University of Houston
-1515, 97 CUSA
Marshall
-1515, 79 CUSA
Women's Basketball Drops Season Finale To Marshall 78-74
3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2008
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team dropped its regular season finale 78-74 to Marshall on Senior Day in Conference USA action Saturday on Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Seniors Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purude), Twiggy McIntyre (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS/Kansas State), Ryan Meyers (Arlington, Texas/Arlington HS/Grayson County CC) and Alona Obaze (Dallas, Texas/Bryan Adams HS/Trinity Valley CC) were honored in a pregame ceremony. The team's fifth senior, Whitney James (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial HS/North Oklahoma College) missed today's game due to a family emergency.
Houston (15-15, 9-7 C-USA) led 36-29, its largest margin of the game, after a layup by Meyers early in the second half. Marshall (15-15, 7-9 C-USA) used an 11-1 run over the next two minutes to lead 40-37 with 17:49 left.
After swapping the lead five times over the next five minutes, UH put together an 8-3 run that included a layup by Meyers, three free throws by Jackson and a triple by Megan Morton (Winnesboro, Texas/Winnesboro HS) to move ahead by six, 56-50, with 11:40 left.
The Herd answered right back with a 7-0 run to lead 57-56 with 9:38 to go. The Cougars knotted things up at 60 points apiece with 8:27 left after and Meyers jumper and a layup from Zane Jakobsone (Riga, Latvia/Trinity Valley CC). Nine of UH's 14 players scored at least two points and the bench held a 23-13 scoring edge on Marshall.
Marshall took the lead for good on a jumper by Kendra King with 7:06 left. Houston pulled within two on three occasions but could never closer. A three by Jackson with 15 seconds left pulled the margin to 76-74 but Kizzy Hart split a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to make the lead three, 77-74. UH had a chance to tie in the final 10 seconds but came up short.
McIntyre, who was 6-for-9 from behind the arc, led the way for UH with 20 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Jackson scored 14 along with five rebounds and eight assists. Meyers had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Cougars had 21 assists off of 28 made buckets, the team's second-highest total of the season.
Morton logged 12 minutes off the bench and finished with four points and two assists.
UH missed the inside presence of Coutney Taylor (Crockett, Texas/Crockett HS). The freshman injured a knee in the game's opening minute after making her first basket. She did not return and her status is day-to-day.
In her absence, Cobilyn Hill (Houston, Texas/Eisnehower HS) and Ashlee' Joseph (Houston, Texas/Booker T. Washington HS) played 18 minutes apiece and tallied nine points and five rebounds and eight points and six rebounds, respectively.
Houston led 34-29 at the break after holding Marshall without a field goal for the final 3:38 of the opening stanza. The Cougars closed the half on a 6-0 run and overcame a 4-for-14 shooting performance from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Marshall's Casey Baker led all players with 28 points. She also added six assists, five rebounds and five steals. Hart finished with 27 after knocking down six triples.
The Cougars will return to action on Friday, March 7 in the quarterfinals of the 2008 C-USA Championship at New UCF Arena in Orlando, Fla.
Houston will be the No. 4 seed and will play the winner of the Southern Miss vs. UCF game. Tipoff time will be determined later Saturday night.
The final bracket and championship matchups will be released Saturday evening by the league office. Fans are encouraged to check both ConferenceUSA.com and UHCougars.com for updates.
Free internet radio broadcasts of all UH games at the C-USA Championship are available by clicking the Stretch Internet Broadcast link at UHCougars.com. Streaming video for all championship games will also be made available through the All-Access package at ConferenceUSA.com.
