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University of Houston Athletics
Women's Hoops On The Road To Close Regular Season
2/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2006
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GAME 26
Houston (9-16, 6-8 C-USA) at Memphis (3-22, 1-13 C-USA)
Friday, Feb. 26 • 7 p.m. CST
Roane Fieldhouse (3,000) • Memphis, Tenn.
Television: None
Radio: ISP Sports Internet Broadcast on UHCougars.com. Joshua Banks (play-by-play) calls the game.
Live Stats: www.GoTigersgo.com
The Records: Houston (9-16, 6-8 C-USA) enters on a five-game skid. After starting conference play 4-0, UH has dropped eight of its past 10 games. Memphis (3-22, 1-13 C-USA) has lost four in-a-row. Prior to their lone C-USA win on Feb. 6, Memphis had dropped 12 in-a-row.
Houston Coach Joe Curl (Wayne State `78): In his eighth season at the helm of the Cougars' program ... has a mark of 130-106 (60-57 C-USA) with Houston and a career coaching record of 267-206 in 15 years ... his program has made two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Memphis Coach Blair Savage-Lansden (Arkansas `94): In her second season with Memphis with a record of 15-37 overall ... She is 0-1 all-time vs. Houston.
Last Meeting: UH beat Memphis 74-45 on Feb. 7, 2005 in Memphis.
The Series: Memphis leads the all-time series 10-6. UH is 3-5 when playing at Memphis. The Cougars have won the last two meetings.
Cougars On The Road To Close Regular Season ...
The University of Houston women's basketball team, coming off its first single-digit loss of the season, looks to snap a season-long five-game losing streak Friday in Memphis.
The Tigers are 3-22 on the season, 1-13 in Conference USA play. Memphis is led by Juniors Devin Necaise and Ashley Howard who rank ninth and scoring (14.2 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.9 rpg), respectively. Necaise is the leage's top free-throw shooter, firing at a .903 clip (56 for 62) from the charity stripe.
UH is currently 10th in the league standings. If the season ended today, the Cougars would play Tulane in the first round of the C-USA Women's Basketball Championship, slotted for March 2-5 in Dallas. Following Friday's matchup with Memphis, the Cougars head to Birmingham, Ala., to square off with the Blazers to close out the regular season.
Championship seedings and first-round opponents will be announced Sunday night by the league office. Check www.ConferenceUSA.com and www.UHCougars.com for the latests news.
Streaks ...
• Houston is mired in a five-game skid, its longest losing streak in nearly six years.
• Prior to this season, UH had not lost more than three-straight games since the 1999-2000 campaign. That year, UH endured an eight-game losing streak, as well as a four-game and three-game skid. The Cougars finished 7-21, 3-13 C-USA that season.
• The school record for consecutive losses is 18, spanning from Jan. 3, 1998 until Nov. 27, 1999. The record for consecutive losses in the same season is 15, set by the 1998-99 squad.
Getting Back On Track ...
• The Cougars, in the middle of their longest losing streak of the season, need to get the offense on the right track.
• Over the past five games, UH is 103 for 326 from the field (..316) and 22 for 95 (.232) from behind the arc.
• UH's top-three offensive threats, Nakazi Glover, Sha'Ratta Hawkins and Tye Jackson have accounted for 85 of those 103 field goals (.825) and 19 of the 22 treys (.863).
• The three are shooting a combined 85 for 237 (.358) from the floor and 19 for 84 (.226) from distance.
• Houston's defense has been strong, holding four of five opponents under 40 percent shooting and forcing teams into an average 21.2 turnovers per game.
Ask Coach Curl? ...
• In conjunction with Cougar Talk with Joe Curl, an ask the coach feature has debuted on UHCougars.com. Fans can submit a question for UH's eighth-year head coach to answer on his weekly show.
• The 30-minute show, broadcast live from Irma's Southwest Grill on the corner of Austin and Texas downtown is available on www.UHCougars.com from 7:30-8 p.m. CST on selected Mondays.
• Remaining air dates are: Feb 27 and March 6.
Last Time They Met ...
• UH used a 28-8 first-half run to knock off Memphis 74-45 at Hofheinz Pavilion.
• Houston started the second half on a 14-2 lead to slam to door on the Tigers.
• Sancho Lyttle led the way with 13 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
• Kadi Creel knocked down 11 points while Daphne Andre chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds.
• UH's bench nearly outscored Memphis' entire squad as the reserves poured in 43 points on the night.
• The Cougars converted 27 Memphis turnovers into 28 points while holding the Tigers to under 30 percent shooting.
Random Musings...
• In the past 10 games, UH is forcing opponents into an average of 21 turnovers per game, but is just 2-8 during that span.
• Houston is the only team in the league to have two players (Hawkins and Jackson) averaging more than 14.5 points per game. Hawkins (14.9 ppg) is second among first-year players in scoring and Jackson (17.6 ppg) does not appear in the overall C-USA totals because she has not played in 75% of UH's games.
• The Cougars lead C-USA in turnover margin (+4.37), are tied for the top spot in three-pointers per game (5.44) and ranks second in three-point field goal percentage defense (.298).
• Houston is 3-0 when attempting 12 or less three-pointers in a game (Prairie View A&M, East Carolina, UTEP).
• The Cougars have shot .400 or better in eight games this year and are 6-2 when achieving that mark. UH's single-game his this year came against Southern Miss (Jan. 8), a .541 (33 for 61) affair.
• UH has led at halftime in seven of its nine wins, trailing at the half in both wins over Rice (Jan. 15/Feb. 3).
• The Cougars are 2-0 when Tye Jackson has 10 or more turnovers (Prairie View A&M, East Carolina).
Quickies ...
• Tye Jackson, Nakazi Glover and Sha'Ratta Hawkins have tallied 85 of the Cougars 103 field goals (.825) in the past five games with all averaging over 30 minutes per game. The trio have also combined for 19 of Houston's 22 three-pointers (.863) in the last five contests.
• Jackson, who does not appear in C-USA's overall statistics as she has not played in 75 percent of Houston's games, would be second in the conference in assists (5.5 apg) and rank scoring (17.6 ppg).
• Jackson's 37-point performance against Rice (Jan. 15) is the top single-game effort of any C-USA player this season and is tied for the 11th-best effort nationally this season. She has averaged 16.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 4.7 apg in the last 10 games.
• Hawkins (14.9 ppg) is second among C-USA's freshman class in scoring, ebounding (6.4 rpg) and steals (2.24 spg). She leads first-year players in blocked shots (1.04 bpg). Her 2.12 three-pointers per game is tied for fourth in the league's overall statistics, tops among freshmen.
• Glover, who tallied her first career double-double (16 pts./10 rbs.) against Tulane (Jan. 27), has averaged 12.4points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game in UH's past five outings. She ranks second in the league in rebounding (6.4 rpg) in league-only games.
• UH has shown no fear from distance this season, tying for the top spot in the league with Memphis (5.44). Four players, Kadi Creel, Hawkins, Jackson and Jasmin Moore have combined for 124 of UH's 136 triples (.911) and have attempted more three's (424) than nine of the 11 teams in the league. Only SMU (480) ranks ahead of UH in three-point attempts.
• Houston has used 11 lineups in 24 games this season. The starting five of Emily Fryters, Glover, Hawkins, Jackson and Ryan Meyers have started 11 of the past 13 games, with UH going 5-8 during that span.
• Fryters, a starter in 21 games this season, is the team's lone senior. She has set career highs in all categories this season. Noteably, she picked up her first career double-double against Rice on Jan. 15. She finished with a 10 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.
• In the past five games, UH has tallied 22 blocks, nearly equaling its total from 11 non-conference games (26). UH had a season-high nine stuffs against Tulsa (Feb. 17).
• UH, 6-6 in 12 games at Hofheinz Pavilion this year, is averaging 65.8 ppg at home while shooting 39.2 percent (323-825) from the field and 31.5 percent (70-222) from beyond the arc. Away from its home court (3-9), Houston is averaging just 55.6 ppg and shooting 31.3 percent (237-757) from the field and 66-247 (.267) from three-point land.
Taking Care Of The Ball ...
• The Cougars set a school record with their five turnovers against Rice (Feb. 3).
• The previous single-game record was six, set on Dec. 20, 2000 in a home game against Hawai'i.
• UH is 3-2 this season when giving the ball up less than 10 times.
• Prior to this season, UH had not had less than 10 turnovers in a game in five years.
• The Cougars lead C-USA in turnover margin (+4.52) and their 380 turnovers are the lowest among league squads.
• In conference games, UH's turnover margin is +6.93 ranking at the top of the heap. The closest team to UH is Southern Miss, ranking second at +1.86.
• Houston is averaging 11.07 steals per game in league action which leads all schools in C-USA.
• UH has just 195 turnovers in C-USA play, 18 fewer then its closest competition (UTEP/213).
C-USA Tournament Time Nears...
• The 2005 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 2-5 at SMU's Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
• All 12 C-USA teams will compete in the championship, with the winner receiving the league's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
• The teams with the four best conference records earn first-round byes. Teams receiving a bye will be seeded 1-4.
• The remaining eight teams will be seeded 5-12 with the No. 5 seed playing No. 12, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9.
• Tickets are on sale now and available by calling the UH Athletics Ticket Office at 713-GO-COOGS.
• All tournament packages start at $50 for a reserved seat, while general admission packages are $35 and children (18 & under) start at $25.
• Individual session tickets are $15 for a reserved seat, $10 for general admission and $7 for all children 18 and under.
2006 C-USA WBB CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 2
Session 1
Game 1, 1:00p
Game 2, 3:30p
Session 2
Game 3, 6:00p
Game 4, 8:30p
