-20) when playing on television. The U of M is 1-5 when playing on CBS College Sports.
"The difference in the game was transition defense," said U of M head coach Melissa McFerrin. "That and the fact that Houston's Brittney Scott, who scored a team high with 20 points, got loose from the three point line. You combine the two, and we gave up a lot of points in those two ways."
The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from long range for the game. Conversely, the Tigers shot 41 percent from the field and 27 percent from three.
The Tigers got off to a good start and led 9-6 at the under-16 media timeout. After the timeout, though, the Tigers went cold and allowed five different Cougars to score during an 11-0 run. The Cougars led, 17-9, with less than 12 minutes left in the first half.
The Cougars led 32-27 at halftime.
"I wasn't completely discouraged by this game," said McFerrin. "We obviously got some lessons to learn, and the fact is that Houston gained a lot of possessions in this game on loose balls and they turned them into points. That was the turning point of the game when it seemed like we had came up with the ball."
Memphis got the lead down to as little as three points in the second half, but empty trips on offense and a lack of offensive rebounds allowed Houston to convert several fast break opportunities. The Cougars also knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to power an 8-0 run that stretched their lead to double-digits, 48-38.
The Tigers never got closer.
Memphis was led by junior guard Brittany Carter, who finished with 23 points and four rebounds. Jasmine Lee added 18 points and five rebounds off the bench.
"We couldn't find that third scorer tonight," said McFerrin. "I thought Brittany (Carter) and Jasmine (Lee) did all they could to help us. We needed Nicole Dickson tonight, but she didn't have it. And when you're playing Houston who has five really good players on the court at one time, we need at least three players to step up and help win the game."
The Tigers will play Marshall at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va., on Thursday at 6 p.m.
