University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
4-10, 1-3CUSA
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UTEP
14-1, 3-0CUSA
Women's Basketball Drops Second-Straight, 87-70 tO UTEP
1/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2007
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EL PASO, Texas - The University of Houston women's basketball team gave the top-ranked team in Conference USA all it wanted for the first 35 minutes of the game, but a 23-11 run over the last 5:56 gave UTEP an 87-70 win on Sunday at the Haskins Center.
Jareica Hughes tallied 24 points to lead UTEP (14-1, 3-0 C-USA) to its eighth-straight win at home. Houston (4-10, 1-3 C-USA) dropped to 0-8 in road games this season. Today's game featured 28 lead changes and 14 ties.
In the end, UH could not overcome turnovers at the wrong time and failed to take advantage of a season-best 50-percent (25-50) effort from the floor. The last time UH fired at a 50-percent or better clip was Jan. 8, 2006, a 92-58 win over Southern Miss. That night, UH was 33-61 (.541).
Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) finished with 22 points, fouling out with under a minute left. Whitney James (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial HS/North Oklahoma College) ended the night with 17 while Maya Onikute (Queens, N.Y./Park West HS/Barton County CC) had 14.
Trailing by one at the half, UH battled throughout, and the first 13 minutes of the second half was much like the opening 20 minutes, with numerous ties and lead changes. Neither team had more than a three-point lead until UTEP struck with under seven minutes left.
UTEP led 60-55 with 7:29 left, but a 4-0 run by UH, paced by buckets from Jackson and James, had UH within three at 62-59 with 6:38 left, forcing UTEP to burn a timeout. UTEP rattled off five-straight out of the timeout to move the lead back to five, 67-62, with 4:19 left.
UH struggled offensively through the late part of the game, failing to convert on eight-of-10 possessions, trailing by nine, 71-62, with 2:58 left. From there, UTEP took control, holding UH to one field goal in the final three minutes. Head coach Joe Curl received a double-technical foul with 9.8 left in the game.
Turnovers became an issue in the game as Houston gave it up 25 times, resulting in 24 points for the Miners. UTEP dominated the inside early, scoring their first 10 points off layups. They finished the game with 30 points in the paint, 17 second-chance points off 23 offensive rebounds and also six points on the fast break.
Hughes led all players with 24 points, while Tasha Marisett finished with 22, Kasia Krezel with 11 and Ana Valtierra with 10. Ma
The game was a nip-and-tuck affair in the opening half with 12 lead changes and the score tied 11 times with neither team taking more than a three-point advantage. UTEP went into the locker room with a 1-point, 35-34 lead, thanks to a buzzer beater from the top of the key by Taylor. Both teams shot around the fifty-percent mark for the first 20 minutes.
After playing five of the last seven on the road, Houston will play its next six games inside the beltway, including a season-long four-game homestand. First up for UH is East Carolina on Wed. at 7 p.m. CST on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.
