University of Houston
1-12, 0-1
Marshall
10-3, 1-0
Women's Basketball Falls in C-USA Opener to Marshall
1/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2012
Final Stats | Box Score | Season Stats
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team couldn't find a rhythm offensively in the Conference USA opener on Thursday night against Marshall, falling by a score of 65-41 at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars struggled to find a spark from the onset, scoring only two points in the opening eight minutes to fall behind by a 10-2 margin.
Trailing by a score of 30-12 with 3:36 remaining in the first half, the Cougars mounted an 8-2 run as Roxana Button completed a 3-point play and Danielle Parks followed with a layup.
Marshall would answer with a trip to the line with only six seconds remaining and knock down both free-throws to end Houston's momentum going into the break.
The Thundering Herd (10-3) opened the second half outscoring the Cougars by a 12-6 margin to widen the advantage to 20 points in under four minutes and would lead by as many as 27 with 10:33 remaining before Button found her stroke from beyond the arc.
The senior from Coppell, Texas, connected on her first 3-pointer of the night with 9:06 remaining, and buried two more bombs on the next two touches to cut the lead to 16 points with 6:55 left to play.
The Houston defense also clamped down midway through the second half, holding Marshall without a field goal and only four points for nearly eight minutes until Rashedah Henriques broke the skid with a 3-point bucket.
The Thundering Herd managed to shoot only 30 percent (18-of-60) from the field, connecting on only four more field goals than Houston, but flourished from long range with seven 3-pointers on 15 attempts.
Marshall also generated offense from the free-throw line, scoring 22 points on 37 attempts while Houston was 10-of-15 from the charity stripe.
Houston struggled on the glass, losing the rebound battle by a 59-39 margin while turning the ball over 16 times compared to 17 Marshall miscues.
Button tallied a game-high 22 points in 38 minutes of action, marking her fourth-straight 20-point performance. Button was 3-of-8 from 3-point range and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Parks, a freshman from Houston, tallied eight points off a 4-of-11 effort from the field while fellow freshman Terran Alford led the team with five rebounds.
The Cougars travel to face Southern Miss at 2 p.m., Sunday at Hattiesburg.
