The SMU women's basketball team concludes the regular season at home Monday night against Houston at 7 p.m. on the American Digital Network. The 2016-17 Senior Class will be honored during a pregame ceremony, and the Mustangs will wear special shooting shirts, representing their participation in the Spread the Word to End the Word movement, an initiative to end the use of the "R" word. Fans in the Dallas area can listen to the game on KAAM 770 AM.
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 15-13 overall, 6-9 in the American Athletic Conference, winning two of their last three games.
Alicia Froling is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double with a team-high 14.1 points and a league-high 10.0 rebounds per game. She has 15 double-doubles this season, needing one to set the single-season record at SMU.
McKenzie Adams has scored at least 10 points in three of the last four games, leading the team with 12.8 points and shooting 52.4 percent during the stretch. Defensively, SMU is second in the league and 17th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.3 percent from the field. The Mustangs lead the conference with 167 blocks, ranking eighth in the nation with 6.0 per game.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Houston is 11-17 overall, 4-11 in The American, winning two of its last three games. Jasmyne Harris leads the team with 11.6 points per game, and Angela Harris is scoring 9.7 points per game. The Cougars are averaging 61.4 points per game, but opponents are scoring 68.0 per game.Â
SERIES HISTORY
The Mustangs are 24-32 all-time against the Cougars, including a 12-17 record in Moody Coliseum, but SMU has won eight of the last 11 games in the series. The series started on Jan. 13, 1981 when Houston earned a 77-71 victory in Moody Coliseum. The Cougars won the first 20 games in the series, but SMU is 24-12 since getting its first win, a 69-66 victory at home on Feb. 5, 1992. The Mustangs are 5-2 against Houston since joining the American Athletic Conference. SMU won the first meeting this season, 66-45, on Jan. 21 in Houston. Â Â
LAST TIME OUT
McKenzie Adams scored a game-high 17 points as the SMU women's basketball team defeated Memphis, 60-39, Wednesday night. The Mustangs picked up their 15th victory of the season and improved to 6-8 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Tigers fell to 13-14 (6-8 AAC).
Adams scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Mustangs outscored the Tigers 23-9 in the opening period. The Mustangs went on an 13-0 run over a 6:57 span and shot 69.2 percent from the field, while holding Memphis to 3-for-12 (25.0 percent) from the field in the first quarter. SMU ended the quarter on an 18-1 run and did not allow Memphis a field goal for the last 7:53 of the period.
LOOKING AHEAD
SMU hosts Houston Monday night in its final regular season game. The women's basketball program will honor its seniors during a pregame ceremony. The 2017 Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship is March 3-6 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
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 10-3 at home. The SMU men's basketball team also went undefeated at home in non-conference play and won seven straight conference home games for a 16-0 record 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 37-5 this year, an 88.1 win percentage.Â
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 138, while Collins has 130, 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.Â
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 17th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a 35.3 shooting percentage, trailing No. 1 Connecticut's 34.1 percent. The Mustangs are third in the league with 1,176 rebounds, averaging 42.0 per game, 33rd in the NCAA. SMU has 828 defensive rebounds, ranking ninth in the NCAA with 30.0 per game. SMU leads The American with 167 blocks, ranking eighth in the nation with 6.0 per game.
Alicia Froling is second in the conference with 42 blocks, averaging 1.5 per game, and
Dai'ja Thomas has 39 blocks, second in the league with 1.5 per game.
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ALICIA FROLING
Alicia Froling became the 23rd player in SMU history with 20 points in a win at Houston, and now has 1,121 in her career. The junior is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double with 14.1 points per game (14th - AAC) and a league-best 10.0 rebounds per game (22nd - 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 136 blocks, and seventh at SMU with  823 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.Â
McKENZIE ADAMS
McKenzie Adams has scored in double figures 20 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 11.9 points per game, and averages 4.3 rebounds per game. She had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds at Colorado. The junior has scored at least 10 points in eight of the last 11 games, averaging a team-high 13.9 points and shooting 40.7 percent during the stretch.
KIARA PERRY
After missing last season due to a back injury,
Kiara Perry is averaging 7.2 points per game with 5.5 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 with 45 steals, Â and is second with 73 assists. 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 UConn.Â
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 130 blocks in her career, ranking fourth at SMU. The junior has blocked at least one shot in 18 of the last 21 games, with 32 this season. Over the past 10 games, Collins is averaging 7.5 points per game on 56.1 percent shooting (32-of-57), a team high during the stretch. She scored a season-high 10 points at Temple, and finished with nine three times during the stretch. The 6-5 post player also has 16 blocks in the last 10 games.
MORGAN BOLTON
Morgan Bolton scored a career-high 15 points at home against Memphis, going 5-for-6 on 3-point attempts. The senior point guard is averaging 5.3 points per game, reaching double figures four times in the last 16 games, including two of the last six. She leads the team with 31 made 3-pointers, shooting 29.8 percent from behind the arc, and has a team-high 75 assists this season. She set career highs at Temple with nine rebounds and eight assists, and had seven assists against Tulsa.
DAI'JA THOMAS
Dai'ja Thomas has scored at least 10 points six times this season, averaging 6.3 points per game. The sophomore scored a career-high 18 points at then-No. 25 Temple. She has 39 blocks, ranking second in the league with 1.5 per game, and is averaging 5.2 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.Â
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 six games against five top-25 opponents this season, including three games against top-five opponents (Connecticut twice and Mississippi State).Â
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