University of Houston Athletics
Cougars to Host Defending National Champion UConn
1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team returns home on Friday, Jan. 8, to host defending national champion No. 1/1 UConn at Hofheinz Pavilion. Tipoff for the contest against the nation's top team is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will air live on ESPN2.
The Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass, the best way to see Houston's regular season home games. For only $50, fans who purchase a Shasta Pass will receive general admission entrance to all eight home games left on the schedule, including Friday's game against defending national champion UConn. The Shasta Pass also grants entry to every home game on the 2016 Houston Softball schedule. | CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A SHASTA PASS | FULL SCHEDULE
The first 500 fans through the gates on Friday will receive a voucher for a FREE UH Pint Glass.
Fans who can't join the Cougars at Hofheinz on Friday can follow the game through a variety of outlets. The game will air live on national TV courtesy of ESPN2 and will feature Pam Ward and Debra Antonelli on the call. Free live audio is available at UHCougars.com/wbbradio, with Jeremy Branham on the call. Also, 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 | | TWITTER
Houston (4-10, 0-3) is coming off a hard-fought 74-57 loss to Memphis on Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn. Junior guard Kierra Graves led the Cougars with 11 points, while senior forward Marche' Amerson added 10 of her own. The double figures marked the fourth time this season Graves has reached 10 or more points, while Amerson now has five double-digit scoring games on the season and 47 in her career.
UConn (11-0, 1-0) opened American Athletic Conference play with a 107-45 win at Cincinnati in Cincinnati Ohio, on Dec. 30. The Huskies will face American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa Wednesday, Jan 6, in Connecticut, before making the trip to Houston for the weekend.
THE STARTING FIVE
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about Houston's game against No. 1/1UConn.
PLAYING THE BEST â€" Friday's matchup will be the third against a Top-25 opponent for the Cougars in 2015-16. Houston faced No. 24/23 George Washington and No. 25/21 Iowa earlier this season in the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas
A FEW FAMILIAR FACES â€" Seniors Jessieka Palmer and Marche' Amerson have eached faced UConn three times before with Palmer scoring 16 points in the three contests against the Huskies, while Amerson has scored 14.
MITCHELL'S SUCCESS â€" Sophomore guard Mariah Mitchell found success against the Huskies in the only meeting of 2015. Mitchell led the Coogs with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting and collected three boards.
Marche' Amerson â€" After scoring 10 points in the 74-57 loss at Memphis, Marche' Amerson is now just 33 points shy of becoming the 23rd 1,000 point scorer in Houston history.
BEST OF THE BEST â€" Friday night's game marks the fourth time the Cougars will meet the Huskies on the hardwood and will also be the fourth time UConn has entered the game as the top-ranked team in the NCAA.
HOUSTON ONE-SHOTS
Here's the one thing you need to know about each member of the Houston roster:
#1 - Chyanne Butler - Butler scored a career-high 14 points and had four assists in the American Conference home opener against Temple.
#2 - Jacqueline Blake - Blake exploded for her first career double-double Dec. 7 at Incarnate Word with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
#3 - Bianca Winslow - Winslow returned from a seven-game injury absence on Dec. 12 vs. UNLV and led the Cougars with four assists.
#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 - Newman was instant offense at the Lone Star Showcase, scoring 12 points in just 20 minutes of court time.
#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 33 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 - Graves matched a career-high when she scored 12 points to finish as one of four Cougars in double-figures against Temple.
#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 - Gilbert had a block in the Tulane game to become the sixth player in Houston history to tally 100 career blocks.
#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. 5, 2016 • MEMPHIS 74, HOUSTON 57 | Final Stats
Houston dropped its third-straight American Athletic Conference matchup, 74-57, Tuesday at Memphis.
Junior guard Kierra Graves and senior forward Marche' Amerson each reached double figures for the Cougars with Graves scoring 11 and Amerson adding 10 points. Freshman Serithia Hawkins continued to dominate the glass, picking up six rebounds in the contest.
Memphis started hot and grabbed a 6-0 lead just over a minute into the game. Memphis would build its lead to 13 at the end of the first quarter, taking a 23-10 lead into the second frame. The Cougars finally settled in after the first quarter and were able to work their way back into the game from the free-throw line. Houston shot 10-15 from the charity stripe in the first half, and 19-28 overall.
Houston struggled to keep the Tigers out of the lane, and forward Brianna Wright took advantage of that for Memphis. Wright scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and helped contribute in a big way to the Tigers' 46 points in the paint.
SERIES VS. UCONN
Houston is 0-3 all-time against the Huskies, including an 0-1 mark in Houston.
UConn claimed victory in the last conest 85-26 on Feb. 17, 2015. Then-freshman guard Mariah Mitchell led the way for the Cougars scoring nine points with three rebounds.
UConn won the last meeting between the two schools in Houston with a 92-41 victory at Hofheinz Pavilion. Te'onna Campbell led the Cougars with 15 points, while Jessieka Palmer added 12 points and four rebounds of her own.
THE COACHES
Houston head coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 10-34. He is 0-3 all-time against Memphis.
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.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma has a 928-134 record 11 games into her 30th season as a head coach of the Huskies. Auriemma has led UConn to 41 conference championships, 16 Final Fours, 10 natal championships and five perfect seasons since arriving in Connecticut in 1985..
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
UConn is 11-0 this season and will meet Tulsa on Wednesday, Jan. 6 before making the trip to Houston. The Huskies are 1-0 in American Athletic Conference play.
Senior forward Breanna Stewart leads UConn in several major statistical categories, including points per game (22.2), rebounds (80), rebounds per game (8.0) and blocks (28). Stewart has already been named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week three times this season, including Monday Jan 4, after averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game the previous week.
Senior forward Morgan Tuck stands second on the team with 15.4 points per game, while freshman Napheesa Collier is second on the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. Collier was named American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week on Dec. 14 and Dec. 28.
The Huskies average 89.5 points per game, and are limiting opponents to just 54.4 points per contest. UConn shoots 53.2 percent from the field, while holding opponents to just 34.3 percent.
UConn has been dominant on the glass, outrebounding opponents by 10.4 boards per game and pulling down 40.3 rebounds per matchup.
KEY STATS FOR HOUSTON
After an impressive showing on the glass at Memphis, the Cougars continue to assert themselves on the boards in 2015-16. The Cougars are outrebounding their opponents by 1.8 boards per game, and are averaging 38.4 rebounds per contest.
Houston ranks near the top of the American Athletic Conference in blocks with an average of 3.3 rejections per contest. Senior forward Tyler Gilbert ranks third individually while averaging 1.4 blocks per game.
Junior Kierra Graves has come on strong of late for the Cougars after posting back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts against Temple and Memphis. Graves is averaging 11.5 points per game and is 11-of-19 shotting in the last two games.
MARCHE'S MARCH TO 1,000 POINTS
Amerson enters the Memphis game with 967 career points and is just 33 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 UConn game fifth in Houston history with 102 career starts, sixth with 3,213 minutes and eighth with 96 made 3-point field goals and 323 3-point field goal attempts.
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 101 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
Houston will play in back-to-back home games for the first time since Nov. 19 and Nov. 22 when they host SMU on Sunday, Jan 10. Tipoff at Hofheinz Pavilion is scheduled for 2 p.m.
$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.
