Dec. 9, 2005
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GAME 7
Houston (2-4) vs. West Virginia (3-2)
Saturday, Dec. 10 • 5:30 PM CST
Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479) • Houston, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Houston ISP Sports Network (Internet Only). Joshua Banks (play-by-play) will handle the action. Broadcast available at www.UHCougars.com starting at 4:30 p.m. CST.
The Records: Houston is 1-3 on the season with its lone win coming over Long Beach State (Nov. 20), 66-57, at Hofheinz Pavilion. Saint Joseph's is 4-0, having knocked off Seton Hall (Nov. 30), Bucknell (Nov. 27), NC State (Nov. 20) and Princeton (Nov. 18).
Houston Coach Joe Curl (Wayne State '78):
Enters his eighth season at the helm of the Cougars' program ... has achieved a mark of 123-94 with Houston and a career coaching record of 261-194 in 15 years ... his program has made two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and had a record of 109-47 (.699) over the past five seasons.
WVU Coach Mike Carey (Salem `80):
In his fifth season with the Mountaineers ... his squad is coming off of back-to-back 20-win seasons and postseason apperances ... named 2003-04 BIG EAST Coach Of The Year ... owns a 74-53 (.582) with WVU and a 361-154 (.702) mark in 18 seasons as a head coach.
The Series: This is the first meeting between the two schools.
UH Returns Home To Face Mountaineers ...
The University of Houston women's basketball team returns home for the first time in nearly a month, taking on West Virginia Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CST in Hofheinz Pavilion.
The game is the lone basketball doubleheader of the season. The UH men take on Sam Houston State at 8 p.m.
Fans who purchase a general admission or reserved ticket for the men's game will also be admitted to the women's contest. For more information, call the UH ticket office at 713-GO-COOGS.
UH snapped a three-game losing streak the last time out with a 63-55 win over Texas Pan-American in the consolation game of the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic.
A Brief Look At UH ...
• UH is led by freshman Sha'Ratta Hawkins who is averaging 16.5 points per game and has found double figures in four of her first five collegiate appearances.
• Sophomore Jasmin Moore has put together two-straight career-scoring highs, talling 16 and 24 points against Saint Joseph's and UTPA, respectively. She earned all-tournament team honors at the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic.
• Sophomore Ryan Meyers is one of two UH players (Emily Fryters) to start all six games and is averaging nearly a double-double this season (9.3 ppg/7.3 rpg).
• Fryters is the teams' leader on the glass, pulling down 7.5 boards per game. She grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds against UTPA.
Scouting West Virginia ...
• Enters the game with a 3-2 record, winning three of its last four games.
• Averaging 72.8 points per game and is shooting nearly 50 percent (138-278/.496) from the floor this season, ranking eighth nationally.
• Features four players averaging double figures: Meg Bulger (18.0), Yelena Leuchanka (13.2), Olayinka Sanni (12.6) and Chakhia Cole (10.2).
• Leuchanka leads the team in rebounding (10.0).
• Bulger led the BIG EAST in scoring a year ago.
• Under head coach Mike Carey (fifth season), WVU is 40-10 (.800) against non-BIG EAST squads.
UH's Last Time Out...
• A career-high from Jasmin Moore paced UH to a 63-55 win over Texas Pan-American in the consolation game of the Kansas State Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic.
• Moore dropped 19 points on the Lady Broncs (1-6) in the second half, including five three pointers. She finished the night with 24 points, including six treys, which matched UTPA's team total.
• Houston (2-4) had season highs in both field goals (23) and three pointers (9) and also finished with a season-low eight turnovers.
• The Cougars poured in 17 points off of 23 turnovers by the Lady Broncs and also had a season-high 17 assists.
• UH used a 22-5 run in the first nine minutes of the second half to lead by 18 at 50-32. UTPA was held to just seven points during that nine-minute span.
• The Cougars maintained the double-digit advantage over the next four minutes, but a 5-1 UTPA run starting at the 4:19 mark had the Lady Broncs back to within nine points at 58-49 with 2:18 left.
• On UH's next possession, a long outlet pass to a streaking Moore resulted in an uncontested layup for the sophomore and UH was back up by 11, 60-49.
• UH controlled the ball for the final two minutes and a layup by Hawkins with two seconds left closed out the scoring and handed the Cougars their second win of the season, 63-55.
• Emily Fryters pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds despite playing most of the second half with four fouls.
• The first half was a see-saw battle that featured six ties and eight lead changes. UH moved out to an early 4-0 lead and maintained the lead at 10-6 with 15:52 left in the half. A 5-0 run by UTPA gave the Lady Broncs their first lead of the night, 11-10 with 12:46 left.
• Neither team could snag the advantage as the two squads traded buckets over the next 11 minutes to tie it up at 25 apiece with 1:23 left.
• Meyers hit an off-balance one-footed three pointer as time expired to send Houston into the locker room with the 28-25 halftime lead.
• UTPA was led by Teshay Winfrey and Tynesha Pierce who tallied 15 and 10 points, respectively. MaHogany Daniel had a game- and career-high 14 rebounds.
Jazzing It Up...
• Jasmin Moore was named to the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team after she set carere-bests in back-to-back games.
• She opened up the tournament by accounting for a third of UH's scoring, knocking down 16 points on a 6 for 18 shooting night, including three triples in the 69-45 loss to Saint Joseph's.
• The following day she tallied 24 points to help UH snap a three-game skid with a 63-55 win over Texas Pan-American.
• Moore dropped 19 points on the Lady Broncs in the second half, including five three pointers. Moore finished the night with six treys, which matched UTPA's team total.
• Saint Joseph's Ayahna Cornish earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player award, while teammate Faith Schutte, Kansas State's Shalee Lehning and Twiggy McIntyre and Moore made up the rest of the five-member squad.
Taking Care Of The Ball...
• The Cougars have undergone a rebirth of sorts when it comes to turnovers in the past three games.
• Heading into last week's Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic, UH had 77 turnovers, was averaging 19.3 giveaways per game and had a turnover margin of -5.
• In two games last weekend, UH gave up just 17 turnovers and dropped its turnovers per game number to 15.7.
• UH ranks second in the league with a turnover margin of +3.17.
• UH's 94 turnovers rank second in the league behind Tulane, who has given the ball up 76 times in four games.
From Way Downtown...
• The Cougars are second in the league with a 5.33 three-point field goals made per game average.
• UH has drained 32 treys in six games, ranking second only to UCF (6.17).
• Jasmin Moore has hit for 14 of those three's and ranks third in the conference, averaging 2.33 makes per game from behind the line.
• Sha'Ratta Hawkins is seventh with an average of 1.83 three's per game.
• The duo have combined for 25 of UH's 32 triples and have attempted more threes (80) than five of the teams in the league (Tulane/58, Rice/70, East Carolina/73, Marshall/74 and UAB/78).
Welcome Freshman...
• True freshman Sha'Ratta Hawkins has been impressive in her first six games wearing the Scarlet and White.
• Hawkins is averaging 16.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game thus far this season.
• She opened up her career with 28 points against Wisconsin (Nov. 18) and followed that performance up with 14 points and seven rebounds against Long Beach State (Nov. 20).
• Her second career 20-point game came at Creighton (Nov. 30) where she dropped 23 points and a career-best six steals on the Blue Jays.
• She has hit double figures in five of six games and ranks fourth in the league in scoring, fourth in steals (2.83 spg) and seventh in three-pointers made (1.83).
• She averages a team-high 36.2 minutes per game and has started in five of six contests.
Dynamic Duo?...
• Division I newcomer Ryan Meyers has been a solid compliment to Hawkins this season.
• Meyers, a sophomore junior college transfer, is averaging nearly a double-double with 9.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
• She ranks 28th in C-USA in scoring, eighth in rebounding and is tied for third in offensive rebounding.
• Her .389 field goal percentage (21 for 54) leads the team as does her 24 offensive rebounds. She has grabbed 12 steals, ranking her second on the squad and tied for eighth in the league.
• She is one of three players averaging more than 30 minutes a game. Her 32.5 minutes per game ranks second.
Perfection...
• Sophomore transfer Becky Gibson was a perfect 8 for 8 from the charity stripe against Long Beach State (Nov. 20).
• She became the seventh UH player, with at least five attempts, to sink all of her attempts in a game and was the first to hit the mark since 1996.
• Gibson is one of two C-USA players to acomplish the feat this season (Kendra Read, Southern Miss).
Searching For The Right Match...
• Through six games this season, UH has used four different lineups as head coach Joe Curl tinkers with the makeup of his young squad.
• Emily Fryters and Ryan Meyers are the only Cougars to have both started in all six games.
• Listed below are the lineups used this season and each starting five's record.
• Fryters, Glover, Gibson, Meyers, Moore
0-1 (at Wisconsin)
• Fryters, Gibson, Hawkins, McKinney, Meyers
2-1 (vs. Long Beach State/at MTSU/vs. UTPA)
• Fryters, Hawkins, McKinney, Meyers, Moore
0-1 (at Creighton)
• Creel, Fryters, Hawkins, Meyers, McKinney
0-1 (vs. Saint Joseph's)
TV Time At Hofheinz...
• UH will make a pair of home appearances on national television this season, once on ESPN and once on CSTV.
• The Cougars will have further chances for TV exposure as the league tournament semifinals (CSTV) and championship game (ESPN2) are both slotted for live broadcasts from Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
• ESPN2 will carry the Cougars game against local rival Rice on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. CST.
• CSTV is scheduled to broadcast the Sunday, Feb. 19 contest against SMU at 4 p.m.
The Joe Curl Show...
• UH's eighth-year head coach will once again appear on the airwaves weekly in 2005-06 as the Joe Curl Show returns to the Houston ISP Sports Network on Mondays from 7:30 to 8 p.m. CST starting Jan. 9, 2006.
• The show, hosted by ISP Sports Analysts Joshua Banks and Jeremy Branham serves as the lead-in to the Tom Penders Show, which airs from 8-9 p.m.
• The show airs via the internet at www.UHCougars.com.
• All shows will take place at Irma's Southwest Grill, located on the corner of Austin and Texas, downtown.
• The times and dates of the coaches' show are listed below.
2005-06 Joe Curl Show (7:30-8 p.m. CST)
Mon. Jan. 9, Mon. Jan 16, Mon. Jan 23, Mon. Jan. 30, Mon. Feb. 13, Mon. Feb 20, Mon. Feb 27, Mon. Mar 6
Cougars Second In C-USA Preseason Poll...
• Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the University of Houston women's basketball team received five of 12 first place votes and was picked to finish second in the Conference USA preseason women's basketball poll.
• Rice snagged the other seven first-place votes to take the top spot in the poll. Following the Cougars was SMU, Marshall, Tulsa, UCF, Southern Miss, Memphis, Tulane, UAB, UTEP and East Carolina. Rice's Lauren Neaves was named as preseason player of the year.
• In lieu of a preseason all-conference team, the league office announced a C-USA "Players to Watch" list. Each of the 23 players is expected to make significant contributions to their respective team. UH was represented by sophomore guards Tye Jackson and Jasmin Moore.
2005-06 C-USA "PLAYERS TO WATCH" LIST
LaToya Horton, East Carolina, Forward, Cherie Mills, East Carolina, Center, Jasmin Moore, Houston, Guard, Tye Jackson, Houston, Guard, Sikeetha Shepard-Hall, Marshall, Guard, Crystal Champion, Marshall, Forward, Tamika Butler, Memphis, Guard, Devin Necaise, Memphis, Guard, Krystal Frazier, Rice, Guard, Lauren Neaves, Rice, Forward, Katy Cobb, SMU, Guard, Janielle Dodds, SMU, Center, Shannon Stueber, Southern Miss, Forward, Emer Foley, Southern Miss, Forward, Jami Montagnino, Tulane, Guard, Jillian Robbins, Tulsa, Forward, Megan Moody, Tulsa, Forward, Carmen Guzman, UAB, Guard, Crystal McFadden, UAB, Guard, Celeste Hudson, UCF, Guard, Shelby Weber, UCF, Forward, Charnette Phelps, UTEP, Forward, Ana Valtierra, UTEP, Guard
