University of Houston
-79 (11 CUSA)
Tulane
-114 (11 CUSA)
Women's Basketball Knocks Off Tulane 74-64
1/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2008
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team used a 19-4 run out of halftime to knock off Tulane 74-64 in a nationally-televised Conference USA game Sunday on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Houston (7-9, 1-1 C-USA) earned its first win over Tulane (11-4, 1-1 C-USA) since Jan. 7, 2005 and halted the Green Wave's four-game winning streak. ESPN2 televised Sunday's game live.
"We executed a lot better in the second half," Interim head coach Danny Hughes said. "We got out in transition and once we made a run to start the half, it built up our confidence. Overall it was a great defensive effort and a great win for our team."
Down 33-25 at the break, the Cougars opened the second half on a 10-0 run over the first 3:55. Minutes later, UH moved the lead to nine, 46-37, with 11:44 to go.
A 6-0 run for the Green Wave had the margin back down to three, 46-43, with 9:57 left. The Cougars responded with a 10-2 run that had the lead back to double digits, 56-45, with 6:08 to go.
Tulane pulled it down to five, 67-62, after a three-pointer by Ashley Langford with 1:30 left, but would get no closer. Houston knocked down eight of its nine free throws in the final 64 seconds to seal the win.
After shooting just 38 percent in the first half, Houston came out in the second half and fired a season-best 66.7 percent (12-for-18) against C-USA's top defensive team. Entering the game, the Green Wave led C-USA by holding opponents a league-low 56.6 ppg. Tulane shot 45.5 percent in the first half and 29.4 percent in the second.
Twiggy McIntyre (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS/Kansas State) tied a school record by going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. She became the 22nd player all time to achieve the milestone. McIntyre scored 22 points in the second half and finished with 25.
The Cougars hit a season-high 26 free throws and finished 26-for-32 (.813) from the line, including a 22-for-24 effort in the second half.
Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue), recovered from a career-worst performance Friday night against UTEP and tallied her first double-double of the season after scoring 18 points and dishing out a season-high 10 assists. She also tied a career-high with three blocks. Jackson finished Friday's game with two points and six turnovers. UH's 17 assists tied for the second-most in a game this season.
UH scored 32 points in the paint and added 10 on the fast break. Cobilyn Hill (Houston, Texas/Eisenhower HS) had 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks while Courtney Taylor (Crockett, Texas/Crockett HS) added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Ashley Langford and Brittany Lindsey led the Green Wave with 15 and 14 points respectively. Tulane finished the game only 4-for-14 (.286) from behind the three-point line.
Tulane closed the first half on a 20-9 run to lead 33-25 at the break. UH struggled from behind the three-point line, shooting only 1-for-7 (.143).
Houston returns to action at Hofheinz Pavilion Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. CST against crosstown rival Rice. The game closes out a season-long six-game homestand for the Cougars, UH's longest homestand since the 1996-97 season.
Fans can listen to a free internet radio broadcast of all UH games this year by clicking on the Stretch Internet Broadcast link at UHCougars.com. Streaming video for all home games will also be made available through the All-Access package at UHCougars.com.
