University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Louisville
Lady Cougars Slight Louisville at Hofheinz
1/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2002
Except for the opening five-point lead, Louisville attacked first and was off to a quick 5-0 start before Houston sophomore Chandi Jones answered with five straight points to tie and begin a scoring battle between the two schools as the Lady Cougars prevailed on their home court by a final of 71-68 on Friday (Jan. 18) night at aHofheinz Pavilion.
In perhaps the Lady Cougars' hardest fought and best-well played game of the year, Houston shot 45.8 percent (27-59) from the floor and except for the opening five-point lead, kept Louisville, which was averaging 75.6 points per game entering the game, within reach. In fact, except for the Cardinals' opening five-point lead, neither team led the other by more than three points throughout the first half.
With the score tied at 31 apiece with four seconds left on the clock in the first half, Lady Cougar junior Angela Curl nailed a three-pointer to give Houston a 34-31 lead into half-time. Houston took a quick 50-45 lead at the start of the second half, and once again Louisville came back to tie.
Down 58-63 with 4:49 left in the game, Houston shut down the Cardinal offense and went on a 10-0 run to go up, 68-63. Louisville's Marju Sober, which finished the night with a double-triple performance, nailed a three-pointer to pull the Cardinals to within two. Jones answered with a two-point jumper to once again give Houston a four-point advantage, and after being fouled twice, nailed one of her two free throws and rebounded the ball off the rim to seal the victory for the Lady Cougars.
Jones closed out the night shooting 8-of-14 for a game-high 20 points, and was joined by senior Valerie Muoneke (17), Curl (12) and freshman Shondra Bush (10) in double figures in points. Bush also recorded a career and Lady Cougar high nine assists.
With the win, Houston improves to 11-5 overall on the season and 6-1 at home, and 1-2 in C-USA. They have gone 9-1 over their last 10 contests at Guy V. Lewis Court.
Houston closes out this current thee-game homestand on Sunday, Jan. 20, afternoon against the Cincinnati Bearcats at 2:00pm.
