Cougars and Owls Renew Rivalry Friday Afternoon
12/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2013
Houston (3-7) at Rice (5-5)
Houston, Texas | Tudor Fieldhouse
Friday, December 20, 2013 | 1:00 p.m. CT
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Video | Audio
Houston Game Notes 
| Rice Game Notes | American Notes
HOUSTON--- The Cougars conclude their season-long three-game road swing, as they head just down the road to play cross-town rival Rice, Friday at 1:00 p.m. CT inside Tudor Fieldhouse.
Watch it Live
There will be live video coverage available for Houston's game vs. Rice. To access video for the game visit www.UHCougars.com, click the women's basketball schedule page, then click the "Live Video" link to watch via paid subscription through riceowls.com
Listen Live
There will be live audio streaming available for Houston's game vs. Rice. To access audio for the game visit www.UHCougars.com, click the women's basketball schedule page, then click the "audio" link to listen for free through stretch internet. Jeremy Branham will have the play-by-play, while Derrick Fazendin will provide the color commentary
Live Stats
There will be live stats available for Houston's game vs. Rice. To access live stats for the game visit www.UHCougars.com, click the women's basketball schedule page then click the "GameTracker" link.
Follow the Cougars!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougarSports), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the women's basketball team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonCougarWomensBasketball) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarWBB).
Women's Basketball Ticket Information
Season tickets for the 2013-14 season are now on sale in the Athletics Ticket Office, starting as low as $100 for general admission seating. Season tickets for floor seating are available for only $250.
Fans can also purchase flex tickets, using all 15 tickets for one home game, one ticket for all 15 contests or any combination in between.
How to Order
To purchase season tickets, fans can call 713-Go-COOGS (462-6647) or 877-COUGAR-5 (268-4275) or visit the Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Athletics/Alumni Center from 8 a.m., to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online at UHCougars.com and following the appropriate links.
To secure parking spaces and to support student-athlete scholarships through Cougar Pride for the upcoming season, fans should contact Cougar Pride at 713-743-GoUH or email cougarpride@uh.edu. Fans also can visit UHCougars.com and click the Cougar Pride tab for more information.
Fans are encouraged to purchase their season tickets early for the best seats in the house.
A Look at the Series...
Houston (3-7) vs. Rice (5-5)
Overall Record 49-10
Home Record 23-3
Away Record 21-5
Neutral Site Record 5-2
Longest Win Streak 18 games
Longest Losing Streak 3 gams
Current Streak Won 2
Record in Last 10 Meetings 7-3
First Meeting
Feb. 10, 1976 at Rice (W, 79-26)
Last Meeting
March 3, 2013 at Hofheinz Pavilion (W, 69-59)
The Series Game-by-Game
02/10/76 at Rice W 79-26
01/12/77 RICE W 66-13
02/08/77 at Rice W 76-27
02/24/77 Rice& W 99-31
01/17/78 RICE W 90-40
02/07/78 at Rice W 87-45
11/30/78 at Rice W 76-53
01/22/79 RICE W 82-48
01/19/80 RICE W 91-56
01/28/81 RICE* W 84-30
02/10/81 at Rice W 85-56
02/26/83 RICE* W 96-49
01/20/84 RICE* W 75-48
02/21/84 at Rice* W 67-52
01/15/85 at Rice* W 75-64
02/16/85 RICE* W 65-53
01/10/86 RICE* W 81-58
02/11/86 at Rice* W 90-77
01/10/87 at Rice* L 65-70
02/07/87 RICE* L 76-77
02/03/88 RICE* W 96-55
03/05/88 at Rice* W 75-68
01/04/89 at Rice* W 81-73
02/04/89 RICE* W 90-75
01/06/90 at Rice* W 70-58
02/07/90 RICE* W 81-67
01/08/91 RICE* W 97-51
02/08/91 at Rice* W 64-60
01/18/92 RICE* W 92-48
02/19/92 at Rice* W 62-53
03/11/92 Rice^ W 63-57
02/03/93 at Rice* W 63-56
03/03/93 RICE (OT)* W 74-70
02/05/94 RICE* W 71-51
03/05/94 at Rice* L 66-73
01/10/95 RICE* L 87-88
02/07/95 at Rice* W 69-68
03/08/95 Rice# W 77-48
01/13/96 RICE* W 97-77
02/10/96 at Rice* L 57-70
03/13/02 vs Rice^ W 67-65
01/15/06 Rice* (ESPN2) W 79-72
02/03/06 at Rice* W 75-62
03/03/06 vs. Rice# L 69-74
01/02/07 Rice* W 91-86 (OT)
01/21/07 at Rice* (ESPN2) L 56-70
01/13/08 Rice* W 71-66
01/26/08 at Rice* W 70-64
02/04/09 at Rice* W 66-56
02/07/09 Rice* W 70-50
02/04/10 at Rice* W 72-53
03/04/10 Rice* W 81-58
02/10/11 RICE* W 71-51
02/27/11 at Rice* W 74-70
01/28/12 RICE* L 50-58
02/23/12 at Rice* L 40-68
03/07/12 vs. Rice% L 50-64
02/10/13 at Rice* W 53-51
03/03/13 RICE* W 69-59
Series Notes: This will be the 60th all-time meeting between the two cross-town rivals, with Houston holding a commanding 49-10 advantage in the all-time series, including earning two victories over the Owls last season, including a 69-59 victory last time the two teams played...this will be the 27th time Houston has played at Rice...Houston is 5-1 in its last six meetings at Rice...UH's largest margin of victory came in a 99-31 win on Feb. 24, 1977 (68 points)...the Cougars' largest margin of defeat came in a 68-40 defeat on Feb. 23, 2012 (28 points) ...Alecia Smith (11 pts) and Yasmeen Thompson (13 pts) both recorded double-digit scoring performances last time these two teams met, while Thompson also pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds in the win.
Scouting the Owls
The Owls roll into this one sporting a 5-5 overall mark after finishing 14-16 overall and 6-10 in Conference USA a season ago. Rice is led by senior forward Jessica Kuster, who leads the team in scoring, putting up 20.7 points per game, while also shooting a team-leading 77.1 percent from the free throw line and grabbing a team-best 13.4 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Moussa Reem leads the team in assists with 37 on the season....Rice averaging 64.6 points per game while it gives up 67.3 points per contest on average...Houston and Rice have shared two common opponents thus far in Texas State and Prairie View A&M. Rice went 2-0 vs. those two schools, while Houston went 1-1.
Last Time Out For the Cougars
As they've been so many times this season, the Cougars were right there at the very end with a chance to win the game, but Texas State managed to hold on for a 70-63 hard-fought victory over Houston, Sunday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum.
The Cougars (3-7) trailed by as many as eight points with just over a minute to play in regulation, but Houston fought back to get within 66-63 with 18 seconds left, after Alecia Smith nailed two free throw attempts.
Houston had a chance to make things even more interesting after Texas State's Kaylan Martin missed the back end of two free throw attempts with 18 ticks left. It appeared as if the Cougars had secured the rebound off the missed free throw with a chance to cut the deficit down to either one or two points at the other end, but the ball managed to roll out of bounds after multiple Cougars battled to haul in the rebound.
Senior forward Destini Texada secured her first double-double as a Cougar, scoring a career and team-high 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the loss. Sophomore forward Marche Amerson notched her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season, as she put in 13 points in 26 minutes of action, while senior forward Te'onna Campbell scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Center Ashley Ezeh led the way for Texas State (2-6) with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while guard Ayriel Anderson collected 13 points, but on just 5-of-14 shooting for the Bobcats.
The Cougars grabbed their first lead of the game at 19-18 with 10:05 remaining in the first half, after Amerson nailed a long jumper from the left wing. The two teams would go back-and-forth throughout, as the contest featured eight lead changes and six ties with neither side pulling ahead by more than eight points.
Despite some first half foul trouble, the Cougars went into halftime with a 33-32 advantage over the Bobcats, after sophomore guard Bianca Winslow splashed home a trey from the top of the arc with just seconds remaining in the half.
Neither team was able to establish an offensive rhythm in the second half, as both defenses locked down the opposition's offense. Both teams were held to under 36 percent shooting for half.
Houston was able to win the second chance point battle 18-10 and grab 13 more rebounds than Texas State on the day.
More Than Just a Rivalry Game
Aside from the fact that Friday will mark the 60th all-time meeting between these two schools, here are some other quick facts about the rivalry...current Rice head coach Greg Williams spent five seasons as Houston's head coach from 1985-90. He accumulated an overall record of 93-51 during that span. His .646 winning percentage at Houston stands as the highest in school history. He also led the Cougars to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance back in 1988....Houston's 49 all-time wins over Rice is by far the most wins the Cougars have vs. any one program. The second most is 32 wins over Texas A&M....the Cougars and Owks have played in eight consecutive seasons going back to 2006.
Where We Rank
Through 10 games here's a look at where the Cougars stack up early on. Houston ranks fourth in The American (15.4 rpg) in offensive rebounds (15.4 rpg) and fifth in three-point defense (.287).
What's Trending
UH has recorded two or more double-digit scorers in nine of 10 games this season...Houston has scored the same amount or more points in the second half than the first half in seven of 10 games this season...UH has won the second chance point battle in six of its last eight games...the Cougars have won the turnover battle in five of its last seven games.
Houston's Dynamic Duo
Te'onna Campbell and Marche' Amerson have combined to score 31.5 percent (189/600) of the Cougars' total points this season.
Campbell Can Do A Lot
Te'onna Campbell has done it all for the Cougars so far this season. She is tied for the team lead in points per game (11.1), while she leads the squad in steals per game (2.4), and overall steals (17). While she stands at just 5-foot-10, she ranks second on the team in rebounds per game, grabbing 7.0 per game. She's scored in double-digits in five of seven games played this year.
What it Could Become
While Houston's free throw shooting is a disappointing 61.3 percent this season, let's take a look at what the final scores of all nine games could have looked like if those misses were turned into makes...with the free throw misses turned into makes the Cougars would be 6-4 with a scoring margin of +7.5 instead of what currently is a scoring margin of -1.6.
11/8 vs. Mississippi State W 82-76 (missed 14 FTs)
11/13 at Northwestern State W 80-74 (missed 10 FTs)
11/17 vs. #12/16 Texas A&M L 63-59 (missed 8 FTs)
11/20 vs. North Texas W 84-61 (missed 18 FTs)
11/23 at Creighton L 65-59 (missed 4 FTs)
11/30 vs. Kent State W 58-44 (missed 4 FTs)
12/1 vs. Prairie View A&M W 80-46 (missed 6 FTs)
12/4 vs. Washington L 66-65 (missed 10 FTs)
12/8 at Alabama L 51-49 (missed 5 FTs)
12/15 at Texas State W 75-70 (missed 12 FTs)
Positive Reinforcements
The Cougars' bench has produced 227 of Houston's 600 total points scored this season (37.8%)...the UH bench has outscored the opposition's bench 227-153 (+74) this season...the Cougars have outscored the opposition's bench in six of 10 games this season and have outscored the opponent's reserves by 22+ points in three games this year...Houston's leading scorer has come off the bench on three separate occasions (Jessieka Palmer, 3x), while it has produced 10 of Houston's 24 double-digit scoring performances this season.
Oh So Close
Four of Houston's six losses have been by a combined 26 points this season, with three double-digit defeats coming at the hands of No. 16/12 Texas A&M on Nov. 17, 2013 NCAA Tournament participant Creighton on Nov. 23, and 2013 WNIT participant Washington on Dec. 4...the Cougars have been within three points (or better) of the opposition with under 10 minutes to play in the game in nine of 10 contests this year. They've been within three points (or better) with under four minutes to play in seven of the 10 games.
Defending the Home Court
Houston has now won five of its last eight home affairs going back to last season.
A Streak Meant For Snapping
The Cougars come into this one looking for their first road win of the season, after beginning the year 0-4 on the road. Houston has lost seven straight road affairs going back to last season.
The Second Half, Times Two
Houston has scored 53 percent (318/600) of its total points this season in the second half. If one were to replace Houston's first half scoring with its second half scoring this season, the Cougars would be averaging 63.6 points per game compared to its current 60.0 points per game clip.
The Fast Track to Victory
Houston is 3-1 this season when it scores more fast break points than its opponent this season. The Cougars are also 3-0 when leading with under five minutes to play.
Cleaning Up
Senior center Yasmeen Thompson has led Houston in rebounding in six consecutive contests and has averaged 10.3 rebounds per game over her last four games. She leads the team in overall rebounding (7.9 rpg), offensive rebounding (3.3 rpg), and defensive rebounding (4.6 rpg). She's also posted double-digit rebounds four times this year.
Filling the Void
Houston is still in the process of trying to experience life without Porcshe Landry, who graduated last year as the program's all-time assists leader (483), as well as the club's scoring leader from a year ago (16.6 ppg). While it's early, Houston may have found something in transfer guard Demetria Foreman, who collected a game-high eight assists in UH's season opener on Nov. 8 vs. Mississippi State. She still has a ways to go to catch up to Landry, but the eight assists were the most any Cougar not named Landry had collected since Roxana Button also recorded eight assists on Feb. 26, 2012 vs. UCF. She is currently averaging a team-best 2.3 assists per game.
Road Trippin'
After playing six of its first eight games at home to start the year, Houston will conclude a season-long three-game road trip this Friday.
RECYCLED NOTES
Houston Signs Four Recruits for 2014-15
Houston brought in Fatima Adams, Moesha Kinard, Dejah Joshua, and Sandra Davis
Fatima Adams | Forward | 5-10 | Blinn Community College (Bryan, Texas)
Adams has averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in 35 games played at Blinn Junior College...so far through four games this season, she's racked up an average of 25 points per game, while shooting the ball at a 51.6 percent clip...she currently ranks in the top 50 among all active NJCAA members in six different categories: 11th in games played (35), 14th in games started (33), 41st in minutes played (845), 22nd in free throws made (127-167), 16th in offensive rebounds (131), and 18th in total rebounds (302)...she earned second-team all-district honors during the 2010-11 season and first-team all district accolades during the 2011-12 campaign while at Rudder High School...she helped lead Rudder High School to the third round of the playoffs in 2009-10 and the fourth round in 2011-12.
From coach Buchanan: "I think she's extremely athletic and her natural position is small forward. She can step out and hit the mid-range jump shot, which quite frankly is hard to find in today's world. She's a strong kid, really jumps out of the gym and has a knack for the basketball. She's going to bring tremendous effort and energy, not to mention she can really score the basketball."
Moesha Kinard | Guard/ Forward | 5-7 | New Iberia High School (New Iberia, La.)
Kinard is a four-year letterwinner at New Iberia High School...New Iberia High School was ranked as the No. 5 high school to watch in the state of Louisiana this season thanks to Kinard's 19.8 points per game average her junior year...Kinard played every position on the floor except center in high school.
From coach Buchanan: "You can't really classify her in a single position. She stays true to our core values and how we want to recruit, meaning we don't just recruit kids for one position; she can really play them all. She is so strong and psychical; it really allows her to play anywhere, but that small forward spot is probably where she fits best.
Dejah Joshua | Forward | 5-8 | West Side High School (Gary, Ind.)
Joshua averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game in her first season at West side High School, after transferring from Bowman Academy...while at Bowman Academy Joshua averaged 6.8 points, 1.2 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and a steal per game.
From coach Buchanan: "She still has her best basketball ahead of her. She really has a great bounce to her game. She's athletic, but she's also a very smart player. She's very versatile, where she can step back and knock down the three point shot or she can take a few steps in and hit the mid-range bucket too. She's very poised for a high school kid. That's what really jumps out at me. She's also very crafty with the basketball."
Sandra Davis | Forward | 6-1 | Garden City Community College (Odenton, MD)
Davis has posted two double-digit scoring performances in five games played so far this season for Garden City Community College...earned Co-Best All Around Player of the Year (JV Basketball - 2009-2010), was a member of the Maryland 4A State Championship Team (2010), named team MVP (2011-2012), Second Team All-County (2011-2012), and a member of the county All-Star Team (2011-2012) while at Arundel High School.
From coach Buchanan: "She brings a little bit of everything. She has great length and great size, standing at 6-foot-1. She's an incredibly intelligent basketball player. She brings that junior college experience that we need too. She's just a very well rounded player.
Breaking Down the 2013-14 Cougars
Fourth-year head coach Todd Buchanan and the Cougars return four starters and nine letterwinners overall from last season's squad that finished 13-17 overall and ninth in the final year of Conference USA with a 7-9 record.
The 2013-14 campaign truly marks a new era of Houston basketball, as the Cougars prepare for their first year in the new American Athletic Conference, in what arguably will be the toughest in all of college basketball.
While the Cougars will have deal with the loss of the program's all-time assists leader and the leading scorer from a year ago in Porsche Landry, Houston brings back 74 percent of last season's scoring total, including Conference USA All-Freshman team member Marche' Amerson.
Amerson ranked second on the team a year ago in scoring, averaging 9.1 points per contest and set a UH freshman record as she started in all 30 contests for the Cougars.
Senior center Yasmeen Thompson also returns for her senior year after establishing herself as formidable option down low last season, as she led Conference USA and ranked 10th all-time in program history in field goal percentage (.533), while chipping in 8.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest.
Cougars Tabbed 10th in American Media Poll
The University of Houston women's basketball team was picked to finish 10th in the inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference according to a vote of league coaches released by the conference office on Oct. 14.
The Cougars received 15 votes to finish just behind Temple, who was picked ninth with 25 points. Defending National Champion UConn was chosen as the unanimous favorite to win the league crown, as it received 81 overall points and nine of 10 first place votes.
Louisville, the 2013 national runner-up, was chosen to finish second, as it collected 73 points overall and received the lone remaining first place vote.
USF followed with 59 points, as it just edged out Rutgers for third place, who received a healthy 57 points.
In-state rival SMU was picked to finish fifth (50 points), while Memphis (32 points), Cincinnati (30 points), and UCF followed (28 points), earning the sixth, seventh, and eighth spots respectively.
Tourney Tested
The Cougars will face a schedule loaded with postseason participants from 2012-13, as they will play five NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago (Texas A&M, Creighton, Prairie View A&M, USF twice, UConn twice, and Louisville twice), as well as three WNIT teams from 2012-13 in Washington, Memphis (twice), and SMU (twice) for a total of 14 matchups against eight teams that saw some kind of postseason action last season.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Houston boasts one of the more rigorous schedules in the nation, as the Cougars will go up against eight teams that are either ranked or have received votes in either the Associated Press or the USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches Polls. Three of those games come in the non-conference slate, as the Cougars host No. 16/ 13 Texas A&M (AP poll first), play at RV/ RV Creighton, and host RV/ NR Washington.
The other five ranked matchups come in American Conference play as Houston will take on RV/ RV USF, NR/ RV Rutgers, No. 1/ No. 1 UConn, No. 5/ No. 5 Louisville, and NR/ RV SMU for a total of 10 meetings, as the Cougars will play each school at home and away. If all eight teams were able to find their way into the top 25, the 13 ranked contests in a season would be the most in school history. The most ranked opponents the Cougars have ever played in a single season are nine during the 1978-79 campaign.
By the Numbers
Houston returns 74 percent of its 1,903 points scored, 87 percent of its rebounds, 74 percent of its field goals made, 78 percent of its three-pointers made, 78 percent of its free throws converted, 57 percent of its assists, and 77 percent of its steals from a season ago.
New Kids on the Block
The Cougars welcome in just two new faces to this year's squad in freshman guard Alexia Sanders and junior college transfer guard Demetria Foreman. Sanders comes to Houston from nearby College Park High School in The Woodlands, where she earned District 14-5A MVP honors her senior season after leading the team in scoring (20.1 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg), steals (4.1 spg), assists (2.7 apg), and blocks (1.0 bpg).
Foreman joins the Cougars after playing two seasons at Angelina Junior College, where she averaged 12.8 points and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting 40 percent from the field last season. She was also named to the all-conference team and earned NJCAA All-Tournament team honors.
You Can't Teach Tall
This year's Cougar squad is one of the tallest in recent memory, as the team averages nearly six feet with nine players standing at 6-0 or taller. The Cougars ranked third in Conference USA in rebounding and blocked shots a year ago, averaging 41.6 boards and 3.6 swats per game.
Homegrown Talent
Ten of the 14 players on the roster call Texas home, while one is from Oklahoma, one is from California, one is from Pennsylvania, and one comes from British Columbia.
Proud to be an American
The Cougars are one of four teams (SMU, Memphis, and UCF) to make the jump from the old Conference USA to the new American Athletic Conference. The Cougars also join five other schools from what was the old BIG EAST conference (UConn, Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, and South Florida), and one school out of the old Atlantic-10 in Temple to make up the new league. The AAC is Houston's third conference in what will be the program's 39th season.
More of Marche'
Marche' Amerson earned a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in 2012 after ranking second on the squad with 10.1 points in league play while shooting a team best 36-percent from beyond the arc in conference action. Amerson also set a freshman record starting in all 30 games last season, while finishing in the top 10 in six other Houston all-time freshman marks. Houston hopes to count on her to be one of the team's leaders on and off the court this season.
Getting `Meen
Senior Yasmeen Thompson wreaked havoc in the paint for the Cougars in 2012 after transferring from Paris Junior College, as she led C-USA in field-goal percentage (53.3) while ranking sixth in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and placing second in the league with 1.4 blocks per game in conference play a year ago. Thompson led the nation in field-goal percentage through the opening seven contests of the season.
The Philadelphia, Pa., native, who earned C-USA Player of the Week honors on Nov. 26, pulled down a career-best 17 boards in back-to-back games against Alabama and Yale, and followed up with her first-career double-double performance with 21 points and 14 rebounds at McNeese State on Nov. 20, marking 48 rebounds over a span of three games.
Thompson earned NJCAA All-Conference Honorable Mention honors last season at Paris JC after averaging 8.1 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game. Thompson helped the squad to a 24-7 record while reaching a national ranking of No. 11, setting a school record.
Hear it From Them
Be sure to visit www.UHCougars.com and click on the women's basketball page to watch the 2013-14 women's basketball season preview video featuring head coach Todd Buchanan, sophomore forward Marche' Amerson, and senior center Yasmeen Thompson.
