University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
-713 (46 CUSA)
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UTEP
-184 (73 CUSA)
Women's Basketball Falls 69-61 To UTEP
2/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2007
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HOUSTON - A 26-9 UTEP run over the final eight minutes handed the University of Houston women's basketball team its second-straight defeat, a 69-61 loss in Conference USA action Saturday on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Houston (7-13, 4-6 C-USA) celebrated National Girls and Women In Sports Day, honoring longtime UH supporter Nikki Drake during a halftime ceremony. UTEP (18-4, 7-3 C-USA) won the season series over UH for the first time ever.
The Cougars led by nine, 52-43, following a three by Alona Obaze (Dallas, Texas/Bryan Adams HS/Trinity Valley CC) with 8:06 remaining. From there, the UH offense went cold, managing just two field goals the rest of the way. UTEP took the lead, 57-56, with a 16-4 run over the next 4:37.
Houston kept it within three for the next two minutes, but an intentional foul on Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) with 1:10 remaining allowed the Miners to hit 3-4 free throws on two possessions to push the lead to six, 63-57, with just over a minute left.
UH's inability to hit shots, going 2-11 with five turnovers in the last eight minutes allowed UTEP to take the win. For the game, the Cougars were 20-53 (.377) and 3-12 (.250) from behind the three-point line.
After not taking a free throw in the first half, UTEP was 16-22 from the stripe in the second half, including a 9-12 mark in the games final 70 seconds. Houston finished 18-25 from the line.
After trailing by one at the half, Houston opened the second half on an 8-2 run, leading 35-28 with 15:41 remaining. UH extended the lead to nine twice, but could never push it to double figures. Jackson finished with 23 points, 21 in the second half, five rebounds and five assists. She was 8-9 from the free-throw line.
Sunshine Misa-Uli (Honolulu, Hawai'i/Farrington HS/Barton County CC) was the only other UH player in double figures, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Jareica Hughes, playing with a shoulder injury, finished with 20 points to lead UTEP. Kasia Krezel and Izabela Piekarska both had 12 and Ana Valtierra scored 11.
The first half was nip-and-tuck the whole way, with neither team grabbing more than a three-point advantage. Both squads struggled from the floor, combining to shoot 19-51 (.372) from the floor. Houston was 8-10 from the charity stripe, holding the Miners without a free-throw attempt in the half. The Cougars had 11 first-half turnovers, but UTEP was unable to take any sort of advantage, converting just two points.
After six-straight games inside the Houston beltway, the Cougars head on the road for a season-long four-game trip. The trek begins next weekend with games Friday at UCF and Sunday at Southern Miss. Tipoffs are scheduled for 6 p.m. CST and 2 p.m., respectively.
