University of Houston Athletics
Wisconsin-Green Bay-Houston Preview
3/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2004
From the Associated Press
GAME: No. 14 Wisconsin-Green Bay (23-7) vs. No. 3 Houston (27-3).
REGIONAL: East, First Round.
TIME: Saturday, 9:00 p.m. EST.
SITE: Thunderdome; Santa Barbara, Calif.
Coming off the best season in school history, Houston will try for its first victory in the NCAA tournament when it faces Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first round.
The Lady Cougars earned their first Conference USA regular-season championship and first league tournament crown on their way to a school-best 27-3 overall record.
Houston's 12-game winning streak is the longest in school history. The Lady Cougars, making their third appearance in the tournament, last appeared in 1992 when it lost 80-69 to UC Santa Barbara.
"I think this team, even if they lost in the first round, would be considered one of the best (Houston) teams ... but that's not enough," said Houston coach Joe Curl, who is just one win shy of his 100th at the school. "We're not even going to look at accomplishments until someone drags us off the court and says, `Hey, your season's over.'
"Why not us, and why not now?"
Houston senior forward Chandi Jones is third in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.5 points. She's also ranked in the top 20 in the country in steals with 3.2 per game.
Jones was the driving force behind Houston's 86-75 win over Texas Christian in the Conference USA tournament final on March 7, scoring 24 of her 36 points in the second half.
Center Sancho Lyttle gives the Lady Cougars an imposing presence on the inside. Averaging 16.8 points per contest, Lyttle is shooting a team-high 53.7 percent from the field and leads Houston with 13 double-doubles.
Wisconsin-Green Bay has persevered through injuries this season, including the loss of two senior starters, to make its third straight NCAA tournament appearance and sixth in the past seven seasons.
Leading scorer Abby Scharlow went 4-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 24 points in Wisconsin-Green Bay's 66-54 victory over Detroit in the Horizon League tournament title game on March 8.
Last year, the Phoenix won for the first time in tournament play, defeating Washington 78-65 in the first round of the West regional before falling in their next game to top-seeded LSU, 80-69.
This will be the first meeting between the teams.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Wisconsin-Green Bay - F Scharlow (16.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg), F Amy Fieck (2.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg), C Nicole Soulis (14.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg), G Trisha Grassell (7.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg), G Mary Kulenkamp (9.8 ppg, 3.4 apg). Houston - F Jones (22.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg), F KiKi Harris (4.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg), C Lyttle (16.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg), G Joann Overstreet (8.8 ppg, 4.5 apg), G Nicole Oliver (5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Wisconsin-Green Bay - Automatic bid, Horizon League champion. Houston - Automatic bid, Conference USA champion.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Wisconsin-Green Bay - 1-6, 6 years. Houston - 0-2, 2 years.
