University of Houston Athletics
Houston Hosts Dustdevils in Exhibition Action
11/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON (0-0) vs. TEXAS A&M-INTERNATIONAL (0-0) | |
|---|---|
| Tickets | FREE ADMISSION |
| Date/Time | Sunday • 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Hofheinz Pavilion • Houston, Texas |
| Live Video | UHCougars.com All-Access |
| Live Audio | none |
| Live Stats | |
| Series History | No Official Meetings |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • TAMIU Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON â€" The University of Houston Women's Basketball team begins their 2015-16 campaign Sunday, when they host Texas A&M-International in an exhibition game. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Admission is FREE to Sunday's game, as Cougar fans are encouraged to catch their first glimpse of Head Coach Ronald Hughey's team. The Hofheinz Pavilion doors will open at 1 p.m. CT, and seating is available on a general admission basis.
Though Sunday's admission is FREE, the Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass, the best way to see Houston's 13 regular season home games. For only $50, fans who purchase a Shasta Pass will receive general admission entrance to all 13 home games, including the Jan. 8 game against defending national champion UConn. The Shasta Pass also grants entry to all remaining 2015 Houston Volleyball home matches and every home game on the 2016 Houston Softball schedule. | CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A SHASTA PASS | FULL SCHEDULE WBB Practice Report - Nov. 4, 2015
Fans who can't make it to Hofheinz on Sunday can watch the exhibition game live via UHCougars.com All-Access. Live statistics are available through , and the official Twitter account of Houston Women's Basketball, @UHCougarWBB, will offer updates throughout the game. | | TWITTER
Sunday's exhibition is a dress rehearsal for both the Cougars and the Dustdevils and will not count toward either team's official record.
 | THE STARTING FIVE |
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about the Texas A&M-International game.
Second Season - Sunday's game marks the start of Head Coach Ronald Hughey's second season in charge of the Houston Women's Basketball program.
Five Seniors - Five Cougars will begin their fourth and final collegiate seasons on Sunday: Marche' Amerson, Tyler Gilbert, Jessieka Palmer, Alecia Smith and Bianca Winslow.
Six Debuts - Six Cougars are eligible to make their UH debut: Jacqueline Blake, Sharayla Brown, Dionna Collins, Kierra Graves, Serithia Hawkins and Cenecia Newman.
63-Point Margin - Houston will try to equal last season's exhibition effort, a 100-37 drubbing of Huston-Tillotson in Hughey's first game on the Cougar bench.
November 13 - Sunday's exhibition will not count toward Houston's 2015-16 record. The Coogs are focused on Friday, Nov. 13, when they open the regular season at College of Charleston.
| HOUSTON ONE-SHOTS |
Here's the one thing you need to know about each member of the Houston roster:
#1 - Chyanne Butler - Butler will be eligible to play the second semester after transferring from USC in January 2015.
#2 - Jacqueline Blake - Not only did Blake average 19.1 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game at Miami Dade CC in 2014-15, she also hit 33 3-pointers at a 40.7 percent clip.
#3 - Bianca Winslow - Winslow started the final 13 games of the 2014-15 season. During that stretch she led Houston with 2.5 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game.
#5 - Dionna Collins - Collins was a finalist for the WBCA Junior College Player of the Year award in 2014-15 after averaging 21.7 points per game at Redlands CC.
#10 - Cenecia Newman - Newman averaged 15 points per game as a senior at Cedar Hill (Texas) HS and was named District 8-6A MVP at the end of the season.
#12 - Brianne Coffman - Coffman will redshirt in 2015-16 due to NCAA transfer requirements. She spent her first two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma State.
#15 - Alecia Smith - Smith ranked 10th in The American in 2014-15 with 3.1 assists per game and 14th in the conference with 1.4 made 3-pointers per game.
#21 - Jessieka Palmer - Palmer led the Cougars with a career-high 9.6 points per game in 2014-15 and also set personal bests in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks as a junior.
#22 - Marche' Amerson - Amerson needs 141 points to become the 23rd member of Houston's 1,000-point club.
#23 - Serithia Hawkins - Hawkins averaged 18.9 points per game as a senior at Southmoore (Okla.) HS and earned multiple All-State selections.
#24 - Mariah Mitchell - Mitchell steadily improved during her freshman season. She made all 16 of her starts vs. American opponents and averaged 7.3 points per game in league play.
#25 - Kierra Graves - Graves averaged 22.2 points per game and hit 54.4% of her field goal attempts as a sophomore at Kaskaskia College and was a two-time NJCAA All-American.
#32 - Sharayla Brown - Brown led East Central (Okla.) HS to three OSSAA State Championship game appearances and was an All-State selection as a senior.
#33 - Tyler Gilbert - Gilbert blocked 63 shots in 2014-15, the fifth-highest single-season total in Houston history. She also led the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.
#35 - Taylor Gilbert - Gilbert received a medical hardship redshirt due to career-ending knee injuries. She remains on scholarship and is an active part of team functions.
| SERIES vs. TAMIU |
There are no official meetings on the record between Houston and Texas A&M-International. Because it is an exhibition, Sunday's game will also not affect the all-time series record.
| THE COACHES |
Houston head Coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 6-24. This will be his first meeting against Texas A&M-International, but he is 1-0 all-time in exhibitions after the Coogs defeated Huston-Tillotson, 100-37, in last season's dress rehearsal.
Hughey accumulated a 163-154 (.514) career record in 10 seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant coach at South Carolina State, South Carolina, UCF, Rutgers, Texas and Florida State. He is a veteran of seven postseason tournaments (6 NCAA, 1 NIT) including two NCAA Second Rounds (2013, 2014), four NCAA First Rounds (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and one WNIT Second Round (2008).
A vaunted recruiter, Hughey orchestrated multiple national top-15 recruiting classes at both Texas and Florida State. At Houston, he signed an eight-player recruiting class in 2014-15, including two NJCAA All-Americans and four players rated as 3-star recruits by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
TAMIU Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson is in her fourth season with the Dustdevils, having accumulated a 42-38 career record. Bento-Jackson led TAMIU to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional in 2013-14.
| SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS |
Members of NCAA Division II, Texas A&M-International finished with a 13-13 overall record in 2014-15, including a 9-9 Heartland Conference record. The Dustdevils won their final two games of the season but failed to qualify for the Heartland Conference Tournament.
The Dustdevils play an exhibition game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday night before completing their preseason schedule Sunday against the Cougars.
TAMIU returns just two starters and three letterwinners from last season's club. They are led by senior guard Jessica Prieto, who averaged a team-best 17.4 points per game in 2014-15. Senior guards Keiona Mathews (13.2 points per game) and Chelsea Salom (2.0 points per game) join Prieto as the lone holdovers. The remaining seven members of the Dustdevil roster are newcomers.
| HOUSTON'S RETURNERS |
The Cougars bring back six letterwinners from last year's club, including five four-year seniors and all five primary starters.
Palmer is back for her senior year after a breakout campaign in 2014-15. The La Marque native led the club with 9.6 points per game and was a two-time American Weekly Honor Roll selection.
Amerson is set to climb the Houston record books in her senior season. A native of Bryan, Amerson averaged 8.8 points per game last season and enters the year 141 points shy of becoming Houston's 23rd 1,000-point scorer. She averaged a team-high 10.4 points per game as a sophomore in 2013-14.
Tyler Gilbert led the Coogs with 6.2 rebounds per game last season, but her biggest contribution came at the rim. The senior blocked 63 shots last season, UH's fifth-best single season mark, and she enters the year with 82 blocks, ninth in Houston history.
Smith averaged 6.7 points per game last season and finished 10th in the American Athletic Conference with 3.1 assists per game, a team-high.
Winslow started the final 13 games of the 2014-15 season and set career highs with 4.6 points and 2.0 assists per game.
Mitchell made 16 starts as a freshman, all in American Athletic Conference play, and she canned 23 3-point field goals, the ninth-best total in UH freshman history.
Overall, the Cougars return 80.5 percent of their scoring, 62.4 percent of their rebounding and 86.0 percent of their starting assignments from the 2014-15 season.
| MARCHE'S MARCH TO 1,000 POINTS |
Amerson enters the season with 859 career points and is just 141 points shy of Houston's 1,000-point club. At her current career pace of 9.4 points per game, she's on pace to cross the threshold in her 15th appearance of the season.
When she accomplishes the feat, Amerson will be Houston's 23rd 1,000-point scorer. Current Atlanta Dream standout Sancho Lyttle (2003-05) occupies the 22nd spot, with 1,092 career points, while Ann Moon (1977-81) checks in at No. 21 with 1,094 points.
| MILESTONE WATCH |
Amerson isn't the only Cougar who is climbing the Cougar record books in 2015-16, and her journey to 1,000 points isn't the only number to monitor this season. The senior from Bryan, Texas, enters the season eighth in Houston history with 90 career starts, ninth with 2,839 career minutes, and just outside the career top-10 in made 3-pointers (74) and 3-point attempts (261).
Smith is climbing the career 3-point record books, ranking seventh in made 3-pointers (111) and fifth in attempts (448). She is currently listed just outside the school's top-10 in minutes (2,581).
Gilbert's shot-blocking explosion from last season vaulted her high on Houston's blocked shots charts. She currently ranked ninth in school history with 82 rejections.ÂÂ
| LAST TIME OUT |
MARCH 6, 2015 • TULANE 64, HOUSTON 39 | Final Stats | Photo Gallery The Cougars ended their 2014-15 campaign with a 64-39 First Round loss to Tulane in the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship. The loss ended Houston's season at 6-24.
Houston got off to a slow start, missing 23 of their 26 field goal attempts in the first half. Tulane's halftime lead was 30-10, and despite rallying in the second half, the Cougars were unable to catch up to the Green Wave.
The Coogs were paced by seven points each from Mitchell and Palmer.
| GUY V. LEWIS BASKETBALL CENTER UPDATE |
Live Webcam
The Houston Men's and Women's Basketball programs are just a few short days away from moving into the Guy V. Lewis Basketball Center. Once completed, the $25 million facility will be the home base for both Cougar hoops squads.
Designed by DLR Group and Page, the new Development Center is located adjacent to Hofheinz Pavilion at the corner of Cullen Boulevard and Holman Street on the UH campus.
The 53,000 square-foot facility will provide the environment that the Houston Men's and Women's Basketball student-athletes need to excel throughout the season in all areas. The first level will house a dedicated practice court for each team as well as sports performance and sports medicine areas, which will be used by both programs.
The second level will feature the teams' areas, which include locker rooms and academic/film theaters. The team rooms contain spacious, modern lockers, multiple video screens for television and comfortable furniture. The third level will hold office space for both Men's and Women's Basketball coaching and support staffs.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
Houston opens the regular season Friday, Nov. 13 against College of Charleston. The game will be Houston's first contest in Hughey's home state of South Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.
| $50 SHASTA PASS NOW AVAILABLE |
The Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2015-16 athletic season. For only $50, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all Houston Women's Basketball, Volleyball and Softball home games.
The Shasta Pass offers Houston fans a substantial savings as single-game tickets start at $8 for all four sports. Fans can save $126 alone during the Houston fall sports seasons. To purchase a Shasta Pass, CLICK HERE.
| STAY CONNECTED |
Fans can receive daily information and in-game updates by following @UHCougarWBB on Twitter. Fans can also catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at facebook.com/UHCougarWBB.
--UHCougars.com--
