UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 11 seed Memphis was the final team to clinch a berth into the quarterfinal round of the 2020 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship following a 76-65 victory against No. 6 seed SMU on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Tigers will play No. 3 seed Cincinnati on Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET) on ESPN3.
 
Madison Griggs established a tournament freshman record with 24 points and seven made 3-pointers to power the Memphis attack. Dulcy Mendjiadeu Fankam picked up a double-double for the Tigers after finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Gazmyne Herndon turned in 13 points and eight assists for Memphis. Johnasia Cash was the standout for SMU with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Desirae Mathis and Reagan Bradley each scored 13 points.
 
The Memphis defense held SMU to a 1-for-8 stretch shooting from the floor near the end of the first quarter to keep the score deadlocked at 10-10. Memphis inched ahead on a 3-pointer from Aerial Wilson (15-13), but SMU’s Mathis connected on a jumper to end the opening quarter with both squads tied at 15. Neither team gained much until just before the media timeout in the second quarter, when Griggs drilled a 3-pointer to put Memphis up by five at 30-25. Griggs hit back-to-back triples for the Tigers to up the lead 36-27 later in the second. SMU battled back to within six on a Cash layup, closing the half trailing Memphis 38-32.
 
Memphis began the third quarter red-hot on offense, and an and-1 for Mendjiadeu Fankam gave the Tigers their largest lead at 46-35. Herndon finished off an old fashioned 3-point play of her own for Memphis, and a Julan McDonald triple quickly had the Tigers out front 52-38 at 6:14 of the third quarter. A lockdown defensive sequence from SMU allowed the Mustangs to cover ground on the scoreboard and trim the deficit to 52-44. Memphis steadied the ship and capped the third period ahead 58-48. Griggs knocked down another contested trey to keep the Tigers rolling at 64-52, and Herndon cashed in an and-1 at 4:48 for the 13-point Memphis lead (67-54). Another Griggs 3-pointer with less than four minutes to play pushed the score further out of reach for SMU at 71-55.

Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2.
 
For full coverage of this week’s American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, visit theamerican.org/wbb and follow @American_WBB on Twitter.