University of Houston Athletics
Houston Opens East Coast Road Trip at Temple
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON (6-18, 1-12 AMERICAN) vs. TEMPLE (11-14, 7-5 AMERICAN) | |
|---|---|
| Home Game Tickets | BUY Tickets • Tickets Info |
| Questions? | Fan Guide |
| Date/Time | Saturday • 4 pm CT |
| Location | Liacouras Center • Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Live Video | American Digital Network |
| Live Audio | UHCougars.com Jeremy Branham, PxP |
| Live Stats | OwlSports.com |
| Series History | Temple leads, 2-0 |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • Temple Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team starts a two-game American Athletic Conference road trip on Saturday, when they face Temple University. Game time at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia is scheduled for 4 pm CT.
Fans can watch Saturday's game free of charge through the American Digital Network. Also, a free live audio broadcast of the game 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 (6-18, 1-12 American) is coming off of a hard-fought 64-58 loss to Memphis on Feb. 11 in front of a spirited National Girls and Women in Sports Day crowd. Marche' Amerson led the Cougars with 17 points, while Tyler Gilbert checked in with 13.
Temple (11-14, 7-5 American) has lost two straight games, including a 75-67 loss to Tulsa on Feb. 10. Alliya Butts led the Owls with 17 points.
Temple and Houston have faced off just twice before, with both meetings occurring in the 2013-14 season. The Owls took a 79-46 victory on Feb. 4, 2014 in Houston and a 66-54 win on March 3, 2014 in Philadelphia.
 | LAST TIME OUT |
FEBRUARY 11 • MEMPHIS 64, HOUSTON 58 | Final Stats | Postgame Press Conference
Houston battled Memphis until the final buzzer before suffering a 64-58 loss on Feb. 11 as part of UH's National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration.
The Cougars were down early, 25-12, before running off a 13-0 spurt late in the first half. Houston trailed, 56-53, with four minutes remaining, but Memphis held on for the win.
Amerson paced the Cougars with 17 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Gilbert contributed 13 points and a team-high six rebounds, and Jessieka Palmer scored 10 points.
Bianca Winslow turned in another fine performance. The Bellaire native set career highs with five assists and 39 minutes of court time, in addition to scoring nine points.
Houston's 13-0 run was their largest of 2014-15 in American Athletic Conference games.
| WINSLOW ADDS TO COUGAR ATTACK |
Winslow has started the last seven games for the Cougars as the primary point guard and has been a stabilizing force over that stretch. Since joining the starting lineup on Jan. 21, the Bellaire native leads Houston with 3.3 assists per game.
The junior finished just one point shy of a career high against Tulsa on Feb. 11, with 11 points. She drained three 3-pointers in the game, a first in her career.
Winslow has twice equaled her career high of five assists during the run, including games against USF on Jan. 21 and Memphis on Feb. 11. She also set a career best with five steals in the first Memphis game, on Jan. 24.
The Bellaire native has hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the last six games and is shooting 37.5 percent from downtown over that stretch.
| AMERSON CATCHES FIRE FROM THE FIELD |
Amerson is averaging 14.3 points per game in her last four appearances, and she has scored in double-figures in all four. The four-game double-digit streak is the first of her career.
The Bryan native is shooting 46.9 percent during her recent hot streak, which started on Jan. 31 when she matched a career high with nine field goals and scored 17 points at Cincinnati. The junior is also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists over the stretch.
Amerson is now Houston's top scorer in American games, with 9.8 points per contest.
| JOIN THE CLUB |
Two Cougars reached statistical milestones against Tulane on Jan. 27. Junior Alecia Smith made her 100th career 3-point field goal in the game. She is the seventh Cougar to reach the milestone.
Gilbert tallied her 60th career block in the Tulane game. She is one of only 10 Cougars to record the feat. The junior became just the ninth Cougar to block 50 shots in a single season against East Carolina on Feb. 3.
Amerson topped the 800-point plateau for her career on Feb. 7 against Tulsa. The Bryan native is on pace to become Houston's 23rd 1,000-point scorer midway through the 2015-16 season.
| COUGARS CLIMB PROGRAM RECORD BOOKS |
Three juniors and a freshman are in the process of writing their names in the Houston women's basketball record book.
Smith ranks seventh in UH history with 104 career 3-pointers after converting four against Tulsa on Feb. 7. She is bearing down on Roxana Button (2008-12), who knocked down 125 trifectas in her career.
Gilbert has swatted 54 shots this season, the eighth-best one-year total in UH history. She is just four blocks behind Valerie Muoneke (2001-02) for the seventh position. The Missouri City native now has 73 career blocks, 20 behind Lesslee Mason (2009-11) for eighth all-time in Houston history.
Amerson has started 85 career games and is two short of Houston's career top-10. She is also just four treys outside the career 3-pointer list, with 72 total.
Freshman Mariah Mitchell has hit 19 3-pointers this season, putting her one away from joining the program's freshman single-season top-10.
| DEVELOPMENT FACILITY WEBCAM GOES LIVE |
Watch
The Cougars will have a new Basketball Development Facility to call home in 2015-16, and fans can now watch the construction of the facility live, 24 hours a day. To view progress of the construction, fans can click on uh.edu/infotech/services/webcam/.
Designed by DLR Group and Page, the new Development Center is located adjacent to Hofheinz Pavilion at the corner of Cullen Boulevard and Holman Street on the UH campus. Construction on the $25 million facility is expected to be completed by August 2015
The 53,000 square-foot facility will provide the environment that the Houston Men's and Women's Basketball student-athletes need to excel throughout the season in all areas. The first level will house a dedicated practice court for each team as well as sports performance and sports medicine areas, which will be used by both programs.
The second level will feature the teams' areas, which include locker rooms and academic/film theaters. The team rooms contain spacious, modern lockers, multiple video screens for television and comfortable furniture. The third level will hold office space for both Men's and Women's Basketball coaching and support staffs.
| COUGARS IN THE AMERICAN RANKINGS |
Four Cougars continue to rank among the top statistical performers in The American through games played on Feb. 11.
Palmer remains Houston's top scorer and currently ranks 27th in The American with 9.9 points per game. She's also listed in the league's top-30 in rebounding, with 4.9 boards per game.
Gilbert is up to third in the conference with 2.3 blocked shots per game. As Houston's leading rebounder, the junior ranks 17th in the league with 5.9 boards per game.
Gilbert continues to be the highest-ranked Cougar in the NCAA statistics. She is listed 44th in the nation in blocked shots.
Smith is listed fifth in the league in assists, with 3.5 per game, and eighth with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. After draining four trifectas against Tulsa, she improved to 11th in the league with 1.5 3-pointers per game.
On the strength of her recent scoring streak, Amerson has risen to 30th in The American with 9.5 points per game.
| SERIES HISTORY vs. TEMPLE |
Temple is 2-0 all-time against Houston, with both matchups taking place last season. The Owls won the first battle, 79-46, on Feb. 4, 2014 at Hofheinz Pavilion. Amerson led Houston with nine points, and Erica Covile guided the Owls with 18. | Final Stats The second meeting was much tighter, with Temple earning a 66-54 victory in Philadelphia. Amerson came up with 20 points, and Feyonda Fitzgerald scored 18 to pace the home team. | Final Stats
| SCOUTING THE OWLS |
Temple (11-14, 7-5 American) has lost two straight games, including a 75-67 decision at Tulsa on Feb. 10. | Final Stats
The Owls were also stopped by Tulane, 77-63, on Feb. 7 to start the skid.
Temple is 5-6 at home this season, though they won their most recent home contest, an 84-61 pasting of Memphis on Feb. 4.
Butts topped the Temple scoring column with 17 points against Tulsa and scores a team-high 12.6 points per game on the season. She also ranks third in The American with 2.1 steals per game.
Covile added 15 points in the Tulsa loss and contributes 11.6 points per game. She is also Temple's top rebounder, ranking third in the league at 9.1 boards per game.
| 2014-15 AWARDS TALLY |
Three Cougars have already earned spots on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll this season. Gilbert was the latest to receive the honor, on Jan. 19, after pulling in 13 rebounds vs. Tulsa.
Palmer was honored on Nov. 24 after scoring a career-high 20 points in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Mitchell took home the award on Dec. 22 after scoring 15 points in the Nicholls State victory.
Mitchell and Amerson were both honored with spots on the Athletes in Action All-Tournament Team for their play at the event. Both players averaged 8.0 points per game at the tournament, leading the Cougars to a 2-1 record.
| #CHASINGGREATNESS WITH THE COUGARS |
Three student-athletes have signed to join the Houston program next season.
Chyanne Butler, a native of Costa Mesa, Calif., transferred to Houston at the start of the spring 2015 semester and will play for the Cougars in 2015-16. The USC transfer averaged 17.0 points and 3.3 steals per game during her prep career. She was tabbed as the Class of 2014's 25th-ranked point guard by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
Sharayla Brown is a 6-3 post player out of Tulsa, Okla., and East Central HS. She averaged 12.0 points per game as East Central advanced to the championship game of the 2014 OSSAA Class 5A State Tournament.
Serithia "MoMo" Hawkins is a 5-10 guard from Moore, Okla., and Southmoore HS. She is ranked as the 69th-best Class of 2015 guard by ESPN Hoopgurlz, and she is a 3-star prospect. Led by Hawkins, Southmoore upset the top-ranked team in the state of Oklahoma, Edmond Santa Fe, on Tuesday evening.
| QUICK HITS |
- Houston is looking for their first ever win in the state of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
- Gilbert has recorded multiple blocks in 16 games this season.
- The Cougars have used a different starting lineup in the last four games.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
The Cougars close their road trip against No. 2/1 UConn on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The 6 pm CT game will be televised regionally by SNY and available on the ESPN Full Court subscription package. Live streaming is available around the globe on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
| BE THE COOGS' MOST DEDICATED FAN AT "H" DAY |
The Cougars return home on Saturday, Feb. 21 to host SMU as part of the "H" Day celebration. Houston fans can purchase a $50 all-inclusive ticket which includes entry to the "H" Association BBQ dinner, Houston Women's Basketball vs. SMU at 2 p.m., Houston Softball vs. New Mexico at 3 p.m. and Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 5:30 p.m., Houston Baseball vs. Alabama at 6:30 p.m. and Houston Men's Basketball vs. Cincinnati at 8:30 p.m. UH supporters looking to attend the BBQ only can purchase a BBQ ticket for $15. | TICKETS
Fans who attend all four events have a chance to be named the Coogs' Most Dedicated Fan. Houston fans can pick up their Dedicated Coog card at the Women's Basketball game at Hofheinz Pavilion and pick up their first of four hole-punches. Fans who enter the venue of each sporting event and show their Dedicated Coog card will receive a hole-punch from the Houston Athletics Marketing Department.
Receive a fourth punch and turn in a completed card at Hofheinz at the Men's Basketball game and fans will receive a special edition Coogs' Most Dedicated Fan t-shirt and be entered into the Coogs' Most Dedicated Fan grand prize consisting of batting practice for two with Houston Baseball, throwing out the first pitch at the March 22 Houston Softball game vs. USF, a suite for 20 at the March 1 Houston Men's Basketball game vs. USF, serve as the honorary head coach for the March 2 Houston Women's Basketball game vs. Temple and receive two field passes for the Houston Football Spring Game on April 18.
| 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 .
| STUDENTS - CHEER ON YOUR COUGARS! |
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular season women's basketball home games with a valid student ID.
--UHCougars.com--
