University of Houston Athletics
Houston Hosts Tulsa Saturday on ESPN3
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON (6-16, 1-10 AMERICAN) vs. TULSA (11-10, 6-4 AMERICAN) | |
|---|---|
| Tickets | BUY Tickets • Tickets Info |
| Questions? | Fan Guide |
| Date/Time | Saturday • 2 pm CT |
| Location | Hofheinz Pavilion • Houston, Texas |
| Live Video | ESPN3 |
| Live Audio | UHCougars.com Jeremy Branham, PxP |
| Live Stats | |
| Series History | Tulsa leads, 11-6 |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • Tulsa Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team returns to Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday afternoon to host the University of Tulsa. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm CT.
Saturday's game is available around the world on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Brett Dolan and Brenda Milano will be on the call. | Live Video
The Cougars will host Dads & Daughters Date Day on Saturday in conjunction with the Tulsa game. For $15, fans can get two tickets, a hat for dads and a pink flower for daughters. Plus, a photo station will be set up for families to take a commemorative photo above the Hofheinz Pavilion court. The ticket package is available online only, so set your browser and plan to join us for the fun. | TICKETS
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 is 6-16 (1-10 American Athletic Conference) after taking a 79-56 loss at East Carolina on Feb. 3. Jessieka Palmer led the Cougars with 13 points, while Marche' Amerson came up with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Golden Hurricane (11-10, 6-4 American) have won three straight games, including a 70-61 victory over UCF in their last contest, on Jan. 31. Reigning American Player of the Week Ashley Clark led Tulsa with 23 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Tulsa holds an 11-6 lead over Houston in the all-time series between the programs. The Golden Hurricane won the first meeting this season, 74-52, on Jan. 17 in Tulsa.
 | LAST TIME OUT |
FEBRUARY 3 • EAST CAROLINA 79, HOUSTON 56 | Final Stats The Cougars stuck close to East Carolina throughout the first half before falling, 79-56, on Feb. 3.
Houston was down by just six points before ECU scored the last five points of the first half and the first five points of the second half to build a comfortable 16-point lead.
Palmer was in the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 21 and led the Cougars with 13 points. Amerson added 11 points and led the Cougars with seven rebounds and three assists. The Bryan native also pocketed a steal and blocked a shot.
Demetria Foreman and Bianca Winslow each dished three assists, while Winslow grabbed three steals to record her third multi-steal game in the last six.
Houston shot 41.7 percent and lost for the first time this season when shooting better than 40 percent.
| MOVING TO THE FOREFRONT |
Foreman has emerged as one of Houston's top performers in the last three games after logging at least 20 minutes in all three contests. She is averaging 4.0 assists and 3.7 steals in her last three appearances.
The senior's hot streak started on Jan. 27 against Tulane, when she set a career high with seven steals, the most by a UH player this season. Against Cincinnati on Jan. 31, the Irving native set season highs with eight points, four rebounds and six assists.
Most recently, Foreman scored five points and led the Cougars with three assists on Feb. 3 against East Carolina.
| SHE'S BACK! |
Palmer, Houston's leading scorer, returned to the lineup on Jan. 31 against Cincinnati after missing two games with an injury. She averaged 12.0 points per game over the recent two-game road trip.
The La Marque native scored 11 points against Cincinnati on Jan. 31, including a team-high four points in overtime. On Feb. 13, she was Houston's top scorer, with 13 points.
| JOIN THE CLUB |
Two Cougars reached statistical milestones against Tulane on Jan. 27. Alecia Smith made her 100th career 3-point field goal late in the second half. She is the seventh Cougar to reach the milestone.
Tyler Gilbert, meanwhile, tallied her 60th career block against the Green Wave. She is one of only 10 Cougars to record the feat.
Gilbert hit another milestone on Feb. 3 against East Carolina, when she became just the eighth Cougar to block 50 shots in a single season.
| 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 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 100 career 3-pointers. She is bearing down on Roxana Button (2008-12), who knocked down 125 trifectas in her career.
Gilbert has swatted 51 shots this season, the ninth-best one-year total in UH history. She now has 70 career blocks, three behind Rosheda Hopson (1994-96) for ninth all-time.
Amerson has started 83 career games and is three 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 18 3-pointers this season, putting her two away from joining the program's freshman single-season top-10.
| COUGARS IN THE AMERICAN RANKINGS |
Four Cougars continue to rank among the top statistical performers in The American through games played on Feb. 4.
Palmer leads UH in scoring and ranks 25th in The American with 10.2 points per game. She's also listed in the league rebounding rankings, at 24th with 5.1 boards per game.
Gilbert ranks third in the league with 2.3 blocks per game, and her 6.0 rebounds are good for 17th in the league. The junior is also the top-ranked Cougar in the NCAA Division I rankings. She is listed 39th in the nation in blocks per game.
Smith is listed fifth in the league in assists, with 3.5 per game, and eighth with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. She is also ranked 14th with 1.4 3-pointers per game.
Amerson is now tied for 14th in the league with 0.7 blocks per game.
In conference play, Palmer leads Houston and ranks 25th in The American with 10.2 points per game. Gilbert is the team's top rebounder, ranking eighth at 7.7 boards per game.
| SERIES HISTORY vs. TULSA |
The Golden Hurricane won the first meeting between the two clubs this season, a 74-52 victory on Jan. 17 in Tulsa. The Cougars were led by Tyler Gilbert, who scored 16 points and pulled in a career-high 13 rebounds. Kelsee Grovey scored a team-high 18 to lead Tulsa, and Clark added 14 points off the bench. | Final Stats Tulsa holds an 11-6 edge over Houston in the prior 17 meetings between the clubs. The Cougars last earned a victory over TU on Feb. 17, 2011, a 72-56 win in Tulsa. Lesslee Mason led Houston with 18 points. | Final Stats
| SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE |
Tulsa (11-10, 6-4 American) enters Saturday's contest riding a three-game winning streak. The Golden Hurricane downed UCF in their last game, a 70-61 victory on Jan. 31. | Final Stats
The Golden Hurricane have also earned American wins over East Carolina and SMU as part of their winning streak.
Clark paced the Golden Hurricane with 23 points and eight rebounds in the victory over UCF, while Mariah Turner scored 12 points. It's Clark who leads Tulsa in both main statistical categories, with 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Turner ranks second on the club with 12.6 points per game.
Both Grovey and Teanna Reid have knocked down 30 3-pointers to lead Tulsa. As a club, the Golden Hurricane connect on 6.5 outside shots 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., will transfer 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 can eclipse last season's win totals in both American and overall play with a victory on Saturday.
- Saturday's game is Houston's first appearance on ESPN3 this season.
- Senior Terran Alford had a strong effort in the ECU game, with seven points and five rebounds.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
Houston finishes their home swing on Wednesday, Feb. 11 against Memphis. Tipoff is set for 7 pm CT inside of Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars and Tigers have already faced off once this season, with Memphis earning the win on Jan. 24. | Final Stats
The Cougars will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Feb. 11, along with hosting their Coogs for the Cure event. The game will be a "Pay as You Wish" event, where Cougar fans can enter the game by making a donation in the amount of their choosing. Fans are encouraged to give generously, as a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Coogs for the Cure program, which is dedicated to the fight against cancer. For more information and to register your group, please contact Daniel Foster at dfoster3@Central.uh.edu or (713) 743-9453.
| 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 .
| NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY |
The Cougars will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day when they host Memphis on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Houston will also hold their Coogs for the Cure event on that night, raising money for cancer awareness.
The Feb. 11 women's basketball game will be a "Pay as You Wish" event, where Cougar fans can enter the game by making a donation in the amount of their choosing. Fans are encouraged to give generously, as a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Coogs for the Cure program, which is dedicated to the fight against cancer.
All Houston women's student-athletes will be in attendance, and the Cougars will honor their achievements on and off the court throughout the night. In addition, the first 250 fans will receive a Coogs for the Cure t-shirt, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a commemorative pink pom-pom.
Fans are encouraged to join the festivities and bring their group to be a part of the fun. For more information and to register your group, please contact Daniel Foster at dfoster3@Central.uh.edu or (713) 743-9453.
| 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--
