University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Depaul
Lady Cougars Come Back Against DePaul to Win Seventh Straight
2/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2002
Down 57-38, the Lady Cougars opened up the second half with a 18-4 scoring drive to shave DePaul's lead to just five points, and with just over three minutes remaining in the game, sophomore Chandi Jones put in a lay up to put Houston on top by one point at 71-70 for their first lead of the afternoon as the Lady Cougars erased a large deficit for the 80-73 win over the Blue Demons in the final game of the regular season on Sunday (Feb. 24) at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The game started out with De Paul in control and Lenae Williams in the driver's seat. The Blue Demons opened the game with a quick five points before the Lady Cougars would register on the board on two Jones' free throws. While Williams, DePaul's All-America candidate, led the Blue Demons' attack from outside the arc with 20 first-half points, 12 of those points off four treys, the Lady Cougars shot just 39 percent from the field and entered the locker room at the half down, 57-38.
Thanks to solid play on both sides of the ball, led by career rebounding performances from senior post player Valerie Muoneke and sophomore Nicole Oliver, Houston put together their biggest comeback of the year en route to securing a second-place seed in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament.
With 17:21 remaining in the contest and the Blue Demons up, 61-44, Oliver sailed in a two-point jumper that sparked a 12-0 run and pulled the Lady Cougars to within five at 61-56. DePaul then answered with their own 8-2 scoring drive to go back on top, 67-58. Both teams continued to go back and forth as the game came down to the final five minutes.
Freshman Shondra Bush, who bucketed a career-high 21 points, put in a lay up with 4:30 left to make it 71-68, then after snagging one of her career-high 19 boards, Muoneke passed the ball to Bush at mid-court and the freshman took control and pulled Houston to within one (71-70) with 3:57 on the clock with yet another lay up. Just twenty-five seconds later, Jones hit a two-pointer to give Houston their first lead of the game at 72-71.
With Houston in the lead, 76-71 and just 35 seconds remaining on the clock, DePaul's Jenni Dant put in a lay up to trim the Lady Cougars' lead to just three. Upon being fouled, Muoneke nailed both free throws and Jones hit a lay up at the buzzer as Houston sealed the come-from-behind win.
After being recognized along with fellow senior Rosalind Carter prior to tip-off as part of Senior Day festivities, Muoneke turned in a career day with 16 points to accompany her career-high 19 rebounds to complete her third double-double performance of the year. Meanwhile, Jones extended her consecutive double figure scoring streak to 47 consecutive games with a game-high 27 points. Oliver had a game-high five assists and pulled down a career-high 14 boards for her sixth 10-plus rebound game this season.
Not only has Houston now won a season-high seven straight--their longest such streak since winning nine in a row during the 1991-92 season--it closes out the 2001-02 regular season with a 21-6 overall record, their first 20-win season since finishing that 1991-92 campaign 22-8. And with a 11-3 record in C-USA games, Houston is also the No. 2 seed--their highest ever--in the C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament slated from March 1-4 in Chicago, Ill.
