University of Houston
Texas A&M
Lady Cougars Drop Heartbreaker to Aggies
12/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2001
Sophomore Chandi Jones hit a two-point jumper to tie the game at 69-69 with 1:39 left in regulation, but a Houston turnover and three consecutive fouls which led to five Aggie points off free throws in the final seconds of the game was enough for the Aggies as Texas A&M held on for a 75-69 win over the University of Houston Lady Cougars on Saturday (Dec. 29) afternoon at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.
Jones, who finished the afternoon shooting 10-of-19 from the field for a game-high 24 points, initially led the Lady Cougars' comeback late in the second half and tied the game at 67-all on a two-point jumper with 2:26 left.
The game was a defensive battle between both school from tip-off, and despite shooting just 38 percent as a team in the first half, Texas A&M capitalized on 14 Houston turnovers and took a 33-30 advantage into the locker room at half-time.
Houston battled back in the second half and pulled to within five with just over nine minutes to play before the Aggie went on a 8-0 run, led by sophomore Toccara Williams, while shutting down the Lady Cougar offense to increase their lead to a game-high ten points. Williams went on to score 10 straight points for the Aggies before Jones came back for Houston with five unanswered points to once again shave Texas A&M's lead to five.
Lady Cougar center Valerie Muoneke recorded her second double-double performance both of the season and of her career in pulling down a game-high 11 boards and joining Jones in double figures in points with 15. Junior Angela Curl, a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, had a game-high six assists, and sophomore Nicole Oliver had nine rebounds.
Freshman standout Shondra Bush recorded a team-high five steals.
The game marked the first time Houston has faced Texas A&M since both were members of the former Southwest Conference in the conference's final year in 1996. Houston held a 32-19 lifetime advantage over the Aggies entering the contest.
With the loss, Houston falls to 8-3 overall on the season and maintain their best overall season start since beginning the 1991-92 campaign with a perfect 9-0 mark.
The Lady Cougars return home to Hofheinz Pavilion and host Oral Roberts University on Sunday, December 30, with tip-off scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
