Box Score | Season Stats

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (SMU) -- The SMU women's basketball team, seeded tenth, fell to seventh-seeded Memphis, 71-59, in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

SMU (7-23, 3-15 The American) was led by senior Raven Short, who scored a career-high 17 points in her final game as a Mustang. Short shot 50 percent from the field and netted a career-high five three-pointers. Short's five triples were the most by any Mustang in a game this season.

Memphis (14-16, 7-11 The American) carried a 37-27 lead into halftime behind 10 first half points from Ariel Hearn. The junior guard finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting.

A late SMU run, capped by a Short three, cut the Tigers' lead to 62-55 with 3:33 to go, but Memphis would hold on to pull out the victory.

Destynee Hives-McCray added 12 points and nine boards for the Mustangs, while Alicia Froling, who was named to the conference's all-freshmen team on Thursday, also reached double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Morgan Bolton and Gabrielle Wilkins made an impact on the defensive end, tallying season highs with six and four steals, respectively. Bolton's six steals were also an SMU best this season.

With the win, Memphis advances to play second seed USF tomorrow. For more information on the conference tournament, visit The American's website.