University of Houston Athletics
Houston Heads to Florida for USF Matchup
1/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TAMPA â€" The Houston Cougar women's basketball team is ready to get back on the court as they travel to Tampa, Fla., to take on the No. 20/15 USF Bulls in American Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Tipoff for the only meeting between the two schools this season is set for 6 p.m.
The Cougars are back on the court after having nearly a week off from competition. Due to the recent snowstorms in the Northeast, Houston's game against Temple originally scheduled for Jan. 23 was postponed until Feb. 12 with a time still to be determined.
Fans who can't join the Cougars in Tampa on Wednesday, can follow the game through a variety of outlets. Free live audio is available at UHCougars.com/wbbradio, with Jeremy Branham calling the action. Also, live statistics will provide an up-to-the-second numerical breakdown, while the official Twitter account of Houston Women's Basketball, @UHCougarWBB, will post periodic updates. LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | TWITTER
Houston (4-14, 0-7) dropped their most recent contest, falling 79-62 against Tulsa in Hofheinz Pavilion. Houston came out strong in the first quarter, quickly building a 19-13 behind seven first-quarter points by senior Jessieka Palmer and 41.2 percent shooting by the Cougars. Tulsa responded by outscoring Houston 14-6 to take a 27-25 lead at the half. Palmer finished the contest with eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
Tulsa found all the momentum in the contest when they came out to start the third period. The Golden Hurricane opened the second half with a 12-0 run. Houston fell behind by 19 points heading to the fourth quarter and were never able to recover.
Junior guard Kierra Graves collected a career-high 15 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the contest to lead the Cougars in scoring. Graves added five rebounds, two assists and a steal to complete her night. Freshman Cenecia Newman also had a career-high scoring game with four points including 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the 3-point line.
USF (13-5, 6-2) is currently ranked No. 20 in the latest AP Top-25 Poll as well as No. 15 in the USA Today Poll. The Bulls enter winners of eight of their last 10 games after defeating in-state rival UCF 88-49 on Jan. 24.
THE STARTING FIVE
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about Houston's game against USF.
STOP THE SLIDE â€" Houston will look to stop a three-game losing streak against the Bulls. The Cougars have not won against USF since Jan 16, 2005.
HAVE WE MET? â€" 2015-16 marks the fourth consecutive year that the Cougars and the Bulls will meet just once on the hardwood.
SERIES OF STREAKS â€" USF won the first seven matchups all-time against Houston from Jan. 26, 1997 to Feb. 27, 2000. HousÂton responded to win six straight in the series, but has since dropped their last three against the Bulls.
AMERSON'S MARCH â€" After scoring six points in the 79-62 loss against Tulsa, Marche' Amerson is now just six points shy of becoming the 23rd 1,000 point scorer in Houston history.
TOUGH TASK â€" Wednesday's matchup marks the fourth this season that the Cougars will meet a ranked opponent and the first since facing No. 1/1 UConn on Jan. 8.
HOUSTON ONE-SHOTS
Here's the one thing you need to know about each member of the Houston roster:
#1 - Chyanne Butler - Registered career bests in points (17) and steals (seven) in the team's 50-48 loss to SMU on Jan. 10.
#2 - Jacqueline Blake â€" Blake matched a career-high with 11 points while also adding nine rebounds en route to earning Coach Hughey's player of the game honors against ECU.
#3 - Bianca Winslow â€" Tallied a career-high six assists while playing extended minutes in the team's 76-37 loss to UConn on Jan. 9
#5 - Dionna Collins - A finalist for the 2014-15 WBCA Junior College Player of the Year award, Collins will redshirt in 2015-16 due to NCAA transfer requirements.
#10 - Cenecia Newman - Cenecia Newman exploded for 14 points and four rebounds against Tulsa to earn Coach Hughey's player of the game award.
#12 - Brianne Coffman - Coffman will redshirt in 2015-16 due to NCAA transfer requirements. She spent her first two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma State.
#15 - Alecia Smith - Smith graduated with a B.S. in kinesiology Dec. 17. Later that night, she scored six points in Houston's win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
#21 - Jessieka Palmer - Palmer erupted for six 3-pointers and a career-best 25 points against No. 24/23 George Washington on Nov. 26.
#22 - Marche' Amerson - Amerson needs 6 points to become the 23rd member of Houston's 1,000-point club.
#23 - Serithia Hawkins - Hawkins earned her second career double-double in the team's 75-66 loss to Temple. She tallied 12 points and 10 boards with two assists.
#24 - Mariah Mitchell - Mitchell finished just one rebound shy of her first career double-double when she scored 11 points with nine boards against Temple.
#25 - Kierra Graves - Tallied a career-best 15 points against the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa on Jan. 20, while picking up five rebounds and two steals.
#32 - Sharayla Brown - Brown scored the first four points of her collegiate career Nov. 26 against No. 24/23 George Washington and made her first start Dec. 5 at Rice.
#33 - Tyler Gilbert â€" Exploded for a game-high 16 points in the team's 76-37 loss against No. 1/1 UConn, leading all scorers.
#35 - Taylor Gilbert - Gilbert received a medical hardship redshirt due to career-ending knee injuries. She remains on scholarship and is an active part of team functions.
LAST TIME OUT • JAN. 20, 2016 • TULSA 79, HOUSTON 62 | Final Stats
Houston fell to American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa 79-62 on Jan. 20, inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
Freshman Cenecia Newman earned Coach Hughey's player of the game honors after she tallied a career-high 14 points and matched a career-best with four rebounds. Junior guard Kierra Graves also added a career-best 15 points.
Houston came out strong in the first quarter, quickly building a 19-13 lead behind seven first-quarter points by senior Jessieka Palmer and 41.2 percent shooting by the Cougars. Tulsa responded by outscoring Houston 14-6 to take a 27-25 lead at the half. Palmer finished the contest with eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
Tulsa found all the momentum in the contest when they came out to start the third period. The Golden Hurricane opened the second half with a 12-0 run. Houston fell behind by 19 points heading to the fourth quarter and were never able to recover.
SERIES VS. USF
Wednesday's game marks the 17th time the two squads will meet dating back to when the teams first met on Jan. 26, 1997, a 79-73 win for the Bulls in Houston.
USF won the first seven meetings of the series from Jan. 26, 1997 to Feb. 27, 2000. The Cougars stopped the streak on Jan. 2, 2001 when they beat USF 82-59 in Tampa. Houston would go on to win six straight, however the Bulls have responded to win the last three matchups in the series.
The teams last met on Jan. 21, 2015 at Hofheinz Pavilion. The bulls cruised to a 71-55 victory in the only matchup for the teams in 2015.
THE COACHES
Houston head coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 10-38. He is 0-1 all-time against USF.
Hughey accumulated a 163-154 (.514) career record in 10 seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant coach at South Carolina State, South Carolina, UCF, Rutgers, Texas and Florida State. He is a veteran of seven postseason tournaments (6 NCAA, 1 NIT) including two NCAA Second Rounds (2013, 2014), four NCAA First Rounds (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and one WNIT Second Round (2008).
A vaunted recruiter, Hughey orchestrated multiple national top-15 recruiting classes at both Texas and Florida State. At Houston, he signed an eight-player recruiting class in 2014-15, including two NJCAA All-Americans and four players rated as 3-star recruits by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
Hughey brought five more highly regarded recruits into the Houston program in the early 2015 signing period. Included in the group is Lufkin, Texas, native Natasha Mack, the first ESPN Hoopgurlz national top-100 recruit of his head coaching tenure.
USF Head Coach Jose Fernandez holds a 274-220 record, 18 games into his 16th season at the helm. A 1994 graduate of Florida International, Fernandez has coached all 16 seasons of his head coaching career at USF.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
USF (13-5, 6-2) is currently ranked No. 20 in the latest AP Top-25 poll as well as No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll from last week. The Bulls enter winners of eight of their last 10 games after defeating in-state rival UCF 88-49 on Jan. 24.
Courtney Williams leads all USF scorers with 22.0 points per game, and is just shy of averaging a double-double per contest, pulling down 9.0 boards per game. The Bulls have four players averaging double figure point per game.
USF outrebounds their opponents by nearly eight boards per game led mainly by Alisia Jenkins who pulls down 11.5 per contest.
The Bulls average 76.3 points per game while only allowing their opponents to score 62.4. USF shoots 41.9 percent from the field and limits opponents to 37.2 percent. The team from Tampa hits 7.0 3-pointers per game, but limit their opponents to 30.2 percent shooting from behind the arc.
KEY STATS FOR HOUSTON
Houston is one of the best teams in the American Athletic Conference when it comes to blocking shots. The team ranks fourth with 3.4 rejections per game, while senior Tyler Gilbert ranks fourth with 24 blocked shots this season.
MARCHE'S MARCH TO 1,000 POINTS
Amerson enters the East Carolina game with 994 career points and is just six points shy of Houston's 1,000-point club. When she accomplishes the feat, Amerson will be Houston's 23rd 1,000-point scorer. Current Atlanta Dream standout Sancho Lyttle (2003-05) occupies the 22nd spot, with 1,092 career points, while Ann Moon (1977-81) checks in at No. 21 with 1,094 points.
MILESTONE WATCH
Amerson isn't the only Cougar who is climbing the Cougar record books in 2015-16, and her journey to 1,000 points isn't the only number to monitor this season. The senior from Bryan, Texas, enters the East Carolina game fifth in Houston history with 106 career starts, fifth with 3,352 minutes and eighth with 100 made 3-point field goals and 332 3-point field goal attempts.
Alecia Smith is climbing the career 3-point record books, ranking tied for fifth in made 3-pointers (129), fourth in attempts (519) and ninth in minutes (2,187).
Gilbert climbed two spots on the Houston career shot-blocking charts with her three rejections in the UNLV game. She is now ranked sixth in school history with 107 blocks, and she's chasing Toni Mooney, who finished her career with 122 blocks, for fifth place. Gilbert became just the sixth player in Houston history with triple-digit blocks.
REGENTS APPROVE RENOVATIONS TO BASKETBALL ARENA
The University of Men's and Women's Basketball programs moved closer to a new competition home facility when school regents approved the start of the design process for the renovation of the Houston Basketball arena during its meeting Nov. 19.
Regents approved a project budget of up to $60 million with an anonymous donor pledging a $20 million gift to facilitate the arena's renovation.
Design work is scheduled to begin in March 2016 with construction starting one year later. Plans for the Cougars' home facility during the 2017-18 season have not been finalized and will be announced at a later date. The renovated facility is expected to be ready for game competition for the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
"This project has been long overdue, and we are grateful that Dr. Khator and our Board of Regents saw the need for this step with our basketball arena," Vice President for Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. "We look forward to starting the design process in the next few months and creating a facility that will provide the highest level of amenities to our fans and a significant home-court advantage for our Men's and Women's Basketball student-athletes."
Preliminary estimated capacity for the renovated arena will be reduced to 7,420 from its current seating bowl of 8,479. However, initial plans call for the court level to be raised three feet with fan seating moved closer to the court as part of an emphasis to improve the overall fan experience.
More than 2,000 premium seats will be developed to give fans the ultimate luxury seating options. That total includes a preliminary design of 1,750 club seats, 20 loge boxes with four seats in each, two open-air suites with 32 seats per unit and 90 courtside seats.
The arena's concourse level will be expanded to improve circulation with significant upgrades to the sound system, video board and arena seating.
Guy V. Lewis BASKETBALL CENTER NEARS COMPLETION | Live Webcam
The Houston Women's Basketball held their first full practice in the brand new Guy V. Lewis Basketball Center on Nov. 24, and they will move into the full facility in just a few short days. Once completed, the $25 million facility will be the home base for both Cougar hoops squads.
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.
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.
UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Following Wednesday's game, the Cougars wrap what is now just a 2-game road trip after the postponement of their trip to Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday. Houston travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to battle Cincinnati at 1 p.m., on Jan. 30.
$50 SHASTA PASS NOW AVAILABLE
The Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2015-16 athletic season. For only $50, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all remaining Houston Women's Basketball and Softball home games.
The Shasta Pass offers Houston fans a substantial savings as single-game tickets start at $8 for all four sports. To purchase a Shasta Pass, CLICK HERE.
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.
