The SMU women's basketball team plays at [RV/RV] Temple Wednesday in Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. The game is the second road game during a stretch of four games on the road in a five-game, 14-day span for the Mustangs. The five-game stretch spans 14 days and 9,478 miles traveled. Fans can listen to the game in the Dallas area on KAAM 770 AM.
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs won back-to-back games before a loss at No. 1 Connecticut Saturday. SMU is 13-11 overall, 4-7 in the American Athletic Conference, losing three conference games by a combined four points.
Alicia Froling is averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and a league-high 10.4 points per game. The SMU defense is holding opponents to .35.8 percent shooting, second in The American, and SMU leads the league with 146 blocks, ranking eighth in the NCAA with 6.1 per game.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
The Owls are 19-5 overall, 9-2 in The American, and are receiving votes in both top-25 polls. Feyonda Fitzgerald leads the team with 16.7 points per game, and is one of four players averaging double figures scoring. Temple is outscoring opponents 70.9-58.9.
SERIES HISTORY
SMU is 2-4 all-time against Temple, playing two games in each of the last three seasons as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Mustangs are 0-3 in Philadelphia, with a 2-1 record in Moody Coliseum. The two teams split the series last season, with SMU winning 69-67 at home on Jan. 5 before falling 55-35 at Temple on Feb. 3.
LAST TIME OUT
(AP)— Katie Lou Samuelson scored 19 of her 22 points in the first half and top-ranked UConn extended its NCAA record winning streak to 99 games with an 83-41 win over SMU on Saturday.
Kiara Perry had 11 points to lead SMU (13-11, 4-7), which made just 15 of its 61 shots from the floor (24.6 percent).
SMU kept it close in the first quarter, trailing 9-8 before Samuelson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to start a 13-4 UConn run.
LOOKING AHEAD
SMU plays three of its next four games on the road before ending the regular season at home on Feb. 27 against Houston.
MOODY MAGIC
SMU went 6-0 at home in non-conference games, and opened conference play with a 64-47 win against Cincinnati to improve to 7-0 in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs are 9-3 at home. The SMU men's basketball team also went undefeated at home in non-conference play and won its first five conference home games, improving to 15-0 in Moody Coliseum. The SMU volleyball team went 11-2 in Moody Coliseum on its way to a second straight conference championship. Overall, the tenants of Moody Coliseum are 35-5 this year, an 87.5 win percentage.
UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP
For the first time since 1991, SMU has a new head coach on the sidelines.
Travis Mays was announced as the fourth head coach in program history on April 7, 2016, after the retirement of Rhonda Rompola, who spent 25 seasons as the head coach of the Mustangs. Mays worked for three Hall of Fame coaches during 12 seasons as a collegiate assistant, helping guide teams to eight NCAA Tournament appearances with a trip to the Final Four with LSU in 2008. A 1990 second-round NBA draft pick out of Texas, Mays' staff includes fellow Longhorns
Edwina Brown and
Amie Smith Bradley, and associate head coach
Mike Brandt, who spent 14 seasons as the head coach at USC Aiken.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
McKenzie Adams was named American Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year after leading the Mustangs in scoring with 13.4 points per game last season. She scored a season-high 24 points against Kansas, and reached double figures in 25 of 31 games.
Alicia Froling was named to the All-American Athletic Conference Third Team, finishing the year averaging 12.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. She set a school record with 22 rebounds at Cincinnati, and also scored a career-high 33 points against the Bearcats. Froling was also named to the All-American Athletic Conference Preseason Team.
THE AMERICAN PRESEASON RANKINGS
SMU was picked to finish fifth in the conference by the league's coaches, behind four-time defending national champion Connecticut, Temple, USF and Tulane, respectively. SMU returns two all-conference honorees among nine returning letterwinners.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
SMU's football, men's basketball and women's basketball programs had a record-setting fall semester in the classroom. The football and women's basketball teams set program-best cumulative grade-point-averages while men's basketball reached its highest cumulative GPA since 2004.
ANNUAL BLOCK PARTY
As a freshman,
Alicia Froling recorded 54 blocks, surpassing Sarah Davis' mark of 53 blocks during the 2005-06 season. After breaking a record that stood for nine seasons, the Australian's name stayed at the top of the list for only one year. Fellow Australian and sophomore
Stephanie Collins posted 73 blocks in her first full season. Froling is third in school history in blocks with 133, while Collins has 124, fourth at SMU. The duo is the first pair of teammates of the same class to each record 100 blocks in program history. The last player to eclipse the century mark was Janielle Dodds, who finished with 109 blocks from 2004-08. Sarah Davis holds the school record with 180 blocks from 2003-06.
TEXAS TIES
SMU's roster includes 10 of 14 student-athletes from the state of Texas, with nine who have hometowns in the DFW metroplex. Three of the Mustangs four coaches also have roots in Texas with head coach
Travis Mays, assistant coaches
Edwina Brown and
Amie Smith Bradley all attending the University of Texas. The trio all spent time on staff at Texas, and Brown also coached at TCU before coming to the Hilltop.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Alicia Froling represented Australia at the 2015 FIBA U19 Women's World Championships in Russia, winning a Bronze medal with the team, her second career medal at the World Championships with Australia. A native of Queensland, Australia, Froling averaged 8.1 points per game, reaching double-figures twice, including a tournament-high 19 points during group play. She also averaged 6.9 rebounds, and shot just under 70 percent from the free throw line.
Stephanie Collins also represented Australia at the 2012 World University Games.
DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY
SMU is second in the conference and 24th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a 35.8 shooting percentage, trailing No. 1 Connecticut's 34.3 percent. The Mustangs are third the league with 1,019 rebounds, averaging 42.5 per game, 29th in the NCAA. SMU has 708 defensive rebounds, ranking ninth in the NCAA with 30.0 per game. SMU leads The American with 146 blocks, ranking eighth in the nation with 6.1 per game.
Dai'ja Thomas has 37 blocks, and is second in the league lead with 1.7 per game, while
Alicia Froling is fourth in the conference with 36 blocks, averaging 1.5 per game.
ALICIA FROLING
Alicia Froling became the 23rd player in SMU history with 20 points in a win at Houston, and now has 1,075 in her career. The junior is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double with 14.5 points per game (12th - AAC) and a league-best 10.4 rebounds per game (23rd - NCAA). She has scored at least 20 points five times this season and 12 times in her career, including a career-high 33 points at Cincinnati last season (Jan. 27). She is third all-time at SMU with 132 blocks, and ninth at SMU with 794 career rebounds. Froling also set an SMU single-game record with 22 rebounds against the Bearcats last season, the third highest in conference history (24 by UCF's Brittni Montgomery twice). Froling has 33 double-doubles in her career, third in program history.
McKENZIE ADAMS
McKenzie Adams has scored in double figures 16 times this season, including a career-high 32 points at Cincinnati. She finished with 17 at Houston, earning a mention on the league's Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 24.5 points in the two games. Adams is second on the team with 11.7 points per game, and averages 4.5 rebounds per game. She had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds at Colorado.
KIARA PERRY
After missing last season due to a back injury,
Kiara Perry is averaging 7.5 points per game with 5.8 rebounds. She has reached double figures seven times, including a career-high 19 points against Prairie View A&M (Nov. 22). The junior leads the team in assists, 63, steals, 39, and also has 14 blocks. She has two double-doubles this season, scoring 17 points with a career-high 14 rebounds at Kansas (Nov. 16) and grabbing 10 rebounds against Prairie View. Perry led the team with 11 points at No. 1 UConn.
STEPHANIE COLLINS
Stephanie Collins was second in The American and 36th in the NCAA with 73 blocks last season, breaking the SMU single-season record
Alicia Froling set with 54 blocks as a freshman in 2014-15. She has 124 blocks in her career, ranking fourth at SMU. The junior has blocked at least one shot in 14 of the last 17 games, with 26 this season. Over the past six games, Collins is averaging 7.7 points per game on 59.4 percent shooting (19-of-32), a team high during the stretch. She scored a season-high nine points at Tulsa and again at UConn. The 6-5 post player also has 13 blocks in the last seven games.
MORGAN BOLTON
Morgan Bolton scored a career-high 15 points against Memphis, going 5-for-6 on 3-point attempts. The senior point guard is averaging 5.8 points per game, reaching double figures four times in the last 12 games, including two of the last three. She leads the team with 30 made 3-pointers, shooting 31.6 percent from behind the arc, and has 56 assists this season, second on the team
DAI'JA THOMAS
Dai'ja Thomas has scored at least 10 points five times this season, averaging 6.1 points per game. The sophomore has 37 blocks, ranking second in the league lead with 1.7 per game, and is averaging 5.4 rebounds. She recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Texas State in the season opener, and had 15 points with 11 rebounds against Grambling State.
RANKED OPPONENTS
SMU defeated No. 19 Texas A&M 54-53 at home on Dec. 3, beating a top-25 opponent for the first time since March 9, 2008, when the Mustangs upset No. 18 UTEP in the Conference USA championship game. The Mustangs have played five games against four top-25 opponents this season, including three games against top-five opponents (Connecticut twice and Mississippi State). Temple will be the third opponent receiving votes in the top-25 polls at the time of the game.
