University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
9-15, 6-7
<b>* TULSA</b>
20-4, 11-2
Women's Basketball Falls 75-54 To Tulsa
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
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HOUSTON - A scoring windfall by Tulsa to open the second half handed the University of Houston women's basketball team its fourth-straight loss, a 75-54 defeat in Conference USA action at Hofheinz Pavilion Friday.
It was a tale of two halves Friday as Houston (9-15, 6-7 C-USA) saw a four-point halftime deficit turn into a 23-point Tulsa (20-4, 11-2 C-USA) advantage in the first 7:04 of the second half. The Golden Hurricane opened up the half on a 25-6 run, leading by 23, 56-33, with 12:56 left in the game before UH had even made its second field goal of the half.
During a nearly 10-minute span which included the final two minutes of the first half, UH tallied a single field goal and was 1 for 15 from the field. UH fired at under a 35-percent clip for the fourth-straight game, finishing the night 21 for 69 and 1 for 14 from behind the arc.
"We stayed with them when we shot it well," head coach Joe Curl said following the loss. "We fought our butts off tonight and got beat by a better team. They had a nice spurt to open the second half and that did us in."
Houston native Jillian Robbins tallied 12 points and nine rebounds in 15 minutes of play for TU in the second half. She was 4 for 5 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. Tulsa won its ninth-straight game and notched the program's first 20-win season.
A layup by Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) with 12:02 left in the game took the deficit down to 21 and a layup by Sha'Ratta Hawkins (Houston, Texas/Jesse Jones HS) the next time down the floor brought UH to within 19, 56-37, with 11:45 left. That was the closest the Cougars would get for the rest of the night as they hit only seven field goals in the last 11 minutes of the game.
Jackson led all players with 19 points. She also finished with a team-high nine rebounds, also adding four assists and two blocks. Hawkins and Ryan Meyers (Arlington, Texas/Arlington HS/Grayson County CC) tallied 11 points each with Meyers chipping in six rebounds and Hawkins adding four boards and three blocks.
Houston's nine team blocks was a season-high. The Cougars were dominated on the boards by a 61-34 margin. Tulsa had 27 offensive boards, 18 of which came in the first half, and turned them into 24 second-chance points. UH tallied 19 points off of TU's 22 turnovers while giving the ball up just 11 times.
Emily Jaskowiak added 12 points for TU and Dana Idlet dropped in 12 off the bench. Tandem Mays and Megan Moody both added nine rebounds while Kara Pongonis added nine points and six assists.
Tonight, UH trailed by only four at the break, 31-27, thanks in part to a solid Houston effort from the floor (12 for 32/.375) and a cold start for Tulsa (12 for 40/.300). Robbins was held to six points and four rebounds while being forced into three turnovers. She had just one turnover in the last meeting.
The Golden Hurricane held the early lead with UH trailing by up to three points in the opening four minutes. A free throw shot by Jackson knotted it up at 7 and a bucket by Fryters off a Meyers steal gave UH its first lead at 9-7 with 15:24 left in the opening stanza. UH pushed it to four, 11-7, with 14:25 to go.
UH maintained the four-point advantage at 21-17 with 7:26 left. A 6-2 TU run over the next 1:56 tied it up at 23 apiece with 5:32 left. The Golden Hurricane would end the half on a 14-6 run overall, leading 31-27 heading into the break.
UH will play its final home game on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. CST against SMU at Hofheinz. The battle with the Mustangs, scheduled to be televised on CSTV, will serve as senior day with Fryters set to be honored in a postgame ceremony. She is the team's lone senior.
