Dec. 15, 2006

Box Score

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LOS ANGELES - A layup by Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) 21 seconds into the second overtime gave the University of Houston a lead it would not relinquish in a wild 96-90 double overtime win over Prairie View A&M in the second game of the Women of Troy Classic at the Galen Center Friday.

Houston (2-6) played its first double-overtime game since Feb. 8, 2004, an 83-78 triple overtime win over Tulane. UH is 20-14 all time in overtime games.

After Jackson's layup, Prairie View pulled it to within one, 91-90, off a jumper by Tanesha Barefield with 2:47 remaining. It was the last field goal of the evening and UH hit five of its eight free throws in the final two minutes to earn its second-straight win and 15th-straight over the Lady Panthers.

The Cougars made a comeback of their own, battling from a 4-point overtime deficit with 1:46 left. Sunshine Misa-Uli (Honolulu, Hawaii/Farrington HS/Barton County CC) put back her own rebound with 1:21 left and Jackson finished a layup with eight seconds left to knot it at 86, forcing the second OT.

Jackson, who tallied 10 of her game-high 28 points in the extra 10 minutes, was playing in only her second game of the season after missing UH's first six contests due to injury. She finished the night 10-for-25 from the field, 5-for-8 from the free throw line with three triples, six rebounds and five assists. She played 48 minutes with tired legs contributing to her team-high 12 turnovers.

Houston (2-6) struggled to hold on to the ball, turning it over 35 times. Prairie View (2-6), who gave it up 29 times themselves, converted UH's miscues into 43 points. UH shot a season-best 44.2 percent (38-86) from the field, the first time the Cougars eclipsed the 40-percent plateau since Feb. 26, 2006, a 74-71 win over UAB.

After erasing PVAMU's halftime lead 3:12 into the second half, the Cougars tried to break out, twice with 6-0 runs, but the Lady Panthers timely three-point shooting kept the game close. PVAMU hit five triples in the second half and nine for the game. With UH holding a five-point lead late in regulation, the Lady Panthers pulled off a 7-0 run, leading 69-67 with 4:32 left in regulation. A pair of jumpers by Jackson had UH leading by two with 3:21 remaining.

Neither team seized much of an advantage until Sha'Ratta Hawkins (Houston, Texas/Jesse Jones HS) took a 40-foot pass from Ryan Meyers (Arlington, Texas/Arlington HS/Grayson County CC) and knocked in the fast-break layup, giving UH a two-point cushion, 77-75, with 27 seconds left in the second half. Candice Thomas answered for PVAMU, weaving in between the UH defense and putting in a layup with 11 ticks left on the clock. Hawkins turned it over on the ensuing inbounds play and PVAMU's Shavonne Smith missed a long three at the buzzer that would have won it for the Lady Panthers.

Hawkins finished with a double-double, 15 points and 13 boards while Meyers added nine along with 11 rebounds. Maya Onikute (Queens, N.Y./Park West HS/Barton County CC) earned her first-career double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Misa-Uli had a career-best 17 points and nine rebounds. Houston ended the night with a 63-42 advantage on the boards.

PVAMU's Gaati Werema finished with 21 points and 13 boards, both team highs. Smith finished with 19, Thomas had 17, and Barefield and Shakeya Johns both ended the night with 13 points.

Houston trailed 35-33 in a first half marred by turnovers. The two squads combined to give up the ball 33 times in the opening 20 minutes. Werema tallied 12 of her points in the first half, leading all players.

The teams traded the advantage four times in the first five minutes with the Lady Panthers on a 13-4 run to lead 24-15 with 9:17 left in the half. A 9-0 run by the Cougars over the next 2:20 tied things up at 24 apiece with 4:48 left. The squads traded buckets in the final four minutes with a pair of free throws from Werema with 17 seconds remaining giving PVAMU its two-point lead heading to the break.

Houston returns to action Saturday, taking on host USC on Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. in the final game of the Women of Troy Classic.