University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Tulane
Lady Cougars Handle Tulane at Home
2/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2002
In a rematch of the semifinals of the 2001 Conference USA Tournament, this time it was Houston that came out on top as the Lady Cougars took command in the second half and surged following a 9-0 run to down the Tulane Green Wave by a final of 85-74 on Friday (Feb. 8) night at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Tulane, the reigning C-USA Champions, struck first and shut down the Lady Cougars until senior post player Valerie Muoneke, who closed out the night with 13 points and just two rebounds shy of her fourth double-double of the year, nailed a three-point jumper for the first time this season to put Houston on the board with 16:40 left in the opening half.
With the game tied at 32-32 with just 1:18 left to half-time, an assist by sophomore All-America candidate Chandi Jones led to another Muoneke basket with 40 seconds left to give Houston a two-point advantage before Tulane's Sarah Goree, who recorded a game-high 27 points for the Green Wave, answered with a basket to tie the score once again. Junior Angela Curl responded with a three-pointer with just five seconds left on the clock to give the Lady Cougars a 37-34 half-time lead.
Tulane struck first to open the second half, but the story of the night would be Houston. Jones' second three of the night with 18:05 left on the clock gave Houston a 47-39 lead and sparked its 9-0 run. In addition, the three-pointer was the Lady Cougars' eighth of the night, a new season high.
Houston had a lead as large as 17 points twice, and never let Tulane get to within ten points until the final two minutes when, with the score 79-69, Goree nailed her third basket from outside the arc to pull the Green Wave to within seven.
Jones finished the night with a team-high 26 points and seven assists, and was joined by Muoneke, who shot 6-of-9 from the field, and freshmen KiKi Harris (12 points) and Shondra Bush (18 points) in double figures.
In addition to recording a new team season high with eight three-pointers, Houston also set a new season high with 19 team assists when Harris put in a pass from Bush late in the second half.
With the win, the Lady Cougars improve to 16-6 overall on the season, including 6-3 in C-USA action. They have won six of their last seven C-USA games, and seven of their last eight overall.
The Lady Cougars next host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2:00 p.m. (CT).
