MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis women’s basketball got their first win of the year 101-54 over Howard University and they did so thanks to a hot shooting day.
After dropping their home opener to Columbia last week, Coach Katrina Merriweather said her team came into Saturday locked in and with something to prove.
"Having your head down too long is the worst thing you can do especially the first game of the year knowing it's such a long season," she said. "Howard was an NCAA team from last year and then won their play in game. They're going to win a bunch of games again this year so this is really big win for us."
Memphis jumped on Howard early and exploded in the first quarter thanks to four consecutive three-pointers from Makaiya Brooks off the bench to give Memphis a 17-point lead that they’d never relinquish.
"Makaiya’s scoring is not the obstacle. It’s always going to be valuing defense because where she came from she shot a bunch of shots and the majority of them went in and that’s why she’s in Memphis. She’s a shotmaker," Merriweather said.
Brooks finished with a career high 15 points on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
The team was paced by the steady hand and steady scoring of seniors Madison Griggs and Jamirah Schutes. 18 points a piece while grooming freshman Tanyuel Welch along the way.
"Experience, you can’t put a dollar on it, you can’t put anything on it. It’s not about stats. It’s just things you learn from playing game after game after game. (Griggs and Schutes) keep everybody balanced out there," Merriweather said. "They know what I want, they know what we want as a staff. They do a great job communicating that to the other ones."
Welch has collected a lot of minutes early in the season. The Anderson, Indiana freshman finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 25 minutes off the bench.
"In Tanyuel (Welch) we have a freshman point guard and there’s going to be bumps like with any point guard and (Griggs and Schutes) have been great with her. They’ve been in love with how competitive she is. I feel like with everything, it’s going to come together slowly but surely," Merriweather said.
The Tigers beat Howard 101-54. The first time they’ve hit triple digits since 2016. That team went to the AAC Championship game and the WNIT.
Memphis will be at home again next Wednesday against Miami (OH).
