Cougars lose to ECU in Overtime
HOUSTON, TX (Hofheniz Pavilion) -- Someway, somehow the Houston Cougars forced overtime versus East Carolina Friday night; however, the Cougars lost to ECU 94-87 in the extra period in front of an announced crowd of 649 fans.
Houston's defense was porous much of the game and the Lady Pirates took advantage making 35 of 62 field goal attempts (56.5%) including a white-hot 66.7% (8 for 12) on three point shots.
ECU junior Allison Spivey scored a game-high 23 points for ECU. Spivey shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the Land of Three and all five buckets were wide open looks which swished threw the nets.
When Spivey wasn't killing the Cougars with outside buckets, sophomore point guard Ashley Clarke was beating UH perimeter defenders oof the dribble and scoring layups. Clarke scored 20 points on 8 for 16 shooting from the field.
"We just had a couple of breakdowns defensively," said Courtney Taylor. "Some players were supposed to hedge (on ECU's pick-and-rolls) and go under; and, some people were supposed to jam and go under. That killed us. The threes killed us."
ECU led UH 51-40 at halftime thanks to 61.3% shooting from the field. The Cougars made only 10 of 28 from the field (35.7%) in the opening 20 minutes; however, UH stayed relatively close thanks to 19 for 23 (82.6%) from the free throw line.
"I didn't feel like we played as aggressively defensively as we have become known," said UH head coach Joe Curl. "That's our identity -- defense. It seemed like we couldn't get that stop when we needed it."
Houston (8-8 overall, 2-1 in C-USA) trailed by 14 points (60-46) at the 17:31 mark of the second half; however, sophomore guard Roxana Button scored seven straight points during a 13-2 UH run to trim Houston's deficit to just three points (62-59) at the 12 minute mark.
Over the next six and a half minutes, East Carolina (15-2, 4-0) outscored the Cougars 17 to 8 to lead by 12 points (79-57) with a mere 5:26 left in the second half. Clarke scored six points during the ECU run.
After Allison Spivey made two free throws at the 4:45 mark, ECU led 81-70; however, the Lady Pirates did not score a single point the rest of the half.
Taylor scored four straight points to cut UH's deficit to four points; then, Brittney Scott made two foul shots at the 3:12 mark to pull Houston within five (81-76). Sophomore point guard Porsche Landry split two foul shots to narrow the deficit to four points at the 2:35 mark. Forty seconds later, Landry hit a jumper to bring the Cougars within just two points (81-79) in front of a re-juvenated crowd and a stunned ECU squad.
ECU missed a jump shot; and, after a missed three-point shot by Landry, Houston's Jasmine Johnson drove down the middle of the paint and made a layup to tie the game at 81 with 54 seconds on the game clock.
Spivey attempted a jump shot; but, shockingly, Landry blocked the shot and Courtney Taylor picked up the miss with 21 seconds remaining. Taylor tried an outlet pass to Brittney Scott in the front court; however, ECU's Crystal Wilson picked off the pass and ECU called timeout to set up a final play.
"I kind of hate that I threw that turnover at the end," Taylor said.
Clarke missed a contested jump shot at the buzzer; and, the game headed to overtime.
Houston, seemingly, had all of the momentum heading into the extra five minutes; however, ECU regrouped and worked the ball down low to 6'5 sophomore Jean Best. Best went to work and started the scoring with a three-point play. ECU continued working the ball down low; and, if Best was double-teamed, she passed the ball which resulted in a basket by an open teammate.
ECU dominated the extra session and outscored the Cougars 13 to 6 to pick up the victory.
Taylor led the Cougars with 20 points and 15 rebounds for her 31st career double-double. Lesslee Mason notched her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 boards. Brittney Scott scored 17 points; but, Scott had a nightmare shooting the ball Friday night. Scott was 2 for 19 overall and 0 for 10 on threes. Roxana Button added 14 points and Jasmine Johnson chipped in 12 points.
The Cougars shot 30 for 39 from the free throw line compared to 16 for 27 for ECU.
Houston's valiant comeback did not go unnoticed by Coach Curl.
"We showed a lot of guts coming back to tie the game (81-81). That's a total tribute to the kind of kids we have and their 'no quit' attitude."
"It was right there," Taylor lamented. "The game was right there. We just didn't capitalize on both ends."
Houston tries to bounce back Sunday afternoon, January 17, hosting Marshall. (Marshall lost to Rice Friday night 63-61.) Tip is set for 2 p.m.
Post-game video is on The Houston Roundball Review's fan page.
Houston's defense was porous much of the game and the Lady Pirates took advantage making 35 of 62 field goal attempts (56.5%) including a white-hot 66.7% (8 for 12) on three point shots.
ECU junior Allison Spivey scored a game-high 23 points for ECU. Spivey shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the Land of Three and all five buckets were wide open looks which swished threw the nets.
When Spivey wasn't killing the Cougars with outside buckets, sophomore point guard Ashley Clarke was beating UH perimeter defenders oof the dribble and scoring layups. Clarke scored 20 points on 8 for 16 shooting from the field.
"We just had a couple of breakdowns defensively," said Courtney Taylor. "Some players were supposed to hedge (on ECU's pick-and-rolls) and go under; and, some people were supposed to jam and go under. That killed us. The threes killed us."
ECU led UH 51-40 at halftime thanks to 61.3% shooting from the field. The Cougars made only 10 of 28 from the field (35.7%) in the opening 20 minutes; however, UH stayed relatively close thanks to 19 for 23 (82.6%) from the free throw line.
"I didn't feel like we played as aggressively defensively as we have become known," said UH head coach Joe Curl. "That's our identity -- defense. It seemed like we couldn't get that stop when we needed it."
Houston (8-8 overall, 2-1 in C-USA) trailed by 14 points (60-46) at the 17:31 mark of the second half; however, sophomore guard Roxana Button scored seven straight points during a 13-2 UH run to trim Houston's deficit to just three points (62-59) at the 12 minute mark.
Over the next six and a half minutes, East Carolina (15-2, 4-0) outscored the Cougars 17 to 8 to lead by 12 points (79-57) with a mere 5:26 left in the second half. Clarke scored six points during the ECU run.
After Allison Spivey made two free throws at the 4:45 mark, ECU led 81-70; however, the Lady Pirates did not score a single point the rest of the half.
Taylor scored four straight points to cut UH's deficit to four points; then, Brittney Scott made two foul shots at the 3:12 mark to pull Houston within five (81-76). Sophomore point guard Porsche Landry split two foul shots to narrow the deficit to four points at the 2:35 mark. Forty seconds later, Landry hit a jumper to bring the Cougars within just two points (81-79) in front of a re-juvenated crowd and a stunned ECU squad.
ECU missed a jump shot; and, after a missed three-point shot by Landry, Houston's Jasmine Johnson drove down the middle of the paint and made a layup to tie the game at 81 with 54 seconds on the game clock.
Spivey attempted a jump shot; but, shockingly, Landry blocked the shot and Courtney Taylor picked up the miss with 21 seconds remaining. Taylor tried an outlet pass to Brittney Scott in the front court; however, ECU's Crystal Wilson picked off the pass and ECU called timeout to set up a final play.
"I kind of hate that I threw that turnover at the end," Taylor said.
Clarke missed a contested jump shot at the buzzer; and, the game headed to overtime.
Houston, seemingly, had all of the momentum heading into the extra five minutes; however, ECU regrouped and worked the ball down low to 6'5 sophomore Jean Best. Best went to work and started the scoring with a three-point play. ECU continued working the ball down low; and, if Best was double-teamed, she passed the ball which resulted in a basket by an open teammate.
ECU dominated the extra session and outscored the Cougars 13 to 6 to pick up the victory.
Taylor led the Cougars with 20 points and 15 rebounds for her 31st career double-double. Lesslee Mason notched her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 boards. Brittney Scott scored 17 points; but, Scott had a nightmare shooting the ball Friday night. Scott was 2 for 19 overall and 0 for 10 on threes. Roxana Button added 14 points and Jasmine Johnson chipped in 12 points.
The Cougars shot 30 for 39 from the free throw line compared to 16 for 27 for ECU.
Houston's valiant comeback did not go unnoticed by Coach Curl.
"We showed a lot of guts coming back to tie the game (81-81). That's a total tribute to the kind of kids we have and their 'no quit' attitude."
"It was right there," Taylor lamented. "The game was right there. We just didn't capitalize on both ends."
Houston tries to bounce back Sunday afternoon, January 17, hosting Marshall. (Marshall lost to Rice Friday night 63-61.) Tip is set for 2 p.m.
Post-game video is on The Houston Roundball Review's fan page.
posted by Kris G @ 11:18 PM
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