University of Houston
Middle Tenn St
Lady Cougars Rattle Lady Raiders
12/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2001
Sophomore Chandi Jones registered her third consecutive 20-plus point performance with a game-high 22 and sophomore Courtney Pastner shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe as the University of Houston Lady Cougars defeated the Middle Tennessee State Lady Raiders on their home court at Murphy Center on Thursday (Dec. 20) night.
Houston sophomore Nicole Oliver, who pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds for her third double-digit board game of the season, gave the Lady Cougars a 11-10 lead on a two-point jumper with 14:59 left in the first half and Houston never looked back.
The Lady Cougars carried a 40-31 lead into half-time, and as Middle Tennessee State began to battle back and capitalize on three straight Houston turnovers, freshman Shondra Bush, who got the nod for her first Division I-A start, sealed the victory as the clock ran down in scoring Houston's final nine points with three free throws and three two-pointers.
In addition to bucketing 13 points on the night, Bush tied her career high with six steals and added a game-high four assists. Pastner ended the night with 12 points.
The Lady Cougars shot a solid 49.2% (31-63) from the field as a team and were six-of-seven in free throws, the best percentage from the charity stripe of the year.
With the win, Houston improves to 8-2 overall on the season and maintains their best start to a season since beginning the 1991-92 season 9-0.
The Lady Cougars next face former Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday, December 29, with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
