University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
South Florida
Lady Cougars Down South Florida in Closing Seconds
2/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2002
In perhaps the most physical game of the season, the University of Houston Lady Cougars jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before the South Florida would answer with a basket and the two teams went on for a forty-minute battle as Houston squeaked by with a 56-53 victory over the Conference USA-member Bulls on Sunday (Feb. 3) afternoon at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.
A defensive battle from tip-off, Houston and South Florida combined for 19 fouls and 27 turnovers in the first half. Houston capitalized with six points on free throws and commanded a lead and never let South Florida to come within two. After the Bulls' Dione Smith tallied a two-point jumper with 6:53 left to pull to within three points (18-15), the Lady Cougars completely shut down the South Florida offense for the remainder of the half, allowing the Bulls only one more point on a free throw.
Sophomore All-American candidate Chandi Jones attained double figures in her 41st consecutive game with 11 points in the first half when she nailed a three-pointer with four seconds left on the clock as the Lady Cougars entered the locker room with a 28-16 half-time lead.
The Bulls opened up the second half with a 7-1 run to shrink the Lady Cougars' lead to five and make the score 29-24. Senior Valerie Muoneke put in a two-point jumper with 15:03 left for Houston's first basket of the second half, but South Florida's Jen Kline answered with five straight points, including a three-pointer, as the Bulls climbed back into the game and pulled to within two (31-29).
The game continued to go back and forth for the rest of the contest as South Florida outscored Houston, 37-28. The Bulls tied the score at 41-41 with 5:46 left when Alana Tanksley put in both free throws upon being fouled, and first took a one-point lead (46-45) before Jones would recapture the lead for the Lady Cougars with four straight points on a two-point jumper and two free throws.
As the game clock wound down and the game came down to the wire, Houston had a one-point advantage (51-50) with 2:52 left when South Florida's Tristen Webb put in a lay-up with 1:37 left and Jen Kline nailed one of two free throws to give the Bulls their largest lead of two points with just over a minute to play. After making a critical steal from South Florida, freshman Shondra Bush ran down the other end of the court and dropped in a lay-up to put Houston back on top by one (54-53). A foul by the Bulls' Kline with just two seconds left led to two free throws by Jones as Houston held on for the victory.
Jones closed out the afternoon with her second double-double performance of the season, finishing with a game-high 24 points while pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds and adding four steals. Fellow sophomore Nicole Oliver also nabbed double figures in boards with 10, and had a team-high four assists.
With the win, the Lady Cougars improve to 15-6 overall on the season, including 5-3 in C-USA action. They have won five of their last six C-USA games, and six of their last seven overall.
The Lady Cougars return home to Hofheinz Pavilion to a weekend of Conference USA action beginning Friday, February 8, against the Tulane Green Wave at 7:00 p.m. (CT), followed by a Sunday afternoon (Feb. 10) contest against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 2:00 p.m. (CT).
