University of Houston Athletics
Houston Faces SMU in Final Road Trip
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DALLAS â€"The Houston Cougar women's basketball team will travel to Dallas, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 27, to face the SMU Mustangs in its final regular season road game of the 2016 season. Tipoff in Moody Coliseum is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Fans who can't join the Cougars in Dallas on Saturday, can follow the game through a variety of outlets. The 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 | | TWITTER
Houston (5-22, 1-15) dropped a hard fought match in its most recent contest, 65-62 against UCF inside CFE Arena, in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday.
Sophomore guard Mariah Mitchell scored a career-high 19 points, while freshman Serithia Hawkins collected her fourth career double-double when she scored 12 points and collected 10 rebounds against the Knights.
THE STARTING FIVE
Five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about the SMU game:
HEARTBREAK HOTEL â€" Houston fell 50-48 to the Mustangs earlier this season, but had a chance to tie the game with just three seconds left, however Chyanne Butler missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Chyanne Butler â€" Though she couldn't hit on the last shot of the game, sophomore guard Chyanne Butler dropped 17 points for the Cougars on 7-of-19 shooting.
DIDN'T COME EASY â€" The Cougars limited SMU to just 31.7 percent shooting from the field, and held the Mustangs to a 2-0f-13 mark from the 3-point line.
FINISH THE JOB â€" Houston held a seven point lead at the half in the first meeting at 31-24, but were unable to hold off a charge from the Mustangs who outscored the Cougars 26-17 in the second half.
LAST LEG â€" The SMU game will mark the final road game of the regular season for the Cougars. Houston will return home to face Memphis for senior day before heading to The American Championship.
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 - Returned to action after being sidelined with a concussion to lead the Cougars with 11 points on the road at USF
#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 â€" Was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds against UCF and Tulane.
#23 - Serithia Hawkins â€" Hawkins picked up her fourth career double-double when she scored 12 points and collected 10 rebounds aginast the Knights of UCF.
#24 - Mariah Mitchell â€" Mitchell scored a career-high 19 points against the UCF Knights behind the strength of four 3-pointers and 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line.
#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 • FEB. 23, 2016 • UCF 65, HOUSTON 62 | Final Stats
The Houston Cougar women's basketball team opened its final road trip of the 2015-16 regular season by falling to UCF at CFE Arena, in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday.
Both teams came out on fire in the first quarter, and traded buckets for the majority of the initial 10 minutes. Alecia Smith hit a pair of big 3-pointers to lead the Cougars with six points in the first quarter, and give Houston an 18-17 lead after the first frame. However, the Knight's got a huge boost in the first half from Aliyah Gregory who went into the break with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting including a 4-of-4 mark from behind the arc. Gregory was a key contributor to UCF's 39-31 lead at the half.
Houston was able to hold Gregory to just four points in the third quarter and opened the period on an 8-4 run to cut the lead to four midway through the third. However, the Knights would answer with an 8-2 run of their own over the remainder of the third period to take a 49-39 lead into the final period. In the fourth, Houston got a huge push from Mariah Mitchell who collected nine points in the frame to keep the Cougars in the game. With just 11 seconds left, Jessieka Palmer drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three at 63-60. However, Gregory would make both of the ensuing free-throws to seal the game.
SERIES VS. SMU
Saturday's contest marks the 56th time in program history that the two teams will meet on the hardwoond, and the 22nd time the series will take place in the city of Dallas.
Houston claimed the first 20 matchups against SMU from 1981-1991. Since then however, the Mustangs hold a 23-11 advantage and claimed the most recent contest with a 50-48 victory inside Hofheinz Pavilion earlier this season.
THE COACHES
Houston head coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 11-46. He is 1-2 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.
Legendary head coach Rhonda Rompola is in her 25th season as a head coach at SMU.and has compiled a 438-315 record during her tenure. Rompola recently announced that this season will be her last with the Mustangs as she is retiring at the end of the season.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
SMU (12-15, 7-9) enters Saturday's contest fresh off an 88-41 loss at No. 1/1 UConn. The Mustangs are currently on a 2-game losing streak after falling to UCF on Feb. 20.
McKenzie Adams leads the Mustangs in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game, while also serving as SMU's leading assistant at 2.4 per contest. Alicia Froling has been dominant not only on the offensive end, but on the glass as well. Froling averages a double-double per contest with 12.4 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
SMU shoots 35.8 percent from the field, and allows their opponents to shoot just a tad better at 36.2 percent. The percentages however lead to a 3.1 scoring differential with their opponents scoring 62.6 points per contest and the Mustangs only netting 59.5.
MARCHE'S MARCH TO 1,000 POINTS
Amerson reached the 1,000 point plateau in the team's contest at USF. Midway through the third quarter, Amerson drove to the hole, pulled up and rattled in a jumper to give her six points in the contest, and 1,000 for her career. Amerson is now the 23rd player in school history to reach quadruple digits in points. 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 wasn't the only number to monitor this season. The senior from Bryan, Texas, enters the Cincinnati game tied for third in Houston history with 114 career starts, fourth with 3,619 minutes, eighth with 111 made 3-point field goals and sixth with 369 3-point field goal attempts.
Alecia Smith is climbing the career 3-point record books, ranking fifth in made 3-pointers (142), second in attempts (562) and eighth in minutes (3,245).
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 118 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 returns home for its final regular season contest of the 2015-16 campaign when they host the Memphis Tigers on Monday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.
Monday's contest will serve as Houston's Senior Day, and the Cougars will honor their five seniors, Marche' Amerson, Alecia Smith, Jessieka Palmer, Tyler Gilbert and Bianca Winslow in a pregame ceremony.
$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.
