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University of Houston Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Uncasville, Conn.
11 a.m.
University of Houston
vs
USF
Houston Opens Conference Tournament Against USF
3/8/2019 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Cougars enter tournament as No. 4 seed for highest seeding since joining The American
HOUSTON – The Houston Cougar Women's Basketball team will open play at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship in a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 USF at 11 a.m. CT at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Saturday's contest can be seen on ESPN# by clicking HERE and heard live by fans via the home for Houston Women's Basketball Radio, UHCougars.com/wbbradio. Live statistics are also available and can be found HERE and the official Twitter account of Houston Women's Basketball, @UHCougarWBB, will offer updates throughout the game.
All post game press conferences can be accessed by clicking HERE.
THE STARTING FIVE
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines you need to know about Saturday's American Athletic Conference game against USF:
FOURTH PLACE – This past weekend the Cougars clinched the final first-round bye at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championship. The fourth-place finish is its highest since joining The American.
TWICE IS NICE – Houston has a 1-4 record in the postseason under Head Coach Ronald Hughey. With its highest conference tournament ranking in school history Houston is looking for its second postseason win.
FROM DOWNTOWN – The Cougars continue to be a 3-point threat under Hughey. After setting the school record for 3-pointers made in each of the last two seasons, Houston has made 214 triples so far in 2018-19, which is second on the single-season all-time list in the category.
SCORE OFTEN, SCORE FAST – Houston is a tough team offensively, currently ranking second in the conference in scoring offense with 68.2 points per game, only second to UConn.
H-TOWN LOCKDOWN – Houston continues to play lockdown defense this season. The Cougars have forced at least 15 turnovers in 24 of its 29 games and their 19.79 forced per game ranks 32nd nationally.
SERIES vs. USF
Saturday's meeting is the 21st all-time between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1997.
Houston trails 7-14 in the all-time in the series, most recently dropping a 59-49 contest to the Bulls on Feb. 27.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Houston enters Saturday's game with a 15-14 overall record and a 9-7 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Houston's nine conference wins match the programs most wins in conference play since joining The American. The Cougars have yet to play a game at a neutral site this season and are 7-10 in neutral sites in the Hughey era.
Houston's Jasmyne Harris paces the Cougars in points per game with 16.2 per contest, while All-Conference second team selection Dorian Branch also scores in double figures at 10.6 per night. Branch scored a career-high 21 points against ECU and has posted double-figures in five of the last six contests. Octavia Barnes has scored at least one three-pointer in the last 20 games for the Cougars, posting double-figures in five of the last six contests and a career-high 24 points against Tulane.
Houston is averaging 68.2 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting from the field and a 30.3 percent mark from beyond the 3-point line. The Cougars allow 67.7 points per game on defense while letting opponents shoot 41.6 percent and 31.2 percent from the field and beyond the arc, respectively.
Serithia Hawkins leads Houston on the glass, pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game after matching a season-high with back-to-back games of 12 against Wichita State and Cincinnati. She recently became the fourth Cougar in program history to score 1,000 points and pull down 900 rebounds.
Houston has been one of the most active defensive teams in the country this season, its 19.79 turnover forced per game places them 32nd nationally and third in The American. The Cougars rank 51st in the nation in steals after collecting 277 this season, while their 9.6 steals per game ranks 56th in the NCAA.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
USF enters Saturday's contest with an 17-14 overall record, a 7-9 mark in American Athletic Conference play. USF won its First Round Matchup against No. 12 Tulane in a 61-52 decision.
USF has five players averaging double figures in scoring this season, Kitija Laksa paces the Bulls with 16.3 points per game to lead the team, Laura Ferreira is second on the team with 14.9 points per game.
USF is allowing opponents to score 55.2 points per game, allowing 36.1 percent shooting from the field and 28.4 percent from long-range.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Individual session tickets may be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, which is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 12 p.m.- 8 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets may also be purchased online, at www.MoheganSun.com or www.Ticketmaster.com, by telephone at (800) 745-3000, or through the ticket offices of all 12 American Athletic Conference institutions.
Ticket packages, which include admission to all four days of competition – a total of 11 games – remain available for $109 each, more than 30 percent off the face value of individual session tickets. Information on discounts for groups of 10 or more people is available through the Connecticut Sun Group Sales Department at (860) 862-4000.
Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2.
For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.
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.
--UHCougars.com--
Saturday's contest can be seen on ESPN# by clicking HERE and heard live by fans via the home for Houston Women's Basketball Radio, UHCougars.com/wbbradio. Live statistics are also available and can be found HERE and the official Twitter account of Houston Women's Basketball, @UHCougarWBB, will offer updates throughout the game.
All post game press conferences can be accessed by clicking HERE.
THE STARTING FIVE
Here are five names, numbers, news items and storylines you need to know about Saturday's American Athletic Conference game against USF:
FOURTH PLACE – This past weekend the Cougars clinched the final first-round bye at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championship. The fourth-place finish is its highest since joining The American.
TWICE IS NICE – Houston has a 1-4 record in the postseason under Head Coach Ronald Hughey. With its highest conference tournament ranking in school history Houston is looking for its second postseason win.
FROM DOWNTOWN – The Cougars continue to be a 3-point threat under Hughey. After setting the school record for 3-pointers made in each of the last two seasons, Houston has made 214 triples so far in 2018-19, which is second on the single-season all-time list in the category.
SCORE OFTEN, SCORE FAST – Houston is a tough team offensively, currently ranking second in the conference in scoring offense with 68.2 points per game, only second to UConn.
H-TOWN LOCKDOWN – Houston continues to play lockdown defense this season. The Cougars have forced at least 15 turnovers in 24 of its 29 games and their 19.79 forced per game ranks 32nd nationally.
SERIES vs. USF
Saturday's meeting is the 21st all-time between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1997.
Houston trails 7-14 in the all-time in the series, most recently dropping a 59-49 contest to the Bulls on Feb. 27.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Houston enters Saturday's game with a 15-14 overall record and a 9-7 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Houston's nine conference wins match the programs most wins in conference play since joining The American. The Cougars have yet to play a game at a neutral site this season and are 7-10 in neutral sites in the Hughey era.
Houston's Jasmyne Harris paces the Cougars in points per game with 16.2 per contest, while All-Conference second team selection Dorian Branch also scores in double figures at 10.6 per night. Branch scored a career-high 21 points against ECU and has posted double-figures in five of the last six contests. Octavia Barnes has scored at least one three-pointer in the last 20 games for the Cougars, posting double-figures in five of the last six contests and a career-high 24 points against Tulane.
Houston is averaging 68.2 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting from the field and a 30.3 percent mark from beyond the 3-point line. The Cougars allow 67.7 points per game on defense while letting opponents shoot 41.6 percent and 31.2 percent from the field and beyond the arc, respectively.
Serithia Hawkins leads Houston on the glass, pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game after matching a season-high with back-to-back games of 12 against Wichita State and Cincinnati. She recently became the fourth Cougar in program history to score 1,000 points and pull down 900 rebounds.
Houston has been one of the most active defensive teams in the country this season, its 19.79 turnover forced per game places them 32nd nationally and third in The American. The Cougars rank 51st in the nation in steals after collecting 277 this season, while their 9.6 steals per game ranks 56th in the NCAA.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
USF enters Saturday's contest with an 17-14 overall record, a 7-9 mark in American Athletic Conference play. USF won its First Round Matchup against No. 12 Tulane in a 61-52 decision.
USF has five players averaging double figures in scoring this season, Kitija Laksa paces the Bulls with 16.3 points per game to lead the team, Laura Ferreira is second on the team with 14.9 points per game.
USF is allowing opponents to score 55.2 points per game, allowing 36.1 percent shooting from the field and 28.4 percent from long-range.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Individual session tickets may be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, which is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 12 p.m.- 8 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets may also be purchased online, at www.MoheganSun.com or www.Ticketmaster.com, by telephone at (800) 745-3000, or through the ticket offices of all 12 American Athletic Conference institutions.
Ticket packages, which include admission to all four days of competition – a total of 11 games – remain available for $109 each, more than 30 percent off the face value of individual session tickets. Information on discounts for groups of 10 or more people is available through the Connecticut Sun Group Sales Department at (860) 862-4000.
Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2.
For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.
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.
--UHCougars.com--
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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