Short Scores Career-High 16 In Mustangs’ Loss To Memphis
DALLAS (SMU) – Raven Short scored a career-high 16 points, and Akil Simpson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season, but the Tigers(18-5, 8-2 Conference USA) came back to beat the Mustangs (12-11, 5-5 C-USA) 60-55 Thursday night in Moody Coliseum.
Short went 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and Brittney Hardy scored seven points with 13 rebounds in her second game at SMU. Christine Elliott finished with four points and grabbed nine rebounds. SMU grabbed a season-high 51 rebounds, while the Tigers pulled down 39.
The Mustangs out-scored Memphis 15-3 from the 7:55 mark until there was just 1:42 left in the first half, taking a 31-21 lead. SMU finished the half shooting 40.0-percent from the field, 16-of-40, including three 3-pointers, for a 36-23 lead at halftime.
Simpson and Short led the Mustangs on the offensive end, scoring 12 points each, and the Mustangs kept the league’s top-ranked offensive-rebounding team off the glass, allowing just two second-chance points in the first 20 minutes. In the second half, the Tigers picked up three offensive rebounds in the first 2:21, cutting the lead to six. Memphis tied the game at 38-38 with 14:37 left. The game hung in the balance the rest of the way, with neither team taking more than a three-point lead until the Tigers pushed it to five with just under five minutes left.
SMU battled back to tie the game 53-53 with 2:06 left to play, but the Tigers made
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three free throws down the stretch. Nicole Dickson’s tip-in with 52 seconds left gave Memphis a four-point lead, but SMU cut it to two, 57-55, on a jumper by Sabrina McKinney with 46 seconds left. The Mustangs forced the Tigers into a missed shot with 21 seconds left, but Jasmine Lee got the rebound and was fouled on the put-back. She made the free throw to give the Tigers the 60-55 win.
The Mustangs host Southern Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will air live on the CBS Sports Network. SMU will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day with a Fan Fest at 11:45, and the Mustangs will also be working to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research in cooperation with the “Play for Kay” initiative. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.smumustangs.com or call 214-SMU-GAME.
