Jan. 29, 2006

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

HOUSTON, Texas - Nakazi Glover (Brookshire, Texas/Bellaire HS) led four players in double figures as the University of Houston women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 64-50 win over UTEP in Conference USA action Sunday at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Houston (8-11, 5-3 C-USA) handed UTEP (11-9, 3-5 C-USA) its second-straight loss and fourth in the past five games. The Cougars extended their all-time series advantage to 6-0 and dropped the Miners to 0-4 on the road in league play this season.

With just under five minutes gone in the second half, and UH leading 32-29, the Cougars broke the game open with a 16-5 run over 4:55. The run was bookended by an Emily Fryters (Adelaide, Australia/Concordia College) jumper and a three from Sha'Ratta Hawkins (Houston, Texas/Jesse Jones HS), giving Houston a 48:34 lead with 10:09 left in the game.

UH pushed the advantage to as many as 17, 56-39, after Hawkins sank a pair of free throws with 5:20 left. The Miners pulled it within 12, 62-50, with 33 ticks left and a layup by Fryters at the buzzer closed out the 14-point victory.

Glover paced the Cougars, tying a game high with 15 points. Hawkins, who had a career-high four blocks, finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Jackson finished with 13 points and nine assists while Fryters added eight boards and six points. Kadi Creel (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville HS) was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field, finishing with 11 points.

Houston emerged from an offensive slump with its second-best shooting performance of the season. After shooting 61 for 199 (.307) in the previous three contests, UH was 28 for 58 (.483) from the field and tied a season best with a 50 percent effort (4 for 8) from behind the arc. The Cougars are 3-0 when attempting 12 or fewer threes on the season.

UH forced UTEP in 18 turnovers, which the Cougars converted into 14 points. The Cougars also set a team arena record with their eight blocked shots.

The first 20 minutes were nip-and-tuck the entire way, featuring seven lead changes and four ties. A layup by Jackson knotted it up at 20 apiece with 5:01 left in the half. Following a Miners turnover, Sha'Quaylon McKinney (Dallas, Texas/Skyline HS/Trinity Valley CC) split a pair of free throws to put UH up one with 3:10 left in the half.

A steal by Hawkins on the ensuing possession led to a fast-break layup for Creel that moved the lead to three, 23-20 with 2:27 left. After a missed trey from the Miners, Glover knocked down a jumper off a nice feed from Jackson to give UH a five-point cushion with under two minutes left in the half. The teams failed to score on any of the next five possessions and UTEP was able to pull within three at the half, 25-22, following a Chemeka Amos jumper at the buzzer.

UTEP was led by Izabela Piekarska who finished with 15 points and Charnette Phelps who had 13. Tay Hester tied for the game high with eight rebounds.

The Cougars make the short trip to Autry Court Friday night at 7 p.m. CST for their second tussle of the year with Rice. UH knocked off the Owls 79-72 at Hofheinz on Jan. 15. The two squads will square off for the second time in a month after not playing for over four years. Houston closes out the weekend with Monday tilt with Marshall at 7 p.m. in Hofheinz.