University of Houston Athletics
In-State Rival SMU Visits Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion
1/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team continues their two-game homestand when they welcome in-state rival SMU to Hofheinz Pavilion on Sunday, Jan. 10. Tipoff for the contest against the Mustangs is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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 seven home games left on the schedule, including Sunday's game against smu. 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 200 fans through the gates on Sunday will receive a voucher for a FREE UH Parking Sign.
Fans who can't join the Cougars at Hofheinz on Friday can follow the game through a variety of outlets. Live video is available courtesy of UHCougars.com, however the broadcast is subscription based. 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 VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | | TWITTER
Houston (4-11, 0-4) is coming off a hard-fought 76-37 loss to UConn on Saturday, at Hofheinz Pavilion. Senior forward Tyler Gilbert paced the Cougars in the matchup against the nation's number-one team scoring 16 points and collecting eight rebounds. Gilbert finished the night 8-of-13 shooting from the field and also collected two blocks to give her 102 in her career.
Houston took a 15-14 lead into the second quarter on Saturday, marking the first time that UConn has trailed after the first quarter all season.
SMU (6-8, 1-2) opened American Athletic Conference play with a 56-54 loss at Tulsa. The Mustangs would go on to defeat temple 69-67 on their home court before falling 83-56 at USF on Thursday.
THE STARTING FIVE
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about Houston's game against SMU.
FAMILIA FOES â€" Houston and SMU have met 53 previous times on the hardwood. The Cougars won the first 20 games of the series, but have gone 11-22 since February of 1992
NO HOME ADVANTAGE â€" The two teams split the season series in 2014-15, with the visiting team winning each of the contests. Houston won 63-45 in Dallas, while the Mustangs won 68-51 inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
GILBERT'S DOMINANCE â€" Then-junior Tyler Gilbert led the Coogs in scoring in each of the games in the series last season, scoring 18 points in the win on Jan. 3, while dropping 10 points in the loss on Feb. 21
Marche' Amerson â€" After scoring four points in the 74-57 loss at Memphis, Marche' Amerson is now just 29 points shy of becoming the 23rd 1,000 point scorer in Houston history.
NEEDING DEPTH â€" Houston got a big boost from senior guard Bianca Winslow after filling in for starting guard Alecia Smith who missed the UConn game due to injury. Winslow finished with a career-best six assists.
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 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 - 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 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. 8, 2016 • UCONN 76, HOUSTON 37 | Final Stats
Houston dropped its fifth straight contest, falling to No. 1/1 UConn 76-37 on Jan. 8, inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
Senior forward Tyler Gilbert exploded for 10 first half points and five rebounds after playing all but one minute in the first half. Gilbert would go on to finish the game with a season-best 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Freshman Serithia Hawkins finished Friday's contest with six points and four rebounds.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 8-4 lead as the Houston defense forced the Huskies to miss their first five shots from the field. The Coogs took a 15-14 lead into the second quarter behind Tyler Gilbert's 4-of-4 start from the field, marking the first time the Huskies have trailed after the first quarter this season.
Despite trailing at the end of the first quarter, UConn finished the frame on a 6-0 run. The scoring streak continued for the Huskies into the second where they ratted off nine unanswered points to begin the quarter. Houston trailed 31-20 at halftime. UConn outscored the Cougars 45-17 to end the contest.
Houston was able to outrebound the Huskies on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive rebounds to UConn's 11.
SERIES VS. SMU
Sunday's contest marks the 54th time the two teams will meet on the hardwood, and the 23rd time the game will take place inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
Houston claimed the first 20 matchups against SMU from 1981-1991. Since then, the Mustangs hold a 22-11 advantage and claimed the most recent contest with a 68-51 victory inside Hofheinz Pavilion on Feb. 21, 2015.
The series has been one of streaks over the ages. Only eight times over the course of the 53-game history have teams had a one-game winning streak ended the folowing game.
THE COACHES
Houston head coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 10-35. He is 1-1 all-time against SMU.
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.
SMU head coach Ronda Rompola has accumulated a 432-308 all-time record with the Mustangs, midway through her 25th season. Rompola is a 1983 graduate of SMU.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
SMU (6-8, 1-2) opened American Athletic Conference play with a 56-54 loss at Tulsa. The Mustangs would go on to defeat temple 69-67 on their home court before falling 83-56 at USF on Thursday.
Sophomore guard McKenzie Adams leads the Mustangs in points per games and assists midway through the 2015-16 season. The Arkansas transfer scores 14.8 points per game while assisting on 2.6 buckets per contest.
At 6'5", sophomore Stephanie Collins is a force down low for SMU. Collins leads the Mustangs with 36 blocks and averages 6.4 rebounds and 9.3 points per game.
SMU averages 64.5 points per game while allowing opponents to scored 62.9. Additionally, the Mustangs allow opponents to shoot 36.5 percent from the field, while shooting 37.9 percent themselves.
KEY STATS FOR HOUSTON
Houston collected 31 rebounds against defending national champion UConn. The Cougars continue to assert themselves on the boards in 2015-16 and are outrebounding their opponents by 1.2 boards per game, and are averaging 37.9 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 fourth individually while averaging 1.4 blocks per game.
Serithia Hawkins continues to have an impressive freshman campaing for the Cougars. On the season, Hawkins sits ninth in the American Athletic Conference with 6.7 boards per game, sixth in offensive rebounds per game (3.1) and 13th in steals per game (1.7).
MARCHE'S MARCH TO 1,000 POINTS
Amerson enters the SMU game with 971 career points and is just 29 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 103 career starts, sixth with 3,249 minutes and eighth with 97 made 3-point field goals and 327 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 102 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.
