Dec. 28, 2007

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HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team closed out 2007 with an 84-68 loss to No. 13/14 Duke in non-conference action Friday on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Joy Cheek led all players with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She scored eight points during a 16-0 Duke run that spanned both halves and turned a close game into a 49-27 lead with 19 minutes remaining. Duke (10-3) never led by fewer than 13 after that.

Houston (5-8) turned the ball over 20 times and shot 36.2 percent (21-58) for the game.

The Blue Devils scored 44 points in the paint and converted 21 offensive rebounds into 25 second-chance points. Duke was 30-for-67 (.448) from the field despite shooting just 25 percent (2-8) from behind the three-point line.

Twiggy McIntyre (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS/Kansas State) led UH with 13 points and five rebounds. Courtney Taylor (Crockett, Texas/Crockett HS) tallied 11 points and a block while Ryan Meyers (Arlington, Texas/Arlington HS/Grayson County CC) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) had 12 points and nine assists, a single-game best for a UH player this season.

The Cougars were solid from the free-throw line, firing at an 82.6-percent clip (19-23), including a 10-for-11 effort in the second half.

After a see-saw opening 13 minutes that saw three ties and five lead changes, Duke used a 21-5 run over the final seven minutes of the half to lead by 14 at the break, 41-27. During that span, Houston was 1-for-5 from the field with four turnovers.

Duke scored 22 of its 41 first-half points in the paint and scored 14 points off of nine UH turnovers.

Chante Black added 12 points and seven rebounds and Jasmine Thomas scored 11. Carrem Gay came off the bench to grab nine rebounds along with eight points.

Houston continues a season-long six-game homestand on Jan. 2 against Lamar. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Fans can listen to a free internet radio broadcast of all UH games this year by clicking on the Stretch Internet Broadcast link at UHCougars.com. Streaming video for all home games will also be made available through the All-Access package at UHCougars.com.