Lady Cougars Win Big over Wofford in Consolation Game

Nov. 23, 2002

Both teams battled back and forth for the first eight minutes until junior Chandi Jones sailed in her first two free throws of the day with 12:46 left and went on to score 11 more straight points to put the Lady Cougars on top, 28-14, as the University of Houston women's basketball squad cruised to a 78-61 victory over Wofford in the consolation game of the 2002 Fazoli's/Hampton Inn Classic on Saturday (Nov. 23) afternoon at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

With the win, Houston claims third place in the Classic, its first non-conference tournament of the 2002-03 campaign.

Following Houston's upset loss to Ball State on Friday night, the Lady Cougars rebounded strong and battled, playing a very physical and tough game. The defense put pressure on the Lady Terrier offense all afternoon, forcing Wofford turnovers and traveling penalties, and out-rebounded Wofford, 47-33.

Jones, who finished the afternoon with a game-high 19 points to lead all players, led the Lady Cougars by bucketing 15 in the first half, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line, as Houston took a 44-29 lead into the locker room at the half.

In the second half, Houston continued its dominance. Up by more than 10 points the entire half, the Lady Cougars took a 25-point lead, their largest of the afternoon, with about five minutes remaining when Wofford's LaToya Strong nailed a trey to spark a 9-0 run in which the Lady Terriers pulled to within 15 points with just over a minute to go.

Sophomore Shondra Bush, who made her first start of the 2002 campaign, followed Jones in double figures with 14 points on the afternoon, while fellow sophomore KiKi Harris recorded the first double-double performance of her career with 12 points and 10 boards. Junior Nicole Oliver, the 2002 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, led the squad with four assists and followed Harris with seven boards, six of which were defensive.

The win evens Houston's season record to 1-1. Next up, the Lady Cougars have their 2002-03 home opener against SEC powerhouse Mississippi State on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at Hofheinz Pavilion with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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