University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Meet Tulsa in American Championship
3/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON -- The 2015-16 regular season has come to a close and the next task for the Houston Cougar women's basketball program is the American Athletic Conference Championships to be held March 4-7 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Houston will enter the tournament as the No. 11 seed and drew the No. 6 seed Tulsa in the first round. Tipoff against the Golden Hurricane is scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, March 4 with the game airing live on ESPN3. The winner of Friday' night's contest will move on to play the No. 3 seed Temple on Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m., in the quarterfinals.
Fans who can't join the Cougars in Uncasville on Friday, can follow the game through a variety of outlets. The game will air live on ESPN3 with Ted Emrich calling the play-by-play action and Angel Gray serving as the analyst. The live stream can be found by clicking HERE. The Free live audio is available at UHCougars.com/wbbradio, with Jeff Brightwell 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.
ESPN3 | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | TWITTER
Houston (6-23, 2-16) wrapped up the regular season with a 77-64 loss to the Memphis Tigers inside Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cougars honored seniors, Marche' Amerson, Taylor Gilbert, Tyler Gilbert, Jessieka Palmer, Alecia Smith and Bianca Winslow prior to the game.
Freshman Serithia Hawkins led the Cougars with 14 points in the contest, marking her 14th double-digit game of the season. Amerson added 13 points on her Senior Night, while sophomore Mariah Mitchell scored 10.
THE STARTING FIVE
Five names, numbers, news items and storylines that you need to know about the American Athletic Conference Championship First Round game against Tulsa:
POSTSEASON PLAY -- Friday's contest marks the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Championships. The Cougars hold a 1-2 all-time record in the event since joining the conference in 2013-14.
UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY -- Houston and Tulsa have met 20 times previously in school history, but Friday's contest marks the first time the teams will meet on a neutral court.
A LOT OF DEPTH -- In each of the two contests this season, the Cougars' bench has outscored the Tulsa non-starters by a combined score of 49-37.
NEWCOMER SUCCESS -- A pair of Houston newcomers saw success against Tulsa with freshman Cenecia Newman scoring a career-best 14 points in the first contest, and transfer Jacqueline Blake having 12 in the rematch.
FAMILIAR FACES -- Six Cougars on the current Houston roster saw significant action in last season's American Athletic Conference Championship first round game against Tulane.
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 -- 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 -- 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 -- Led all Cougar scorers with 15 points in the team's 63-54 win over SMU in Dallas.
#22 - Marche' Amerson -- Dropped 13 points against Memphis in the regular season finale, while being honored on Senior Night.
#23 - Serithia Hawkins -- Hawkins picked up her fourth career double-double when she scored 12 points and collected 10 rebounds against the Knights of UCF.
#24 - Mariah Mitchell -- 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 -- 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. 29, 2016 • MEMPHIS 77, HOUSTON 64 | Final Stats
The Houston Cougar women's basketball team traveled wrapped up the 2015-16 regular season with a 77-64 loss to Memphis on Monday night inside Hofheinz Pavilion
Houston came out strong on the back of eight first quarter points from Amerson who dazzled the home crowd with 3-of-5 shooting from the field in the first half. However, the Tigers would end the first frame on a 14-8 run including a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Milena Bajic.
Houston used a 7-0 run towards the end of the second half to climb back into the game and cut the lead to 30-24 with just 1:33 remaining in the half. The Tigers would answer however, when Ariel Hearn connected on a 3-pointer with just 26 seconds remaining in the first half, and the Cougars were never able to bring the score to within six again.
SERIES VS. TULSA
Friday's contest marks the 21st time the two teams will meet on the hardwood, and the first time the two squads will meet at a neutral site.
The Cougars and Golden Hurricane met twice this season, with Tulsa claiming wins in each contest. On Jan. 20, Tulsa beat the Cougars 79-62 in Hofheinz, before the two teams would meet in a defensive battle on Feb. 10 in Tulsa, with the Golden Hurricane leaving victorious with a 44-28 victory.
THE COACHES
Houston head coach Ronald Hughey is in his second season at Houston, with a career record of 12-47. He is 0-4 all-time against Tulsa.
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.
Tulsa is led by head coach Matilda Mossman who is wrapper up her fifth season with the Golden Hurricane. Mossman holds a 71-80 record in Tulsa, and a 218-173 record all-time through 12 season as a head coach.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tulsa (11-18, 8-10) enters Friday's contest coming off a 76-63 win against Cincinnati, in Ohio, on Feb. 27. The win locked the sixth seed in the American Athletic Conference Championships for the Golden Hurricane.
Ashley Clark led Tulsa both offensively and on the glass during the 2015-16 regular season. Clark wrapped up the regular slate averaging 14.8 points per game, while pulling down 6.2 rebounds per contest. Kelsee Grovey sits second on the team, averaging 10.1 points per game.
The Golden Hurricane shoot 39.2 percent from the field, which has led to 61.9 points per game this season. Meanwhile, they allow opponents to score 67.6 points per contest, while letting them shoot 41.9 percent from the field. On average, Tulsa loses the rebounding battle by 4.0 rebounds per game at 40.2 to 36.2.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
First Round -- March 4
Game 1: No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 8 East Carolina, 3 p.m.
Game 2: No. 10 UCF vs. No. 7 SMU, 5 p.m.
Game 3: No. 11 Houston vs. No. 6 Tulsa, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals -- March 5
Game 4: No. 5 Tulane vs., No. 4 Memphis, 11 a.m.
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. No. 1 UConn, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. No. 2 USF, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. No. 3 Temple, 7 p.m.
Semifinals -- March 6
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 5:30 p.m.
Finals -- March 7
Game 10: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 6 p.m.
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. With 1,090 points Amerson trails current Atlanta Dream standout Sancho Lyttle (2003-05) who 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 American Championship third in Houston history with 116 career starts, third with 3,687 minutes, eighth with 115 made 3-point field goals and sixth with 382 3-point field goal attempts.
Alecia Smith is climbing the career 3-point record books, ranking fifth in made 3-pointers (143), second in attempts (567) and fifth in minutes (3,308).
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.
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.
