University of Houston
1-0
Southeastern Louisiana
0-1
Women's Basketball Downs Southeast Louisiana in Season Opener
11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2008
HOUSTON - Led by the 10th career double-double from sophomore forward Courtney Taylor, the University of Houston women's basketball team turned up a winner in its season opener Friday, defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 73-58, at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Taylor posted 17 points on the night on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and added 10 rebounds to start her sophomore campaign off in similar fashion to her freshman year, which saw her garner Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors.
The Cougars (1-0) got the new year off to a running start on both offense and defense as UH used four quick points from freshman Roxana Button to build a 9-0 lead before the Lady Lions were able to score on a pair of free throw attempts at the 16:49 mark. Button finished the contest tied with Taylor for the game-high with 17 points.
The lead swelled to as much as 16-2 as the Cougar defense clamped down to not allow a Lady Lion field goal until SLU`s Bethany Sinclair scored with 12:29 remaining before halftime. The UH defensive pressure forced Southeastern to misfire on its first 10 shots from the field.
Jasmine Johnson's three-pointer at 9:54 pushed the lead to 23-5 in favor of the home team, but a quick 4-0 run by SLU narrowed the advantage to 23-9.
Button continued her first half surge, draining a long distance shot with 4:28 on the clock before intermission, to push the lead to 19. The Coppell, Texas, native was potent in her first half as a Cougar leading the way with 15 points on 7-of-9 first half shooting. Her hot shooting sent UH to the locker room at intermission with a 41-25 lead.
For the half, the Cougars shot and impressive 42.7 percent (17-of-36) from the floor, while their defense was stifling, holding the Lady Lions to only 6-of-24 shooting (26.7 percent).
On the opening possession of the second half, sophomore Cobilyn Hill buried a short jumper to extend the home advantage to 18 points, but the Lady Lions roared back with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 10 at 45-35 with 14:13 to play.
The Cougars stayed hot in the second half, making 14-of-30 field goal attempts, but were very balanced in the scoring department with Taylor and Hill, joining sophomore Brittney Scott and freshman Porsche Landry with six points apiece.
The victory was especially sweet for UH head coach Joe Curl, who missed all of last season with health issues.
Houston improves to 26-8 all-time in season openers and 29-5 in home openers.
The Cougars will attempts to make it two-in-a-row to start the year on Saturday when they welcome Gardner Webb to Hofheinz Pavilion for a Noon tip-off.
