Women's Basketball Set for Saturday Showdown Against Creighton
12/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2012
| HOUSTON (4-5) vs CREIGHTON (4-2) | |
|---|---|
| Time | 2 p.m. • Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012 |
| Location | Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479) • Houston |
| Tickets | Ticket Information |
| Series History | Series tied, 1-1 |
| Last Time | Creighton 76, Houston 59 (11/30/05 - Omaha, Neb.) |
| Radio | Listen Live Houston Sports Network online broadcast powered by Stretch Internet Jeremy Branham, (play-by-play), Louis Ray (Color) |
| Live Video | UH All Access |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Houston Notes  Creighton Notes |
| Social Media |  Facebook •  Twitter |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team returns to action at 2 p.m., on Saturday to take on Creighton in part of a doubleheader with the men's basketball team at Hofheinz Pavilion.
After playing the first nine contests of the season in only 23 days, which ties for second nationally in games played, the Cougars received nearly a week off after a tough 60-51 loss at TCU snapped a four-game winning streak.
Senior point guard Porsche Landry led the Cougars against the Horned Frogs with 17 points and six assists, while freshman guard Marche' Amerson registered her second-straight double-figure scoring performance with 12 points.
Houston was plagued by a slow start on Sunday, falling behind 19-6 before chipping away to cut the deficit to nine points at the half. Landry rattled off Houston's first 11 points of the second half to trim the lead to two, but cold shooting would keep the Cougars from taking the lead.
Landry has scored in double digits in all nine contests this season, pushing her career total to 60 games, and has excelled in all areas in the last four contests, handing out 21 assists (5.3 apg) to only 14 turnovers, while shooting 50 percent (22-of-44) from the field and 58 percent (7-of-12) from 3-point range.
Junior center Yasmeen Thompson continues to average a double-double with 10.2 points and a league-leading 10.4 rebounds per game, while also pacing C-USA in field-goal percentage (70.4), which would lead the nation if her number of attempts qualified (38-of-54).
Junior forward Marissa Ashton has led the Cougars from beyond the arc, ranking third in C-USA in 3-point percentage (42.9) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (1.7). Ashton has connected on seven of her last 13 attempts, including six trifecta's in Houston's win over New Mexico on Nov. 30.
After starting out 0-4 while the opposition averaged 78.8 points per game, the Cougars have stepped up on the defensive end, limiting opponents to just 51.8 points per contest as Houston has won four of those five games.
Fans who bring a new toy to Saturday's contest can purchase a ticket for half price on any seat, or for a general admission seat for the men's basketball contest against Texas Southern at 5 p.m. Fans can use their women's basketball ticket to gain free admission into the men's contest.
Fans can buy tickets 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by clicking the red and white Tickets tab at UHCougars.com and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
Fans can also listen to all Cougar Basketball games live online with Jeremy Branham calling the play-by-play action and Louis Ray providing analysis during home contests. To listen live, click here or follow Audio link on schedule page at UHCougars.com.
Fans can follow live scoring by clicking the GameTracker link on the schedule page at UHCougars.com.
The Bluejays' feature a veteran team, returning four starters and 11 of 12 letterwinners from last season's squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Through six games, Creighton is averaging 57.2 points while the opposition has averaged 58.2 points per contest. Opponents have shot 42 percent from the field compared to Creighton's 37-percent clip, while the Bluejays have had success from beyond the arc, draining 7.0 3-pointers per game. Creighton is turning the ball over just 14.2 times per contest compared to 19.3 miscues from its opponents.
Junior forward Sarah Nelson leads the squad in scoring (11.8 ppg), rebounding (6.3 rpg), assists (3.5 apg) and field-goal percentage (48.2), while guards Carli Tritz and Marissa Janning have added 8.7 and 8.3 points per game, respectively.
The Cougars dropped a 76-59 decision to the Bluejays in the last meeting in Omaha on Nov. 30, 2005, as freshman guard Sha'Ratta Hawkins led Houston with a game-high 23 points.
Houston claimed an 80-63 victory over Creighton in the only contest between the two teams at Hofheinz Pavilion on Nov. 24, 2004, as senior center Sancho Lyttle posted a career performance with 34 points and 18 rebounds.
| HOUSTON 1,000-POINT CLUB | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chandi Jones | 2,692 |
| 2. | Sharion Higgins | 1,957 |
| 3. | Sonya Watkins | 1,752 |
| 4. | Courtney Taylor | 1,684 |
| 5. | Vickey Finch | 1,670 |
| 6. | Kip Anderson | 1,588 |
| 7. | Brittney Scott | 1,522 |
| 8. | Jennifer Jones | 1,498 |
| 9. | Pat Luckey | 1,391 |
| 10. | Darla Simpson | 1,282 |
| 13. | Porsche Landry | 1,228 |
Freshman guard Sha'Ratta Hawkins tallied a game-high 23 points, including 19 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a slow start, as Creighton built a 29-11 run for a 27-point halftime lead.
Despite forcing 25 Bluejay turnovers, Houston was plagued by a 29-percent (18-of-63) effort from the field.
The Houston native posted 17 points in the Cougars' last action at TCU to push her career total to 1,228, which is just six points shy of 12th spot and 55 points short of climbing into the top ten. Landry has also handed out 21 assists over the past four games (5.3 apg) to increase her career total to 379, which ranks third in school history.
Landry posted a game-high 20 points against Tulane on March 11, 2011 at the C-USA Tournament to reach the 1,000-point mark and could end her career securely in the top 10, while also having a chance to wind up in the top two on the career assists chart.
