Cougars Take Down Huston-Tillotson, 100-37, in Exhibition Win

Nov. 9, 2014

BOX SCORE | POSTGAME INTERVIEW | PHOTO GALLERY

HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team opened the Ronald Hughey Era in dominant fashion, earning a 100-37 win over Huston-Tillotson University on Sunday afternoon at Hofheinz Pavilion. Mariah Mitchell and Alexia Sanders led the Cougars with 13 points each in the exhibition victory.

The game was characterized by a ferocious effort from the Houston defense. The Cougars held Huston-Tillotson to just 12 field goals and a 30.0% field goal percentage. UH also forced their opponent into 51 turnovers.

"I thought, overall, we followed the game plan," Hughey said of his team's performance. "Secondly, we wanted to start creating the mentality of how we play in a game, and I think we had a chance to do that."

"Third, (in this game) we wanted to trust and protect each other," Hughey added. "We want to play for the person next to us and not for ourselves, and I think we did that today."

THE BASICS

Score: Houston 100 Huston-Tillotson 37 (Exhibition)

Records: Houston 1-0 EX, HTU 0-1 EX

Date: Sunday, November 9, 2014

Location: Houston, Texas (Hofheinz Pavilion)

TURNING POINT

Houston scored the first 15 points of the game and forced 11 turnovers before HTU was able to score. With the margin heavily in their favor just five minutes into the contest, the Cougars were able to maintain complete control throughout the afternoon.

TOP PERFORMERS

Huston-Tillotson: Jasmine Dukes led the Rams with 17 points, and Shaudae Bell added 11, while Jada Thompson grabbed 10 rebounds.

Houston: Mitchell and Sanders paced the club with 13 points, but three other Cougars scored in double-figures. Alecia Smith added 12 points, while Marche' Amerson and Terran Alford notched 10 points each. Smith nearly reached double-double status with nine assists, Sanders came up with eight steals, and Alford pulled in eight boards.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- Houston held HTU without a point for the first 6:06 of the game, before Thompson sank two free throws to get the Rams in the scoring column.

- The Cougars came up with 38 steals as a team, which would set a Hofheinz Pavilion record had the game been an official contest.

- Houston's 100-point performance was their first since a 104-65 win over North Texas on December 5, 2009.

- On the flip side, the 37 points that Houston allowed was the fewest conceded by a Cougar team since a 68-30 win over Prairie View A&M on December 5, 2001.

- Each of the 11 Cougars who participated in the win scored at least four points.

- All 11 Cougars that saw court time on Sunday made at least two steals, and each player played at least 13 minutes.

- Tyler Gilbert led all players with three blocked shots.

- UH won the rebounding battle, 54-36, and they grabbed 26 offensive boards.

- The Cougars shot 44.3% from the floor and held the Rams to a 30.0% clip.

NEWS & NOTES

- Four Cougars (Sandra Davis, DeJah Joshua, Moesha Kinard and Mitchell) made their UH debuts in the game. Davis scored nine points, Joshua had seven and Kinard added five to go with five rebounds.

- Houston's next home appearance is Monday, November 17, when they host the University of the Incarnate Word.

- Both UH basketball teams hit the century mark in their exhibition wins. On Saturday, the Cougar men's team defeated North Alabama, 108-83.

UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS

Houston opens the 2014-15 regular season on Friday night in Denton, when they face North Texas.

"We need to improve in every single area of the game," Hughey said when looking ahead to the regular season opener. "Passing, rebounding, playing defense, picking each other up of the floor... everything, we need to work on getting better on."

Tipoff at The Super Pit is scheduled for 7 pm CT on Friday night.

--UHCougars.com--

BUY SEASON TICKETS

Fans can take the first step toward the 2014-15 Houston Women's Basketball season by placing deposits with the Athletics Ticket Office at UHCougars.com or by clicking here. The deposit is not a fee and will go toward the cost of season tickets.

Under Hughey's leadership, the Cougars will play 11 contests against teams who qualified for NCAA postseason play a year ago with eight of those against American Athletic Conference rivals.

To purchase tickets in person, fans can visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m.

All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular-season Women's Basketball home games with a valid student ID.

STAY CONNECTED

Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarWBB on Twitter. Also, fans can catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's official Facebook page at facebook.com/UHCougarWBB

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