University of Houston
-95, 11 CUSA
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UTEP
-97, 21 CUSA
Women's Basketball Edged by UTEP, 74-67
1/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2009
EL PASO. Texas - Despite another double-double performance by sophomore forward Courtney Taylor and 19 points from sophomore guard Brittney Scott, the University of Houston women's basketball team could not overcome a hot shooting afternoon by the Miners on their home court as the Cougars dropped a 74-67 decision to defending Conference USA Champion UTEP Sunday at the Don Haskins Center.
For Taylor it was the second double-double of the weekend and the 19th of her career with 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while classmate Brittany Mason narrowly missed the first such game of her career. The LaPorte, Texas, native scored a career-high 10 points against the Miners and hauled down eight rebounds.
The game, which was televised to nation-wide ESPN2 audience, saw the Cougars fall to 9-5 on the year and 1-1 in C-USA play, while UTEP improved to 9-7 and 2-1 in the league.
Early in the contest, the Cougars were lifted by strong free throw shooting as they scored their first four points of the afternoon from the charity stripe, on their way to making 14-of-16 attempts from the free throw line for the game.
Despite the success from the free throw line, UH did not get off to a great shooting start as the Cougars missed their first five shots from the floor. The early shooting woes allowed the Miners to build a double-digit lead at 20-10 with 11:54 to go in the opening half.
UTEP's first half lead reached as many as 11, but a 13-4 run to close the half by the Cougars sent them to the locker room within striking distance and trailing only two at 35-33.
Following the intermission, UH's Taylor began to take over, scoring all seven points of a 7-0 UH run that left the visitors in front by the count of 40-35 at the 18:27 mark. During the second half, Taylor led all scorers with 18 points.
UTEP responded after the early run and the game remained close leading to a tie at 50-50 with 10:52 to play, when an 11-4 run by the Miners put them in command. The Cougars climbed back to within three down the stretch, but UTEP's hot shooting proved too much to overcome. Guard Deitra Caldwell poured in a game-high 27 points, going 5-of-12 from three-point range.
For UH, Scott enjoyed another solid performance, hitting 7-of-12 shots, including three from long distance to finish with 19 points while classmate Megan Morton produced a season-best 10 points in 26 minutes.
Houston now returns home after three-straight road contests to host C-USA foes UAB and Memphis at Hofheinz Pavilion, where the Cougars have posted a perfect 6-0 record this season.
