University of Houston
Houston Jaguars (Exhibition)
Women's Basketball Closes Out Exhibition Play With Overtime Win
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2006
Game Book in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team needed overtime, but an 8-3 run in the extra period propelled the Cougars to an 83-78 win over the Houston Jaguars, Friday in Hofheinz Pavilion.
Houston, 1-1 in the exhibition season, used a balanced attack that featured five players in double figures, led by Maya Onikute's (Queens, N.Y./Park West HS/Barton County CC) 15 points. The junior guard knocked down the last bucket of the night, a 15-foot jumper with 43 seconds left in overtime, to ice the victory.
Whitney James (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial HS/North Oklahoma College) started the scoring in the overtime with a layup with 4:12 left. James was fouled on the play and missed her chance for a three-point play but an offensive rebound by Ashlee' Joseph (Houston, Texas/Booker T. Washington HS) led to a three pointer by Alona Obaze (Dallas, Texas/Bryan Adams HS/Trinity Valley CC) with 4:!2 left moving UH's lead to five at 80-75.
The Jaguars' Brandi Jones put in a layup on a long feed from Shanta Johnson with 2:48 left, the visitors' only field goal of the extra period. Obaze split a pair of free throws after being fouled at midcourt and UH led by four, 81-77, with 2:22 left. Tamea Scales was fouled underneath on the next play and split her free throws, giving UH a three-point lead, 81-78, with 2:13 left. Onikute's jumper with under a minute left closed out the scoring.
James finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, Obaze ended the night with 13 points and three steals while Joseph finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Ryan Meyers (Arlington, Texas/Arlington HS/Grayson County CC) pulled down a game high 10 rebounds and Becky Gibson (Macon, Ga./Westside HS/Coffeyville CC) continued her strong play with seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and a block.
Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) played just 14 minutes after suffering a leg injury in the first half. She did not return and her status is day-to-day. She finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
The Cougars opened the game on a 26-11 run over the first ten minutes. The last 10 minutes of the half belonged to the visitors with the Jaguars going on a 30-13 run to close the half. The Cougars mustered just a pair of field goals in the final seven minutes of the half, trailing by a pair heading into the break.
Houston opens up the regular season on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., facing off against Texas Tech at Hofheinz Pavilion. It is the first meeting between the two former Southwest Conference rivals since the 1996 season, which featured three contests, all Texas Tech wins. For tickets to any UH home event, call 713-GO-COOGS or log on to the official internet home of UH, www.UHCougars.com.
