University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
-216, 15 CUSA
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UTEP
-172, 60 CUSA
Women's Basketball Falls at UTEP
1/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2012
EL PASO, Texas - The University of Houston women's basketball team couldn't overcome a sluggish start to the second half, dropping an 87-43 decision to UTEP on Sunday afternoon at Don Haskins Center.
Senior guard Roxana Button scored a game-high 20 points to go with five rebounds in 39 minutes of play. The Coppell, Texas, native tallied her 10th performance of 20 or more points this season and was 10-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Freshman guard Amanda Lawson added eight points and led the team with seven boards while fellow newcomer Voché Martin tied a career high with seven points to go with five rebounds. Martin netted all seven points in a span of less than six minutes off a 3-of-4 effort from the field.
Houston hung with the Miners early, denying UTEP an inside presence as the Cougars trailed 5-4 at the 16:00 mark.
UTEP (17-2, 6-0) caught fire from outside, putting together a 28-11 run over the next 10 minutes to open a 33-15 lead with 5:37 remaining.
The Cougars then reeled off six quick points, keyed by a Button 3-point play, with free-throws coming, but missed the front end, resulting in a 7-0 UTEP run to end the half as the Miners stretched a 13-point lead to a 41-21 halftime advantage.
After Michelle White sunk a runner with 18:45 remaining in the second half, the Cougars went on a nine-minute drought without a field goal as the Miners outscored Houston by a 27-12 margin to put the contest out of reach.
The Cougars will have the next week off before playing host to cross-town rival Rice at 4 p.m., on Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
