-/RV Houston Stuns Georgia Tech in Double Overtime

Friday, November 9

H&PE Arena

7 p.m.

University of Houston

Georgia Tech

OT 1

OT 2

Georgia Tech

Houston

Photo by: Wilf Thorne/Wilf Thorne Photography

11/10/2018 12:02:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)POSTGAME QUOTES (PDF)

Houston knocks down two buzzer beaters to extend game to two OTs

HOUSTON – The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team outlasted Georgia Tech 95-89 in a double-overtime thriller in its home opener on Friday at H&PE Arena.

Houston started sluggishly in its first game on its home court in 2018-19, shooting just 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from the field in the first quarter. Georgia Tech opened on a 7-2 run on a bucket from Elizabeth Dixon and back-to-back scores from Francesca Pan.

The Yellow Jackets opened the lead to nine, two possessions later, before Houston pulled back within five following a 6-2 run of their own. Angela Harris started the run with a 3-pointer, before a bucket by Julia Blackshell-Fair and a free throw from Alyssa Okoene made the score 13-8 at the first media timeout.

Each team would be held without a field goal over the next two minutes, before trading scores, which gave Georgia Tech a 17-12 advantage after one period. The Cougars forced Georgia Tech to turn the ball over 11 times in the opening 10 minutes, but the Yellow Jackets held Houston to just two points off those turnovers.

Houston's defense locked down in the second quarter, a frame that saw the Cougars outscore Georgia Tech 24-6. Buckets by Elizabeth Balogun and Dixon brought the score to 21-14 in favor of Georgia Tech, but the Cougars would answer with a 15-0 run throughout the middle of the period. Jasmyne Harris sparked the spurt with a 3-pointer to pull Houston within four at 21-17 before Serithia Hawkins drew the Cougars within two, and Jasmyne Harris gave them the lead two possessions later with another triple.

Jasmyne Harris connected on another 3-point bucket two possessions later, which Angela Harris followed with a 3-ball of her own before Octavia Barnes capped the run with a layup. After a Dixon bucket stopped the run and pulled the Yellow Jackets within six at 29-23, Houston responded with another run, this one 7-0 to close the half. Doris Jones opened the run with back-to-back layups before a Barnes free throw and a Tatyana Hill layup brought the score to 36-33 at the half.

Houston increased their shooting percentage to 52.6 percent in the second quarter, while limiting Georgia Tech to 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from the field in the period. Houston forced nine more turnovers in the second 10 minutes which led to 12 points off turnovers.

Houston grabbed its largest lead of the night at 15 points after Jasmyne Harris opened the second half with a layup to make the score 38-23. However it was the Yellow Jackets turn to clamp down on defense and spring a 16-2 run over the next five minutes. Pan and Kierra Fletcher combined for six points before Houston's next bucket, and the run was capped by back-to-back buckets from Dixon before Fletcher cut the lead to two at 42-40 with an old-fashioned 3-point play.

Georgia Tech tied the game two possessions later, and the teams traded 3-pointers to keep the score deadlocked at 47 with 1:56 remaining in the quarter. However, the Cougars closed the frame on a 6-2 run thanks to back-to-back buckets from Okoene and a pair of free throws from Jasmyne Harris to take a 53-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Georgia Tech grabbed the lead early in the fourth quarter on the strength of a 6-0 run to open the final 10 minutes. The two teams would trade the lead four more times over the next two minutes before Jasmyne Harris put Houston on top 61-57 on a three pointer with 6:57 remaining in regulation. Georgia Tech would pull even at 61 just 92 seconds later on a bucket by Lorela Cubaj, but a 3-point play from Okoene extended the lead back to three.

The Yellow jackets refused to go away however, tying the game at 66 with 2:20 remaining, before Fletcher gave them the lead just under a minute later on a fast-break jumper. After Georgia Tech extended their lead to 71-67 with 47 remaining, Okoene got a layup in the paint to cut the lead to two. After a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining pushed the lead to 72-69, Houston had one final look on an inbounds play, and after Jasmyne Harris came open in the corner, she buried a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period, Houston grabbed an early lead at 74-72 before Georgia Tech rattled off seven of the next nine points to take a 79-76 advantage with 2:37 remaining. Again Houston responded and picked up a free throw from Julia Blackshell-Fair and a layup from Jasmyne Harris to tie the game at 79 apiece with 23 seconds to play. The layup for Harris gave her 1,000 points in her career, making her the 24^th player in Houston history to accomplish that feat.

On the ensuing possession, the Yellow Jackets regained the lead with 21 seconds left on a Cubaj layup. Houston advanced the ball with a timeout, and with two seconds left, Jasmyne Harris launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key which bounced off the rim and right into the hands of Okoene, who put it back to beat the buzzer and tie the game at 81.

Houston caught a spark to begin the second overtime, when Dorian Branch knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to open up an 87-81 advantage with 3:19 remaining in the period. Georgia Tech responded with a 3-pointer of their own from Balogun, however The Cougars scored five-straight points, including three from Okoene to extend the lead to 92-84 with 1:36 to play.

Georgia Tech made one final attempt to work its way back in the game after Fletcher connected on an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the score to 92-87, which was followed by a layup from Kondalia Montgomery with 26 seconds left to cut the lead to three.

However, the Cougars knocked home three of their final four free throw attempts and held the Yellow Jackets without a point the rest of the way to win the contest, 95-89.

THE BASICS
Score: -/RV Houston 95, Georgia Tech 89 (2OT)
Date: Friday, November 9, 2018.
Location: Houston, Texas | H&PE Arena

TOP PERFORMERS
Houston: Houston saw a big night from two different scorers in Jasmyne Harris and Alyssa Okoene, who led all scorers with 26 points each. Harris finished the game with seven rebounds, eight assists and a career-high six steals, while Okoene tallied her first-career double-double with 11 boards. Dorian Branch and Angela Harris also finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets saw all five starters reach double figures in the contest, including a team-high 25 points from Kierra Fletcher. Elizabeth Dixon added 14 points and tied for a team-high nine rebounds with Lorela Cubaj, who had 10 points, while Francesca Pan scored 22 points, and Elizabeth Balogun added 13.

NEWS AND NOTES

With 26 points in the contest, junior guard Jasmyne Harris reached the 1,000-point plateau in just 64 career games. Harris became the 24^th player in Houston history to reach that milestone.
Jasmyne Harris finished the game with four 3-pointers made, giving her 132 in her career and moving her past Tye Jackson (129; 2005-08) for eighth all-time at Houston.
Junior guard Angela Harris finished the contest with 10 points, pushing her past the 800-point mark and giving her 809 in her career.
Angela Harris connected on three 3-pointers in the game, giving her 142 in her career and moving her past Fleceia Comeaux (141; 1994-98) for sixth all-time at Houston.
Serithia Hawkins pulled down four offensive rebounds in the contest, giving her 273 in her career and moving her past Sancho Lyttle (270; 2003-05) for sixth all-time at Houston.
Houston forced Georgia Tech to turn the ball over a school-record 41 times in the contest.
Houston held the advantage in points off turnovers (39-18), second chance points (17-16), fast break points (20-13) and bench points (16-5) in the game.
Despite being outrebounded by 10, the Cougars held the advantage on the offensive glass at 24-15.
Friday's game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. The Cougars led the contest for 24:53.
The Cougars had 19 steals against the Yellow Jackets, including a career-high six from Jasmyne Harris.

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season tickets for the 2018-19 season are on sale now and start at just $50 for General Admission seating and feature options for reserved seating as well.

Houston has also opened up a 4-game mini plan option beginning at $20 for General Admission seating and ranging to $30 for Priority Seating. With the mini plan, fans can choose four games from any of Houston's 13 home games throughout the 2018-19 season.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit UHCougars.com/tickets or click HERE. Fans can also reach the UH Ticket Office by phone at 713-GO-COOGS (462-6647).

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.