Cougars Head West for Long Beach State
11/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. â€" The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team continues its first road trip of the 2016-17 season when they head to Long Beach, Calif., to take on Long Beach State, on Friday. Tipoff against the 49ers is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT.
The Houston Athletics Ticket Office is proud to offer the Shasta Pass, the best way to see Houston's 14 regular season home games. For only $80, fans who purchase a Shasta Pass will receive general admission entrance to all 14 home game. The Shasta Pass also grants entry to all remaining 2016 Houston Volleyball home matches and every home game on the 2017 Houston Softball schedule. | CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A SHASTA PASS | FULL SCHEDULE
Fans can watch live video when the Cougars meet The Beach via the Big West Conference. Fans can find the game by visiting BigWest.org and following the appropriate links or by clicking HERE. Live statistics are available through , and the official Twitter account of Houston Women's Basketball, @UHCougarWBB, will offer updates throughout the game. | | TWITTER
THE STARTING FIVE
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about the Long Beach State game.
West Coast Swing â€" Houston's first road trip of the season continues when they head to California to take on Long Beach State. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT.
Chyanne Butler - Junior starting point guard Chyanne Butler had a career game for the Cougars on the first leg of the trip. Against UNLV she collected career-highs in points (18) and rebounds (8).
Back So Soon - Houston meets Long Beach State for the second consecutive season, as the Cougars will look to avenge a 47-41 loss to the 49ers on Nov. 19, 2015.
It's Been A While â€" Friday's game marks the first time Houston will travel to California since a 2-game swing against Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly on Nov. 13 and Nov. 15, 2007.
Not Too Familiar - The Cougars and 49ers have only met five previous times on the hardwood, dating back to Nov. 24, 1978 in a neutral site game in Plainview, Texas.
HOUSTON ONE-SHOTS
Here's the one thing you need to know about each member of the Houston roster:
#0 â€" Angela Harris - Made her collegiate debut with a team-high 22 points including 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
#1 â€" Chyanne Butler - Collected career-highs in both points and rebounds in the road opener against UNLV scoring 18 points and pulling down eight boards.
#2 â€" Jacqueline Blake - Dropped a career-best 15 points in the season opener the Cougars, finishing the contest 4-of-6 from the field.
#3 â€" Dorian Branch- The nation's No. 18 wing from the Class of 2016, Branch is a 5-10 forward from Dallas, Texas.
#4 â€" Jasmyne Harris - Scored nine points and pulled down eight rebounds in her collegiate debut against Southeastern Louisiana.
#5 â€" Dionna Collins - The Cougars are excited to get Collins on the court after missing the 2015-16 season due to transfer rules.
#10 â€" Cecnecia Newman - Newman saw valuable minutes as a freshman in 2015-16 season and even eared a pair of starts for the Cougars.
#12 â€" Brianne Coffman - Impressed on the glass in her Houston debut with seven rebounds in 15 minutes against the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana.
#14 â€" Quatera Limbrick - Limbrick finished her career at Episcopal High School in Sugar Land as the No. 74 point guard in the country. She's a dual threat who can score and distribute.
#23 â€" Serithia Hawkins - Hawkins earned unanimous American Conference All-Freshman honors last season after leading the Coogs in points and rebounds per game.
#24 â€" Mariah Mitchell - Houston's most tenured player, Mitchell has appeared in 60 games for the
Cougars while making 27 starts in her first two seasons plus the opener.
#25 â€" Kierra Graves - Graves started 20 games for the 2015-16 Cougars after transferring in from Kaskaskia College and averaged 6.4 points per contest.
#32 â€" Sharayla Brown - Brown appeared in 24 games while making five starts in her freshman season while adding depth in the front court.
#35 â€" Kelsey Briggs - Briggs will redshirt the 2016-17 season due to transfer rules after joining the Cougars from Ole Miss this year.
SERIES vs. LONG BEACH STATE
Friday's contest marks the sixth time that the Cougars will meet the 49ers on the hardwood, and the second in Long Beach.
Long Beach State holds a 4-1 all-time advantage in the series and a 1-0 mark on their home court. The last time the two squads met was in 2015, when the Cougars dropped a heart-breaker 47-41 in Houston.
The last time the two teams met in Long Beach was on Nov. 20, 2004, and sticking with the theme of the series, the game went down to the wire with the 49ers pulling out the win 54-52.
THE COACHES
Houston head Coach Ronald Hughey is in his third season at Houston, with a career record of 13-49. This will be his second meeting against Long Beach State, and he is 0-1 all-time against The Beach.
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.
Long Beach State head coach Jody Wynn is in her eighth season as the head coach of The Beach. A 1996 graduate of USC, Wynn holds a 116-108 career record in her tenure.
SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State is 2-0 in the early season, with a pair of games that have each gone down to the wire. In their opener against Nevada, the 49ers survived overtime to top the Wolfpack 97-93, before beating Pepperdine two days later 44-41. Long Beach averages 70.5 points per game while shooting 31.5 percent from the field and 22.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
The 49ers have been led by a pair of solid efforts from Jewelyn Sawyer who is averaging a double-double through the first two games with 14.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest. Anna Kim and Raven Benton are each averaging double-figures in scoring with 11.0 and 10.5 points per game respectively.
LAST TIME OUT • NOV. 15, 2016 • UNLV 64, HOUSTON 53 | Final Stats
Junior point guard Chyanne Butler put up new career highs in points and rebounds, but her effort was not enough, as the Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team fell to UNLV 64-53 in its first road game of the 2016-17 season.
The game was tight throughout the contest, and the Cougars opened up a 12-6 lead, fueled by four points from Butler, midway through the quarter. However, in a game of runs, the Rebels answered with the next five points to cut the lead to 12-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The second half was more of the same, and after UNLV went on a 4-0 run to extend the lead to seven, the Cougars answered with their own 5-0 mark. Led by a layup from freshman Angela Harris and a 3-pointer by Butler, the Cougars cut the lead to 31-29 at the half. Butler finished the first half with 11 points and five rebounds.
The action remained tight for the duration of the contest, but the Cougars were never able to regain the lead in the second half. Twice in the final two quarters Houston cut the lead down to three points, and with 5:49 remaining in the game, trailed by just four points until a 4-0 run by the Rebels put the game out of reach.
UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
The Cougars return home for a pair of games over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Houston hosts in-state rival Texas State on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m., before welcoming Mercer to town on Friday, Nov. 25 with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
PURCHASE A SHASTA PASS
The Houston Athletics Ticket Office is proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2016-17 athletic season. For just $80, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all Houston Women's Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer and Softball home games. Fans can order a Shasta Pass by clicking .
FLOOR SEATS SEASON TICKET PACKAGE
The Houston Athletics Ticket Office also offers a Floor Seats season ticket package. For just $250, fans will have courtside access to all 14 Houston home games in 2016-17. Fans can purchase a season ticket package for Floor Seats by clicking HERE.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Single-game tickets for all 14 games inside Hofheinz Pavilion are on sale now via the Houston Athletics Ticket Office. Prices begin at just $5 for general admission seats and range up to $20 for floor seats. General admission group tickets are offered to parties of 10+ for $3 each. Single-game tickets can be purchased HERE.
FERTITTA PLEDGES $20 MILLION TO ATHLETICS
Tilman J. Fertitta, globally recognized entrepreneur and Chairman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents, presented a historic $20 million gift to the University of Houston to transform the UH basketball arena into a state of the art collegiate sports facility and rename the arena Fertitta Center. Fertitta's gift is the largest individual donation to UH Athletics.
The Fertitta gift is a significant step forward in the $60 million University of Houston Basketball capital renewal project for the center's design and renovation. Design work is currently underway. Renovations and construction are scheduled to follow the 2016-17 season, with completion expected during the 2018-19 season. Plans for the Cougars' home facility during the 2017-18 season have not been finalized.
The facility will feature a premium club area and a courtside club. The reconfigured bowl will move mid-court seating locations closer to game action with floor-level seating opposite the team benches for UH students. Renovations include a new audio system, sports lighting and video boards as well as new concession stands and expanded restrooms. The facility's exterior also will be refreshed.
Prominent to the center's exterior, the renovation will preserve the legacy of the Hofheinz family and its contributions to both UH and the city of Houston. UH will transform an area adjacent to the new facility into Hofheinz Plaza, where fans will be greeted by a bronze statue of former Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz. The University of Houston will request that city officials rename a portion of Holman Street in front of the arena after the Hofheinz family. In addition, Roy Hofheinz's records will be permanently archived and publicly accessible as a special collection in the UH library and the Alumni Center will house an area describing the lives and public service of Roy and Irene Hofheinz.
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.
