UH 70, Rice 64
The Rice Owls and the Houston Lady Cougars played a rivalry game this afternoon on the campus of Houston Baptist University inside HBU's Sharp Gym.
Houston (11-9, 5-1) won the game 70 to 64; however, in the second half, the Owls (8-12, 1-5) played with a newly found determination and toughness which brought them back from an 18-point deficit and gave them a chance to win the ball game.
The win is Houston's fifth straight.
After playing numerous awful first halves, Houston finally displayed good basketball skills and efficiency in the game's opening 20 minutes. UH shot 50% (14 for 28) from the field and 4 for 5 from the "Land of Three" and took a 34 to 23 lead into halftime. Eight different players scored the the Lady Cougars in the first half.
"Coach Hughes challenged us to come out and play well in the first half," said UH senior Whitney James. "We just came out and played ready."
"We concentrated really, really hard to come out strong," added Houston's Courtney Taylor.
Instead of playing well for a full 40 minutes, UH switched up their routine from previous games and played poorly in the second half as opposed to the first.
After James split two free throws to put UH ahead 47 to 29, Houston's offense stalled while Rice began showing signs of confidence and life.
Owls senior guard Kadie Riverin began a 9-0 Rice run with a lay-up.
"We knew we had to pick it up in the second half after the way we played in the first half," Riverin said. "We had a tough week of practice and wanted to show that we could pull through. We know we have a short bench. We have to keep up the intensity and keep moving forward."
Houston answered with a 6-0 run with two points each from freshman Courtney Taylor and seniors Ryan Meyers and Tye Jackson.
But, Rice refused to roll over and quit.
Trailing UH 53 to 38, Rice scored six straight points in a two-minute span. Then, after Courtney Taylor drained a jump shot to put UH ahead 55 to 44, Kadie Riverin converted a three-point and Tara Watts followed with a lay-up to trim Houston's lead to 55 to 49 with 4:41 remaining in the game.
Houston's Whitney James slowed down the run by rattling in a three-point shot from the top of the key to give UH a 58 to 49 lead.
"The shot clock was going down; and, we had worked the offense through;" described James. "It was just an open shot. I didn't think about it really. I had my feet set and shot it."
The Owls mounted another comeback and pulled with five points (60 to 55) with 1:31 remaining. Houston's Tye Jackson scored a driving lay-up; but, Rice's Riverin answered with a jumper to make the score 62 to 57 UH with 1:03 remaining in the game.
Houston's Twiggy McIntyre drained two free throws; however, after an inadvertent foul by Houston, Rice's Tiffany Loggins split two foul shots to trim Houston's lead to 64 to 58 with 41 seconds left in the game.
Jackson swished two more free throws for Houston; Loggins swished a three-point shot to pull the Owls within five points (66 to 61) with 24 seconds to go in the game.
Next, Houston broke Rice's full-court press defense; and Ryan Meyers scored a lay-up with 14 seconds remaining.
Rice's Tara Watts capped of the Owls' scoring by nailing a three-pointer with 7 seconds on the clock.
Tye Jackson drained two more foul shots for the Lady Cougars final two points and to end the scoring 70 to 64.
Jackson led Houston with 15 points and eight assists. Whitney James scored a season-high 14 points. Courtney Taylor scored 14 and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Twiggy McIntyre, Houston's leading scorer for the season, added 10 points and five steals.
Rice was led by 17 points each from Kadie Riverin and Tiffany Loggins. Tara Watts added 14. Rice outrebounded Houston 44 to 31.
The Owls shot 36.1% from the field for the game; but, 43.3% (13 for 30) in the second half. UH shot 45.6% (26 for 57) from the field.
"I felt like our kids played consistent basketball for 40 minutes," said Danny Hughes. "I knew Rice was going to make some runs at us; and, we answered every run that they had."
"We kept our energy level up and I was proud of the way we hung in there in the second half," Owls head coach Greg Willilams said. "Tiffany didn't hang her head after not being in the starting lineup. It's something that we can build on. We're hoping to get Valeriya (Berezhynska) back this week and that will certainly help things. "
Owls' Notes:
For the first time this season, Tiffany Loggins did not start a game. However, Loggins' 17 points scored in today's game were the most points she scored in a game since the first game of the regular season (22 points versus Navy).
Owls backup point guard, Shyrelle Horne, will miss the rest of the season due to an injured right shoulder. The pain proved too much for Shyrelle; so, instead of waiting to have the surgery in the off-season, she'll have season-ending shoulder surgery.
Owls junior Maudess Fulton injured her left hamstring -- apparently, in pre-game warm-ups. Fulton was only able to play three minutes in today's game.
Houston (11-9, 5-1) won the game 70 to 64; however, in the second half, the Owls (8-12, 1-5) played with a newly found determination and toughness which brought them back from an 18-point deficit and gave them a chance to win the ball game.
The win is Houston's fifth straight.
After playing numerous awful first halves, Houston finally displayed good basketball skills and efficiency in the game's opening 20 minutes. UH shot 50% (14 for 28) from the field and 4 for 5 from the "Land of Three" and took a 34 to 23 lead into halftime. Eight different players scored the the Lady Cougars in the first half.
"Coach Hughes challenged us to come out and play well in the first half," said UH senior Whitney James. "We just came out and played ready."
"We concentrated really, really hard to come out strong," added Houston's Courtney Taylor.
Instead of playing well for a full 40 minutes, UH switched up their routine from previous games and played poorly in the second half as opposed to the first.
After James split two free throws to put UH ahead 47 to 29, Houston's offense stalled while Rice began showing signs of confidence and life.
Owls senior guard Kadie Riverin began a 9-0 Rice run with a lay-up.
"We knew we had to pick it up in the second half after the way we played in the first half," Riverin said. "We had a tough week of practice and wanted to show that we could pull through. We know we have a short bench. We have to keep up the intensity and keep moving forward."
Houston answered with a 6-0 run with two points each from freshman Courtney Taylor and seniors Ryan Meyers and Tye Jackson.
But, Rice refused to roll over and quit.
Trailing UH 53 to 38, Rice scored six straight points in a two-minute span. Then, after Courtney Taylor drained a jump shot to put UH ahead 55 to 44, Kadie Riverin converted a three-point and Tara Watts followed with a lay-up to trim Houston's lead to 55 to 49 with 4:41 remaining in the game.
Houston's Whitney James slowed down the run by rattling in a three-point shot from the top of the key to give UH a 58 to 49 lead.
"The shot clock was going down; and, we had worked the offense through;" described James. "It was just an open shot. I didn't think about it really. I had my feet set and shot it."
The Owls mounted another comeback and pulled with five points (60 to 55) with 1:31 remaining. Houston's Tye Jackson scored a driving lay-up; but, Rice's Riverin answered with a jumper to make the score 62 to 57 UH with 1:03 remaining in the game.
Houston's Twiggy McIntyre drained two free throws; however, after an inadvertent foul by Houston, Rice's Tiffany Loggins split two foul shots to trim Houston's lead to 64 to 58 with 41 seconds left in the game.
Jackson swished two more free throws for Houston; Loggins swished a three-point shot to pull the Owls within five points (66 to 61) with 24 seconds to go in the game.
Next, Houston broke Rice's full-court press defense; and Ryan Meyers scored a lay-up with 14 seconds remaining.
Rice's Tara Watts capped of the Owls' scoring by nailing a three-pointer with 7 seconds on the clock.
Tye Jackson drained two more foul shots for the Lady Cougars final two points and to end the scoring 70 to 64.
Jackson led Houston with 15 points and eight assists. Whitney James scored a season-high 14 points. Courtney Taylor scored 14 and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Twiggy McIntyre, Houston's leading scorer for the season, added 10 points and five steals.
Rice was led by 17 points each from Kadie Riverin and Tiffany Loggins. Tara Watts added 14. Rice outrebounded Houston 44 to 31.
The Owls shot 36.1% from the field for the game; but, 43.3% (13 for 30) in the second half. UH shot 45.6% (26 for 57) from the field.
"I felt like our kids played consistent basketball for 40 minutes," said Danny Hughes. "I knew Rice was going to make some runs at us; and, we answered every run that they had."
"We kept our energy level up and I was proud of the way we hung in there in the second half," Owls head coach Greg Willilams said. "Tiffany didn't hang her head after not being in the starting lineup. It's something that we can build on. We're hoping to get Valeriya (Berezhynska) back this week and that will certainly help things. "
Owls' Notes:
For the first time this season, Tiffany Loggins did not start a game. However, Loggins' 17 points scored in today's game were the most points she scored in a game since the first game of the regular season (22 points versus Navy).
Owls backup point guard, Shyrelle Horne, will miss the rest of the season due to an injured right shoulder. The pain proved too much for Shyrelle; so, instead of waiting to have the surgery in the off-season, she'll have season-ending shoulder surgery.
Owls junior Maudess Fulton injured her left hamstring -- apparently, in pre-game warm-ups. Fulton was only able to play three minutes in today's game.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 7:02 PM
1 Comments:
At Sat Jan 26, 08:11:00 PM CST,
SORF said…
Great write up Kris.
I agree the first half was UH's and the second half was Rice's. I also thought Riverin played well.
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