Houston Battles Tulane on Tuesday Evening
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON (5-7 • 0-1 American) at TULANE (10-2 • 1-0 American) | |
|---|---|
| Home Game Tickets | BUY Tickets • Tickets Info |
| Questions? | Fan Guide |
| Time | 7 pm CT |
| Location | Devlin Fieldhouse (3,600) • New Orleans, La. |
| Video | American Digital Network |
| Radio | UHCougars.com Jeremy Branham, PxP |
| Live Stats | |
| Series History | • Tulane leads, 21-13 |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • Tulane Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team continues their 2014-15 season on Tuesday, December 30 when they hit the road to face Tulane. Tipoff at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, La., is scheduled for 7 pm CT.
Live video coverage of Tuesday's game is available online through the American Digital Network. A free live audio broadcast is available through Houston's Stretch Internet Portal, with Jeremy Branham on the play-by-play call. Live Twitter updates can be accessed throughout the game by following the official UH women's basketball account, @UHCougarWBB.
Houston is 5-7 (0-1 American) after suffering a 64-50 loss to UCF on December 27. Marche' Amerson led the Cougars with 10 points and Alecia Smith dished seven assists, a career-high, but the Cougars were unable to hold a seven-point second half lead after UCF shot 53.3% after intermission.
Tulane (10-2, 1-0 American) went on the road and beat Cincinnati, 60-50, on December 28 in their league opener. The Green Wave got a team-high 18 points from Leslie Vorpahl in the victory, their fourth in as many tries on the road this season.
Tuesday's matchup is the 35th between Tulane and Houston, but the first since the 2012-13 season. The Green Wave hold a 21-13 all-time advantage, though Houston won a 71-70 double overtime thriller in the last meeting between the programs, on February 17, 2013 in New Orleans.
 | LAST TIME OUT |
DECEMBER 27 • UCF 64, HOUSTON 50 | Final Stats | Postgame Press Conference
Houston dropped their American Athletic Conference opener, 64-50, on December 27 at Hofheinz Pavilion. Amerson was the lone Cougar in double-figures, with 10 points.
Houston led, 29-26, at halftime and scored the first four points of the second half. The lead was 35-30 with 14:56 left before UCF hit five straight shots and mounted a 13-0 run. The Knights connected on 15 of their final 22 field goal attempts, including several contested looks, to leave Hofheinz with the league victory.
Tyler Gilbert led the Cougars with eight rebounds, and Terran Alford had a solid performance off the bench, with seven points and four boards.
| COUGARS REACH MILESTONES IN UCF GAME |
Several Cougars set personal milestones in the UCF game on December 27, led by Smith, who posted a career-high seven assists. The junior point guard has led Houston in assists in each of the team's last eight games.
Against UCF, Amerson stayed on the path to become Houston's 23rd 1,000-point scorer. In her 73rd career game, Amerson topped the 700-point plateau. She also pilfered a season-high three steals.
Freshman Mariah Mitchell was in the starting lineup for the first time and set career highs with six rebounds and 34 minutes. Mitchell is the first rookie to start for the Cougars in the 2014-15 season.
| NEW LEADERSHIP, JUNIORS LEAD RESURGENT YEAR |
New head coach Ronald Hughey is already making a profound difference on the Houston program, as the Cougars earned their fifth victory of the season on December 20 in their 10th contest. Last year, Houston did not earn their fifth win until their 23rd game, on February 8.
With the 65-47 win over Nicholls on December 20, Houston improved to 5-5. The Cougars had not been .500 or better through 10 or more games since 2010-11.
The junior class is a big part of the turnaround, with Palmer leading the way. The La Marque native paces Houston with 9.9 points per game, and she is second on the club averaging 4.9 rebounds. Both numbers are much higher than the 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds she averaged last season.
Gilbert has been a force on both ends of the floor. She ranks fifth in The American with 1.8 blocks per game, and she also averages 6.6 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds. Gilbert blocked at least one shot in Houston's first 11 games, and over that stretch she recorded more blocks than she had in her first 43 career appearances.
Smith has shouldered the point guard duties in her third season and has her name in The American statistical rankings more than any other Cougar. The Cedar Hill product ranks fifth in the league in assists (3.9), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 15th in three-point field goals (1.4).
Amerson has developed a deadly shooting touch this season, ranking sixth in The American with a 42.9% three-point field goal percentage.
| COUGAR DUO HONORED FOR STRONG WEEKEND |
Amerson and Mitchell were named to the Athletes in Action Classic All-Tournament Team for their play over the three games from December 19-21. Mitchell led Houston with 15 points in the Nicholls win, while Amerson scored 11 points against UTSA and 10 against the Colonels.
Mitchell was also honored with a spot on the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Weekly Honor Roll for her strong week. The freshman is the second Cougar to be honored by The American this season, following Palmer's selection on November 24.
| SERIES HISTORY vs. TULANE |
Tulane has a 21-13 all-time series lead over the Cougars in what has been a very streaky series. The Green Wave have garnered separate winning streaks of eight and five games, and the Cougars won five straight from 2009-11.
The Green Wave had won four straight before Houston took the most recent meeting, 71-70, on February 17, 2013 in a double overtime classic. The Cougars trailed by as many as 16 points early in the second half before storming ahead by eight points with 6:51 left in the game. Tulane came back to force overtime before the Cougars won the game in the second extra period. | Final Stats Amerson scored 15 points in the most recent meeting between the teams, while Smith came up with nine points and five rebounds in a heroic 47-minute effort.
| SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE |
Tulane is one of two 10-win clubs in the American Athletic Conference as of December 28 following a 60-50 league win at Cincinnati that pushed their record to 10-2. | Final Stats
Kolby Morgan earned three of the first four American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week awards, and she leads the Green Wave with 13.2 points per game.
Tiffany Dale leads Tulane with 6.2 rebounds per game and she ranks second on the club in scoring, averaging 8.4 points.
| QUICK HITS |
- The Cougars have had plenty of success on the road this season, with four of their five victories coming away from Hofheinz Pavilion.
- Tulane is 5-1 at home this season, with their lone loss falling on December 22 to Florida State, 65-54.
- Smith has tallied 20 assists in Houston's last four games.
- Junior Bianca Winslow has connected on five three-pointers in her last three appearances.
- Gilbert's streak of 11 straight games with a block ended against UCF, though she still ranks fifth in The American with 1.8 per game.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
The Cougars stay on the road to face SMU on Saturday, January 3. Tipoff in Dallas is scheduled for 2 pm CT in Houston's third American Athletic Conference game of the season.
The Cougars return home on Wednesday, January 7 to host Cincinnati. The game starts at 7 pm CT inside of Hofheinz Pavilion, and tickets are available for just $8. | TICKETS
| STAY CONNECTED |
Fans can receive daily information and in-game updates by following @UHCougarWBB on Twitter. Fans can also catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at facebook.com/UHCougarWBB
| BUY SEASON TICKETS |
Fans can purchase season tickets for the 2014-15 women's basketball season by clicking here and visiting the official Athletics Ticket Office Page at UHCougars.com. Season tickets start at just $99.
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.
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.
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular season women's basketball home games with a valid student ID.
--UHCougars.com--
