University of Houston Athletics
Houston Set to Compete in Conference USA Tournament
3/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2004
2003-04 Postseason Guide in PDF Format
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Heading into the 2004 Conference USA Tournament in Ft. Worth, Texas, the University of Houston women's basketball team carries the best record in the league and in school history as the No. 1 seed in the annual league tournament. They are set to face C-USA archrival Cincinnati on Friday, March 5, at 1:00p.m. in their first game of the tournament, being held at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Currently ranked No. 12 in the latest AP Poll (March 2), the Lady Cougars have accomplished much during their 2003-04 championships season.
On the Court: Houston Secures No. 1 Seed and Earns First-Round Bye at C-USA Tournament; Wins Conference USA Regular Season Championship
Upon defeating inner-state rival TCU, 77-71, in the final regular season game on Feb. 27 at Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston clinched its first-ever Conference USA regular season championship and earned the No. 1 seed in this weekend's annual Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Lady Cougars' 13-1 record vs league foes is the best league season record in school history, surpassing the previous high in victories against league opponents being 11 (the 1984-85 team went 11-5 in the Southwest Conference, and the 2001-02 team went 11-3 in C-USA. In addition, Houston is the first school since the 1995-96 season to clinch the league crown with only one loss, joining DePaul, who won the title with a 13-1 league mark and 21-10 overall record that year. Houston also becomes the nine different school to earn at least a share of the regular season crown in C-USA's first nine seasons.
Houston Enjoys Best Season in School History
With a 24-3 overall record - and .889 winning percentage - the 2003-04 Lady Cougar campaign is the best in school history. The previous school record for winning percentage was the 2001-02 squad, which at 26-8 boasted a .765 percentage. This season marked the ninth Houston has posted 20-or-more victories in a year, and also marks only the second time since the 1991-92 campaign (the 2001-02 squad went 26-8). In addition, the Lady Cougars have attained double digits in victories for the fourth consecutive year.
Curl, Jones Nab Conference USA's Highest Honors
Lady Cougar head coach Joe Curl and senior guard Chandi Jones headlined the list of Conference USA award winners as announced by the league office on March 3. Curl was named Coach of the Year, his first-ever honor, after leading Houston to its first-ever C-USA regular season title. Jones became the first player in C-USA history to be recognized as Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons.
The Road Warriors
With a 14-1 record on the road this season, Houston has the best road record in C-USA as well as the best road record in the country and in school history. This season marks the first time the Lady Cougars have posted double-digit wins on the road, and only the third time since the 1997-98 campaign that the Lady Cougars have closed out a regular season with an above-.500 road mark. Additionally, the Lady Cougars have won 12 straight road games dating back to Dec. 19, when they beat North Texas in Denton, also a school record. Houston's sole road loss this season came at the hands of the nationally-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs, 65-52, in Athens Ga. on Dec. 3.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NCAA DIV. 1 BEST ROAD RECORD
2003-04 REGULAR SEASON
School: Record (Pct.)
Tennessee: 13-0 (1.000)
Houston: 14-1 (.933)
Chattanooga: 11-1 (.917)
Purdue: 11-1 (.917)
Louisiana Tech: 11-2 (.846)
Connecticut: 10-2 (.833)
Maine: 10-2 (.833)
St. Francis PA: 12-3 (.800)
Loyola-Marymount: 10-3 (.769)
Austin-Peay: 10-3 (.769)
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Leading the Pack Among the Ranked
The Lady Cougars are currently ranked No. 11 by the Associated Press Top 25 poll (as of March 1), the highest-ever ranking in school history and ties the highest ever for a C-USA school in any poll (DePaul was ranked 11th by the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll the week of Feb. 16). Houston jumped six places to No. 11 after beating then-No. 13 TCU for its ninth straight win and the C-USA crown. As of March 2, Houston is also No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and is No. 8 in the WBCA/Summerville RPI Rankings and No. 9 in the CBN/RPI Ratings, both the highest among C-USA schools.
Houston at the C-USA Tournament
This season marks the ninth consecutive year the Lady Cougars have played in the C-USA Tournament. Prior to heading into this year's tourney as the No. 1 seed, the previous high seed for Houston was the No. 3 spot in the 2002 tourney. Houston has posted a 2-7 mark in nine C-USA tourney games, with three of those losses coming at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats, who knocked the Lady Cougars out of the semifinals in 2002 and in the first round in both 1998 and 2000.
Last Time Out: Lady Cougars Wrap up Sole Possession of C-USA Title
The Lady Cougars won the 2003-04 Conference USA championship from the two-time defending champions with a 76-71 victory over their intrastate rival in front of 3,283 fans, the fourth largest crowd to ever watch a Lady Cougar game, on Feb. 27. Houston, ranked 14th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 17th by AP, trailed by as many as 12 points before outscoring the Horned Frogs 42-28 in the second half. Houston's comeback included an 18-4 run midway throught the second period after trailing 43-34 at halftime. Senior Nicole Oliver drained a three-pointer from the left wing with 9:36 to play in the game to tie the score at 54 and then sank two free throws with 9:07 to play, giving Houston its first lead of the game. All American candidate Chandi Jones scored a game-high 26 points in her final regular season home game to cap her four-year collegiate career at UH. Jones, who has scored in double figures during every game of her collegiate career, began the second half hitting her first two shots after making just two of her 10 field goal attempts in the first half. The Horned Frogs were led by Sandora Irvin's 21 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks. Kim Ortega added 17 points for TCU while Tiffany Evans added 10 points. In addition to Jones' 26 points, Sancho Lyttle added 14 points for Houston and Oliver finished with 10. Daphne Andre added nine points off the bench for the Lady Cougars while KiKi Harris added six points and eight rebounds.
Chandi the All-American
Senior Chandi Jones, who led all of Conference USA in scoring and was fifth overall (as of Feb. 29) in the nation, is heralded as the best female basketball player in UH history, and in her final campaign as a Lady Cougar, has set numerous records this season and throughout her career. For updated information on Jones throughout the rest of the year, please visit the "All America Candidate" promotional feature located on the right-hand side of main page at www.uhcougars.com, or at the following direct link: http://www.uhcougars.fansonly.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/hou-chandijones.html.
A Closer Look at Houston
Heading into the C-USA tourney, the Lady Cougars have not put up eye-popping offensive numbers; however, they have won games with defense in allowing the opposition just 58.5 points per game. Additionally, Houston averages 13.1 steals per game. The Lady Coogs are led by All American Chandi Jones, who leads C-USA and is among the nation's leaders in both scoring and steals, where she ranks fourth and 12th in the nation, respectively. While Jones has been Houston's scoring machine, junior center Sancho Lyttle has been a force on the inside for Houston this year, averaging nearly a double-double in points and rebounds with 16.3 ppg and 9.5 rebounds per game. Lyttle is third on the team in steals with 64, while having the best shooting percentage (.527) on the team. Joann Overstreet has been a solid performer for Houston at the point guard position, averaging 8.8 points per game and 4.4 assists per game while picking up 59 steals. Senior Nicole Oliver, Houston's defensive force, has been averaging 6.0 points per game and is second on the squad with 72 steals. Other players who have made and impact for the Lady Cougars are KiKi Harris (3.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg) Daphne Andre (5.1 ppg and 2.7 rpg) and Amanda Barksdale (3.2 ppg and 3.7 rpg).
Jones on National Award Watch Lists
Chandi Jones has been named to the watch list of three prestigious national awards in college basketball. Her name has been added to the final watch lists for the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award, and the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award as one of their top 30 players. In addition, Jones also appears in line for the State Farm Wade Watch Award and Kodak All America. The winner of the State Farm Wade Trophy from the 10-member Kodak All-America Team will be announced during the WBCA National Convention, April 3-6, in New Orleans, La. The winners of the Naismith Awards will be honored in Atlanta on April 9.
Red Hot Cougar
Sancho Lyttle has registered double-doubles in three of her last four games to bring her season total to 11 on the year. At ECU on Fev. 15, Lyttle picked up 18 points and 15 rebounds, against DePaul on FEb. 20 she had a career-high 30 points and grabbed another 15 rebounds, while on Feb. 22 against Marquette she scored 21 points and picked up 10 rebounds. She currently ranks ninth on Houston's all-time top ten lists for most rebounds in a single season with 256. In addition, her 9.5 rebounds-per-game average is tied for fifth all-time in school history.
The Dynamic Scoring Duo
This season, Chandi Jones and Sancho Lyttle have teamed to score more than 75 percent of Houston's points this season. In fact, together they have accounted for 1,033 of Houston's 1,821 total points scored on the year, and have both reached double figures in scoring in 23 of 27 games. The most they've combined for came on Nov. 22 vs Iowa, when Jones (34) and Lyttle (20) combined to score 54 of the team's 70 points in the Lady Cougars' 70-64 win over the Hawkeyes.
Jones & Lyttle Among C-USA Leaders
Chandi Jones and Sancho Lyttle are both in the top 10 in scoring in C-USA. Jones, who led the nation in scoring in 2002-03 averaging27.5 points per game, closed out the regular season to once again lead21.8 points per game (1st) while Lyttle, a junior college transfer is averaging 16.4 points per game (8th). Additionally Jones is the leader in steals with 3.27 per game and among the tops in three pointers made while Lyttle is fourth in rebounds, and among the leaders in steals and field goal percentage.
Jones Makes History - Again
Chandi Jones became Conference USA's all-time leading scorer when she bucketed 21 points in Houston's win at ECU on Feb. 15. The 21-point performance lifted Jones past former record holder Tamika Whitmore, who tallied 2,488 points in 120 games for the Memphis Tigers from 1996-99.
Among the National Ranks
Through games of Feb. 24, senior Chandi Jones is ranked fourth in the nation averaging 21.8 ppg and is 17th averging 3.3 steals per game.
Jones Etches Name in Record Books and Becomes Third-Fastest Player in NCAA History to Score 2,000
All-American Chandi Jones became the third-fastest player in NCAA history to reach the 2,000 point plateau when she sank a free throw with 16:07 to play in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Lady Cougars' second game of the 2003-04 season, Jones' 84th collegiate game. Lynette Woodard of Kansas was the fastest to 2,000, she did it in 70 games, while Jackie Styles of Southwest Missouri State reached 2,000 in 83 games.
NCAA Record-Breaker
Jones has scored in double figures in all 109 of her college basketball games, an NCAA record. The previous record for consecutive double-digit scoring games was 92, set by former NCAA Player of the Year Jackie Styles of Southwest Missouri State.
Lyttle Rocks the Rim
Junior Sancho Lyttle shocked the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first game of the season at the Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa when she dunked in the first half. Lyttle grabbed a steal and raced down court, with what appeared to be an uncontested layup. She decided it was time to show her skills and dunked.
Low Losses
Houston's three losses are the fewest in school history and just the fifth time in the programs 29-year history that they have had less than 10 losses in a season. The last time the Lady Cougars posted less than 10 losses was in 2001-02 when they reached the WNIT finals and finished 26-8. Houston has posted less than 10 losses only four other times -- 1984-85 (8), 1987-88 (7), 1991-92 (8) and 2001-02 (8).
Inside the Lady Cougars' Record
The Lady Cougars' 24-3 regular season record is their best overall mark in school history. Against ranked opponents this season, Houston is an even 2-2, with wins against TCU and DePaul, and losses to Georgia and Purdue. Houston was undefeated at 8-0 during the month of February, and since returning to the court following the holidays, have posted a 17-1 record.
