University of Houston Athletics
Hughey Leads Houston against No. 1/1 UConn
2/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON (6-19, 1-13 AMERICAN) vs. No. 1/1 UCONN (24-1, 13-0 AMERICAN) | |
|---|---|
| Home Game Tickets | BUY Tickets • Tickets Info |
| Questions? | Fan Guide |
| Date/Time | Tuesday • 6 pm CT |
| Location | XL Center • Hartford, Conn. |
| Television | SNY |
| Live Video | ESPN3 |
| Live Audio | UHCougars.com Jeremy Branham, PxP |
| Live Stats | |
| Series History | UConn leads, 2-0 |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • UConn Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Houston women's basketball team faces a stern test on Tuesday evening, when they tangle with No. 1/1 UConn. Tipoff at the XL Center is scheduled for 6 pm CT.
Live television coverage of Tuesday's game is available regionally on SNY and around the country through ESPN's Full Court subscription package. The game will be streamed online through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. | Live Video
For fans unable to watch the game, 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 (6-19, 1-13 American Athletic Conference) played well but fell to Temple on Feb. 14, 72-60. Tyler Gilbert and Mariah Mitchell each scored 13 points to guide the Coogs.
UConn (24-1, 13-0 American) ascended to the top spot in the country after knocking off previous No. 1 South Carolina, 87-62, on Feb. 9. They followed that victory with an 87-39 pasting of Tulane on Feb. 14.
Houston has faced the Huskies twice before, with both games coming last season. The Huskies earned a 90-40 win on Jan. 7, 2014 at home and a 92-41 victory at Hofheinz Pavilion on Feb. 22, 2014.
 | LAST TIME OUT |
FEBRUARY 14 • TEMPLE 72, HOUSTON 60 | Final Stats A solid effort from the Ronald Hughey's squad was not enough to overcome Temple's hot shooting as Houston fell to the Owls, 72-60, on Valentine's Day in Philadelphia.
Houston shot 42.6 percent (20-for-47), their second-best effort of 2014-15, and scored 0.95 points per possession, their best mark since Nov. 21 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Gilbert knocked down her first six field goal attempts and scored 13 points, while Mitchell scored 13 as well. Marche' Amerson led Houston with seven rebounds.
Alecia Smith hit three 3-pointers to account for nine points, and she paced the Cougars with five assists.
Gilbert rejected three Temple shots to finish with her 17th multi-block game of the season, while Mitchell led all players with three steals.
Temple shot 69.2 percent (18-for-26) in the first half and 51.0 percent (26-for-51) overall. The built a 12-point halftime lead by knocking down seven of their first 10 3-point attempts.
| AMERSON FINDS SHOOTING TOUCH |
Amerson scored in double-figures in four consecutive games, a career best streak, from Jan. 31 - Feb. 11. Though the run was snapped with a nine-point afternoon at Temple on Feb. 14, the Bryan native is still averaging 13.2 points per game in her last five appearances.
The junior is shooting 42.9 percent over her hot streak, and 78.6 percent from the free throw line.
Amerson has also developed a presence on the glass in the last five games, averaging 5.2 rebounds per game over that stretch.
| WINSLOW ADDS TO COUGAR ATTACK |
Junior Bianca Winslow has started the last eight 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. 7, 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 seven games and is shooting 37.0 percent from downtown over that stretch.
| JOIN THE CLUB |
Two Cougars reached statistical milestones against Tulane on Jan. 27. Leading the way was Smith, who 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 107 career 3-pointers after hitting three in the Temple game on Feb. 14. She is bearing down on Roxana Button (2008-12), who knocked down 125 trifectas in her career.
Gilbert has swatted 57 shots this season, the eighth-best one-year total in UH history. She is just one rejection behind Valerie Muoneke (2001-02) for the seventh position. The junior now has 76 career blocks, 17 behind Lesslee Mason (2009-11) for eighth all-time in Houston history.
Amerson has started 86 career games and will join the Houston top-10 with her next start. She is also just four treys outside Houston's career top-10 3-pointer list, with 72 total.
Mitchell has hit 20 3-pointers this season, which ranks 10th in Houston history among freshmen.
| 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.
Junior Jessieka Palmer leads the Cougars and ranks 28th in the American Athletic Conference with 9.8 points per game. The junior is also listed 28th in the league in rebounding, with a 4.7 average.
Gilbert is up to third in the conference with 2.3 blocked shots per game. As Houston's leading rebounder, the Missouri City native ranks 17th in the league with 5.8 boards per game.
The Missouri City native has spent the majority of the season ranked among the NCAA's top-50 in blocks, and she's currently listed 43rd.
Smith is ranked among the top point guards in The American in multiple categories. She is listed fifth in assists, with 3.6 per game, and eighth with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Her 1.5 3-pointers per game ranks her 11th.
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. UCONN |
UConn is 2-0 against Houston, with both of the faceoffs coming last season. The Huskies won the first meeting, 90-40, on Jan. 7, 2014 in Storrs. Breanna Stewart led UConn with 24 points, and Morgan Tuck came off the bench to add 19. Amerson and Smith each hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 11 for the Coogs. | Final Stats The second meeting came at Hofheinz Pavilion, where UConn won, 92-41, on Feb. 22, 2014. Stewart scored 16 for the Huskies, and Palmer paced current Cougars with 12 points. | Final Stats
| SCOUTING THE HUSKIES |
UConn (24-1, 13-0 American) is the top-ranked women's basketball team in the nation. The two-time defending National Champions knocked off the old No. 1, South Carolina, by an 87-62 count on Feb. 9. On Feb. 14, in their last outing, they earned an 87-39 win over Tulane. | Final Stats vs. South Carolina | Final Stats vs. Tulane
The Huskies are 11-0 at home this season and have won 30 straight home games.
Consensus 2013-14 national player of the year Stewart leads UConn with 16.2 points per game. She, along with junior Moriah Jefferson and senior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 list and the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top-30 list last week.
UConn placed six players in double-figures in their victory over Tulane. Jefferson led the way with 16 points, and Tuck scored 14.
Senior Kiah Stokes leads The American and ranks third nationally with 4.4 blocks per game.
| COUGARS vs. No. 1 OPPONENTS |
Houston has faced the No. 1 team in the nation 11 times before, including the two matchups with UConn last season. The Cougars are still looking for their first victory against a No. 1 club.
The closest Houston has come to knocking off the nation's top-ranked team came on March 1, 1987, a 60-55 loss to Texas. Earlier that season, the Cougars fell to the No. 1 Longhorns by another close count, 79-73, on Jan. 28, 1987 at Hofheinz Pavilion.
| 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 |
- Three Cougars (Palmer, Amerson and Smith) scored nine points in the Temple game.
- Mitchell was a career-best 6-for-6 from the free throw line against Temple.
- As a team, Houston's top-two shooting performances of the American schedule have come in their last two games.
- This is the third time in 2014-15 that Houston has played a game accessible on ESPN3. Houston's games against Texas A&M on Dec. 13 and Tulsa on Feb. 7 where also streamed globally by ESPN.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
The Cougars are back at Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 21 to face SMU. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm CT, and tickets are available. | TICKETS
Houston is going for a season sweep over the Mustangs after winning in Dallas, 63-45, on Jan. 3.
| JOIN THE HOUSTON COACHING STAFF FOR A DAY |
You could be a member of the Houston Women's Basketball coaching staff for a day! Register now for your opportunity to be Houston's Honorary Coach on Feb. 21, 2015, when the Cougars host SMU. The registration form is available at UHCougars.com/HonoraryCoach.
The Honorary Coach will have the opportunity to meet Head Coach Ronald Hughey and the team before the game, join the team for a pregame locker room chalk talk, and watch the team warm up on the court. During the game, our Honorary Coach will sit adjacent to the Cougar bench and have the best seat in the house as Coach Hughey leads the Coogs to victory over the Mustangs.
Register today! The deadline is Feb. 19 at noon CT, and the UH Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will randomly draw a winner later that day. The winner will be contacted directly by a member of the UH staff and will also be announced on the women's basketball team's Twitter and Facebook accounts. Don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience!
| BE THE COOGS' MOST DEDICATED FAN AT "H" DAY |
Houston's Feb. 21 game against SMU is 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--
