University of Houston Athletics
Houston Hosts UNLV on Youth Basketball Day
12/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON COUGARS (3-5) vs. UNLV LADY REBELS (5-2) | |
|---|---|
| BUY A SHASTA PASS | UHCougars.com/tickets |
| Date/Time | Saturday • 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Hofheinz Pavilion • Houston, Texas |
| Live Video | UHCougars.com All-Access |
| Live Audio | UHCougars.com/wbbradio |
| Live Stats | |
| Series History | UNLV leads, 4-1 |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • UNLV Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston Women's Basketball team is full of momentum and aiming to raise the level even higher when they host UNLV on Saturday, Dec. 12. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass, the best way to see Houston's 11 remaining regular season home games. For only $50, fans who purchase a Shasta Pass will receive general admission entrance to all 11 home games left on the schedule, including the Jan. 8 game against defending national champion UConn. The Shasta Pass also grants entry to every home game on the 2016 Houston Softball schedule. | CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A SHASTA PASS | FULL SCHEDULE The Cougars will host Youth Basketball Day on Saturday at Hofheinz. Youth basketball teams (Grades K-6th) who wear their team jerseys will be admitted free of charge, and additional tickets can be purchased at the Hofheinz Pavilion ticket office for $5 on the day of the game. After the contest, youth players will be invited to meet the Cougars and get autographs on the official 2015-16 team poster. For more information on Youth Basketball Day, contact the Houston Fan Experience Headquarters at 713-743-9033.
Fans who can't make it to Hofheinz Saturday can follow the contest through a host of outlets. Free live audio is available at UHCougars.com/wbbradio, with Jeremy Branham on the call. Also, will provide an up-to-the-second numerical breakdown, while the official Twitter account of Houston Women's Basketball, @UHCougarWBB, will post periodic updates. Last but not least, UHCougars.com All-Access subscribers can watch Saturday's game for a small fee. | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE VIDEO | | TWITTER
Houston has won two straight games, both on the road, and enters the contest with a 3-5 overall record. A victory on Saturday would give the Coogs their first three-game winning streak of the Ronald Hughey era. The Cougars last competed Dec. 7 when they dominated Incarnate Word, 67-51, behind 16 points from Serithia Hawkins.
UNLV enters the game 5-2 but coming off of two consecutive losses. The Rebels were beaten by USC, 73-42, Dec. 6 in Los Angeles. Prior to that, they fell to Drake, 76-68 on Nov. 29.
 | THE STARTING FIVE |
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about Houston's game against UNLV.
WAITING FOR TONIGHT - The Coogs are looking forward to their first home game since Nov. 22, a span of 20 days. Houston went 2-3 on their recent road trip, with wins in the last two games.
LEARNING TO FLY - Even though she's a rookie, freshman Serithia Hawkins is quickly evolving into one of The American's top players. She leads American freshmen in both scoring and rebounding.
CENTURY CITY - Two Houston seniors will make their 100th appearance in a Cougar uniform on Saturday, as Marche' Amerson and Alecia Smith hit triple digits in games played.
FLIRTING WITH TIME - Houston and UNLV played each other five times from 1979-94, but haven't faced off since. It's the longest time between meetings for an opponent on the 2015-16 schedule.
TURNING POINT - UH comes into the game with two straight wins for the first time since Dec. 20-21, 2014. A win Saturday gives Houston their first three-game winning streak of the Hughey era.
| 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 - Blake exploded for her first career double-double Dec. 7 at Incarnate Word, with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
#3 - Bianca Winslow - Winslow started the final 13 games of the 2014-15 season. During that stretch she led Houston with 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
#5 - Dionna Collins - A finalist for the 2014-15 WBCA Junior College Player of the Year award, Collins will redshirt in 2015-16 due to NCAA transfer requirements.
#10 - Cenecia Newman - Newman was instant offense at the Lone Star Showcase, scoring 12 points in just 20 minutes of court time.
#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 matched a career high with seven assists in the Nov. 22 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
#21 - Jessieka Palmer - Palmer erupted for six 3-pointers and a career-best 25 points against No. 24/23 George Washington on Nov. 26.
#22 - Marche' Amerson - Amerson needs 86 points to become the 23rd member of Houston's 1,000-point club.
#23 - Serithia Hawkins - Hawkins is the only freshman to rank in The American's top-25 in scoring (11.1 ppg; 22nd) and top-10 in rebounding (7.0 rpg; 9th).
#24 - Mariah Mitchell - Mitchell has connected on at least one 3-point field goal in five of her last six games.
#25 - Kierra Graves - Graves had her first double-digit scoring effort as a Cougar with 12 points in the Incarnate Word victory.
#32 - Sharayla Brown - Brown scored the first four points of her collegiate career Nov. 26 against No. 24/23 George Washington and made her first start Dec. 5 at Rice.
#33 - Tyler Gilbert - Gilbert tallied her first double-double of the season Dec. 5 at Rice, with 12 points and 14 rebounds. She tallied 11 boards on the offensive end.
#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.
| LAST TIME OUT |
DEC. 7, 2015 • HOUSTON 67, INCARNATE WORD 51 | Final Stats Houston led for all but 54 seconds as they avenged last season's loss to Incarnate Word with a 16-point victory in San Antonio.
The Cougars were guided by career-high scoring performances by a trio of newcomers: Hawkins, Graves and Blake.
Hawkins led the Cougars with 16 points, while Graves added 12 and Blake poured in 11. All three Cougars set personal highs in a Houston uniform, and Blake also topped her career best with 13 rebounds.
The Cougars pounded the glass and gained a major rebounding advantage for the second game in a row. They outrebounded the Cardinals, 50-31, including 23 offensive boards.
Hawkins came out on fire, hitting her first six field goal attempts before finishing 6-for-8.
Houston has topped the 20-rebound mark on the offensive end in their last three games.
The Cougars won all four quarters: 12-7, 23-16, 15-13, and 17-15. With the victory, Houston is now 1-1 all-time vs. UIW.
| SERIES vs. UNLV |
UNLV holds a 4-1 series edge over the Cougars, including a victory in the lone meeting at Hofheinz Pavilion, 84-80 (OT), on Dec. 8, 1990.
The Cougars won the last meeting between the clubs, 77-64, on Dec. 22, 1994 in Las Vegas. Stacey Johnson led the Cougars with 21 points and seven steals in the victory.
Hughey has never faced UNLV or a team from the Mountain West Conference in his time as a head coach.
| THE COACHES |
Houston head coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 9-29. He has never faced UNLV
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.
Hughey brought five more highly regarded recruits into the Houston program in the early 2015 signing period. Included in the group is Lufkin, Texas, native Natasha Mack, the first ESPN Hoopgurlz national top-100 recruit of his head coaching tenure.
UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier is in her eighth season at her alma mater, with a record of 103-122. Including her stint as head coach at UCLA, her overall head coaching record is 309-295. She has never faced Houston as a head coach.
| SCOUTING THE LADY REBELS |
UNLV is 5-2, but they have lost their last two games by an average margin of 19.5 points per game. The Runnin' Rebels were upended by USC, 73-42, on Dec. 6.
Sophomore guard Brooke Johnson leads UNLV with 12.3 points and 3.4 assists per game, while senior center Aley Rohde pulls in 10.0 rebounds per game.
Rebounding is UNLV's primary strength, as they outrebound opponents by an average of 10 boards per game.
| KEY STATS FOR HOUSTON |
Houston's Dec. 5 win over Rice snapped a three-game losing skid for Hughey's team, but those losses came at the hands of one of America's toughest schedules. Houston's first six opponents boast a combined record of 38-12 as of Dec. 10.
After ranking at the bottom of The American in rebounding last season, the Cougars are starting to assert themselves on the glass. UH has outrebounded four of their eight opponents and is 3-1 in those games.
The Cougars have finished with at least 23 offensive rebounds in their last three games and for the season hold a +1.9 rebounds per game margin over their opponents.
Hawkins has scored in double-figures in four straight games, including a career-high 16 points in the Incarnate Word victory. She leads all freshman from The American in scoring (11.1 ppg; 22nd overall), rebounding (7.0 ppg; 9th) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.1 percent; 7th).
The Cougars are allowing 60.5 points per game, third-best in The American, and they have won their last three games when holding opponents under 60 points.
On the offensive end, the Cougars are making a living from long distance. Houston leads The American with 6.8 made 3-pointers per game, and they rank fourth by hitting 34.0 percent of their outside shots.
| MARCHE'S MARCH TO 1,000 POINTS |
Amerson enters the UNLV game with 914 career points and is just 86 points shy of Houston's 1,000-point club. At her current career pace of 9.3 points per game, she's on pace to cross the threshold Jan. 20, when the Cougars face Tulsa.
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 UNLV game fifth in Houston history with 97 career starts and eighth in a variety of categories: 3,048 career minutes, 86 made 3-point field goals and 293 3-point field goal attempts.
Smith is climbing the career 3-point record books, ranking sixth in made 3-pointers (126), fourth in attempts (499) and ninth in minutes (2,865). With three more 3-pointers, she will match Tye Jackson (2005-09) for fifth in Houston history in the category.
Gilbert's shot-blocking explosion from last season vaulted her high on Houston's blocked shots charts. She is currently ranked eighth in school history with 94 rejections and will match Kiemona Harris (2001-05) for seventh with her next swat.
| REGENTS APPROVE ARENA RENOVATIONS |
The University of Men's and Women's Basketball programs moved closer to a new competition home facility when school regents approved the start of the design process for the renovation of the Houston Basketball arena during its meeting Nov. 19.
Regents approved a project budget of up to $60 million with an anonymous donor pledging a $20 million gift to facilitate the arena's renovation.
Design work is scheduled to begin in March 2016 with construction starting one year later. Plans for the Cougars' home facility during the 2017-18 season have not been finalized and will be announced at a later date. The renovated facility is expected to be ready for game competition for the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
"This project has been long overdue, and we are grateful that Dr. Khator and our Board of Regents saw the need for this step with our basketball arena," Vice President for Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. "We look forward to starting the design process in the next few months and creating a facility that will provide the highest level of amenities to our fans and a significant home-court advantage for our Men's and Women's Basketball student-athletes."
Preliminary estimated capacity for the renovated arena will be reduced to 7,420 from its current seating bowl of 8,479. However, initial plans call for the court level to be raised three feet with fan seating moved closer to the court as part of an emphasis to improve the overall fan experience.
More than 2,000 premium seats will be developed to give fans the ultimate luxury seating options. That total includes a preliminary design of 1,750 club seats, 20 loge boxes with four seats in each, two open-air suites with 32 seats per unit and 90 courtside seats.
The arena's concourse level will be expanded to improve circulation with significant upgrades to the sound system, video board and arena seating.
| GUY V. LEWIS BASKETBALL CENTER UPDATE |
Live Webcam
The Houston Women's Basketball held their first full practice in the brand new Guy V. Lewis Basketball Center on Nov. 24, and they will move into the full facility in just a few short days. 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 heads back on the road Thursday, Dec. 17 to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Game time is set for 7 p.m. CT in a rematch of one of last season's most exciting Houston victories. The Coogs overcame a rowdy road environment to earn a 68-66 victory behind 20 points from Palmer.
The Coogs return to Hofheinz Pavilion Dec. 20 to host UTRGV in the team's non-conference finale. Tickets are available at UHCougars.com/tickets as Houston aims for their fourth victory in as many tries against the school formerly known as UT-Pan American.
| $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 remaining Houston Women's Basketball and Softball home games.
The Shasta Pass offers Houston fans a substantial savings as single-game tickets start at $8 for all four sports. 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--
