Houston Cougars defeat College of Charleston, 79-63

Posted: December 4, 2016 -- 5:35 pm CST.

HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Houston Cougars improved to 3 and 4 with a solid 79-63 win over the College of Charleston Cougars in front of an announced crowd of 565 fans. Freshman Jasmyne Harris led four Coogs in double-digits with a team-high 17 points. Harris added 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists in her 20 minutes of action.

"We’ve been waiting on Jasmyne (Harris), she has shown flashes in practice, and we’ve been waiting on it like crazy," said Houston head coach Ronald Hughey after the game. "The thing that surprised me with her before today is Jasmyne was shooting 12 percent from three. It’s all been because she’s rushing. She’s rushing and taking the shots she’s not supposed to take.

"We’ve had a chance to sit down with the film. They’ve got iPads now, so we’re able to send them clips so they can look at them, evaluate and go through those kinds of things. That’s what we did. We showed her all of the good shots she made and all of bad shots she’s taken. On top of that, she’s got to be more aggressive to get to the free-throw line and focus on making more free-throws. She had this go-behind-the-back routine (and she would) spin the ball, and we got rid of all of that. Come up, take a deep breath, bounce it however many times you want to, blow it out and shoot the basketball. That’s what we did with her."

Both teams shot the ball well in the first quarter and Houston led 22-20 after the game's first 10 minutes.

End of 1st qtr, @UHCougarWBB 22, C of C 20. UH 8/17 fgs (3/3 3s). Charleston 10/18 fgs. (Both teams are the Cougars.) #ncaaW

— Kris M Gardner (@TheHRReview) December 4, 2016

Houston hit a dry spell in the second quarter; but, a 3 for 3 field goal finish gave Houston a 37-32 lead at halftime.

Houston's Kierra Graves 2 made free throws put the Coogs ahead 47-39 with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter; however, College of Charleston went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to two points.

Jasmyne Harris responded with 6 points during an 8-2 burst for a 55-47 lead.

The Coogs led 57-50 after the third quarter.

Junior point guard Chyanne Butler scored the first two points of the fourth quarter with a lay-up; and, after a lay-up from C of C's Tanisha Brown, Houston went on an 11-4 run to lead by 14 with 3:25 left on the game clock.

The lead grew to as much as 18 points as the Coogs cruised to the victory.

In addition to Jasmyne Harris' 17 points, sophomore Serithia Hawkins scored 12 points while Butler and senior Kierra Graves each added 11 points.

College of Charleston shot 50.9% (29 for 57) from the field for the game; but, Houston forced C of C to commit 24 turnovers which Houston converted into 25 points. Houston also attempted 21 free throws (made 16) compared to just 3 of 6 foul shot attempts for C of C.

Houston's next game is on the road, December 7, against Texas Tech. Tip is set for 11 a.m.

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