University of Houston Athletics
UC Santa Barbara-Houston Preview
3/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2004
From the Associated Press
GAME: No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (26-6) vs. No. 3 Houston (28-3).
REGIONAL: East, Second Round.
TIME: Monday, 11 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Thunderdome; Santa Barbara, Calif.
Houston is streaking at just the right time. However, in order to keep their season going, the Lady Cougars will have to get past a UC Santa Barbara team that has built up some momentum of its own.
Houston looks to extend its school-record 13-game winning streak as it faces the upset-minded Gauchos on their home court in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Lady Cougars beat Wisconsin-Green Bay 62-47 on Saturday for their first-ever win in the tournament.
"That's awesome," said coach Joe Curl, whose team has won 22 of its last 23. "The biggest stat we wanted to see was turn 27-3 into 28-3."
Chandi Jones, who ranked third in the nation in scoring coming in, scored 28 points for Houston, which is in the tournament for just the third time. The Lady Cougars earned its berth in the field of 64 with its first-ever Conference USA tournament crown.
Houston, which posted the best season in school history, had not appeared in the NCAA's since 1992, when it lost 80-69 to the Gauchos in Santa Barbara in the only other meeting between the schools. The victory was the Gauchos' first in the NCAA tournament.
Nicole Oliver added 11 points against the Phoenix, and Sancho Lyttle managed seven points and 10 rebounds after playing just seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.
The Gauchos cruised to a 76-49 upset victory over sixth-seeded Colorado on Saturday, earning a trip to the second round for the third straight year.
"I had no inkling we would be able to win by that large of a margin," coach Mark French said.
Mia Fisher scored 20 points, Kristen Mann had 16 and April McDivitt for UCSB, which wore its road blue uniforms despite playing on its home floor. The sites for the tournament games were determined before the teams were awarded berths.
"Our home crowd really helps us. That made it really difficult for Colorado to stem the tide," French said.
UCSB has won 11 straight at the Thunderdome and 38 of their last 39 games.
"I'm so impressed with the crowd. It's just a great college environment," said Curl, whose team is 16-1 away from home this season. "We really want to drown them out. We've played in some of those environments at Virginia Tech and Oregon. I think our kids are up for that."
The Gauchos, who held eight opponents to fewer than 20 first-half points, held the Buffaloes to just 26 before the half.
Colorado shot a season-low 29 percent (12-of-42) from the floor for the game. Ohio State and Idaho are the only team to shoot 50 percent against Santa Barbara this season.
Santa Barbara is also vying for its first-ever trip to the round of 16. The winner of Monday's game will advance to the regional semifinals in Hartford, Conn.
PROBABLE STARTERS: UC Santa Barbara - F Brandy Richardson (6.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg), F Mann (13.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg), C Lindsay Taylor (16.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg), G McDivitt (7.7 ppg, 4.4 apg), G Fisher (9.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg). 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 Oliver (5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: UC Santa Barbara - Automatic bid, Big West; beat Colorado 76-49, first round. Houston - Automatic bid, Conference USA; beat Wisconsin-Green Bay 62-47, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: UC Santa Barbara - 6-9, 10 year. Houston - 1-2, 3 years.
