Tiger Womens Basketball Team Goes 2-1 on the Road with Win

With a second straight 30-point outing from forward Nicole Dickson and with a career-high 22 points from Ann Jones, the University of Memphis women's basketball team (3-1) closed out a three-game road swing with an 89-76 win at Texas-Arlington (0-4), Wednesday. Memphis finishes the three-game road trip with a 2-1 road record.

"We got off to a good start, but we've got to guard better," Head Coach Melissa McFerrin said. "There was still several times during the game that they got right to the rim and our transition defense has to come around. I was happy to see Ann Jones stay in there tonight. She had a couple of early fouls, but she found a way to stay on the court, and that's important for us. But we have to be more disciplined on the defensive end of the floor."

Memphis quickly got out of the gates, sprinting out to a 14-0 lead behind seven straight points from Dickson. It was part of a hot first half for Dickson, who finished with 23 first half points, including a career-high five (5) three-point field goals.

But UTA recovered after committing five turnovers in the early minutes of the first half and got out in transition behind the Tigers' defense, cutting into what was shaping up to be a big Tiger first half lead, as both Asianna Fuqua-Bey and Ann Jones picked up a pair of first half fouls. But Dickson helped hold the Mavericks at bay, helping the Tigers hit the locker room with a 46-28 halftime lead.

Dickson again jumpstarted the scoring to start the second half, and the Tigers used a 27-4 advantage in second chance points to stretch the lead to as many as 32 at 73-41 with 8:32 to play before the home team started a 31-12 run that trimmed the Tigers' lead to 14 at 84-70 with 2:02 to go with the Tigers' bench players in the lineup.

Melissa McFerrin opted to let the bench get some experience in a pressure situation, and the Tigers went 3-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to hang on to the 89-76 victory.

Nicole Dickson finished with a game-high 30 points, adding 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the 11th of her career. Sophomore center Ann Jones and freshman guard Ariel Hearn each chipped in career high points to help the cause. Jones finished with 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the floor, while Hearn finished with 17 points, including 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.

The Tigers out-rebounded UTA 55-34, getting 20 offensive boards and turning them in to 27 second chance points.

Memphis returns home to host 2012 NCAA participants Prairie View A&M, Sunday, at 2 p.m.