Houston Roundball Review Archive: December 2006 Women's Hoops MP3s

Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Houston defeats Miami 82 to 73 at Hofheinz

The Houston Lady Cougars played their best game of the season (thus far) Tuesday night at Hofheinz Pavilion; and, the Miami Hurricanes witnessed the performance first hand. In a surprise to many in attendance (including yours truly) Houston defeated Miami 82 to 73 before an announced crowd of 645 fans.

In addition to the UH victory, the fans were also treated to a sensational scoring performance by Miami's 5-foot-2 Renee Taylor.

Miami started the game scoring the first seven points; but, the Lady Cougars regrouped and responded. UH tied the game at 13; and, Miami senior guard Renee Taylor scored 10 of her team's 13 points. Taylor was truly spectacular. She finished the first half with 16 points; but, she finished the game with a school-record 42 points.

Taylor's 42 points were also the most points scored in Hofheinz Pavilion by a Lady Cougars' opponent. Unfortunately for Renee and the Hurricanes, the rest of the team did not play nearly as well. Maurita Reid was the only other player to score in double figures for Miami. Reid scored 11.

After tying the game at 30, Houston surrendered seven straight points and trailed Miami 37 to 30 with 3:58 left in the first half. Miami did not score the rest of the half while UH finished the half scoring the final seven points to tie the game at 37 at the half.

Houston's Tye Jackson scored 12 first half points while teammate Sha'Ratta Hawkins added eight points. A total of eight Lady Cougars scored in the opening half.

Taylor scored Miami's first two points of the second half; however, Jackson tied the game at 39. Next, junior college transfer Whitney James put Houston ahead with a lay-up and a free throw to give the Lady Cougars a 42 to 39 lead at the 18:47 mark of the second half.

The Lady Cougars never trailed the rest of the game.

Houston's Sunshine Misa-Uli scored five points during a 7 to 2 run which helped the Lady Cougars stretch the lead to 49-41 with 16:03 left in the game. The more the Cougars scored, the more Renee Taylor would respond with points to help keep her team in the ball game.

Taylor pulled Miami within five points twice and four points once during a three and half minute stretch; but, Houston continued to pour on the offense. Houston scored seven straight points to take command and lead 68 to 57 with just 5:16 remaining in the game.

The Lady Cougars would increase the lead to 12 points (75 to 63) with 1:55 remaining. Houston dominated the boards and outrebounded Miami 52 to 37 for the game. However, Miami held a 24 to 23 rebounding advantage at the half.

Tye Jackson led Houston with 21 points; 10 rebounds; four assists and a team-high six assists; while Hawkins added 16 points and nine rebounds. Misa-Uli scored 12 points and pulled down nine boards. Junior guard Alona Obaze added 12 points.

Taylor made 13 of 24 shots from the field including a school record 7 made three-point attempts (on 12 tries).

After the game, The HRR spoke with Jackson, UH Head Coach Joe Curl, Miami Head Coach Katie Meier; and Renee Taylor.

Listen to their comments:

Tye Jackson: "...tired of losing..."

Joe Curl: "...envisioned our team..."

Katie Meier: "...lack of toughness..."

Renee Taylor: "...little things..."

Houston improves to 3 and 7 with the victory while Miami's record drops to 8 and 4.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Houston's Ryan Meyers out at least six weeks with Wrist Injury

A tough season just became tougher for the Houston Lady Cougars. Forward Ryan Meyers will be out of action at least six weeks with a broken scaphoid bone in her left wrist.

Ryan suffered the injury in Houston's December 16th game versus Southern California.

Meyers had been the most consistent player for the 2 and 7 Lady Cougars during the early part of the 2006 - 2007 season.

Meyers averaged 7.6 points per game and a team-leading 9.9 rebounds per game this season.

Listen to her comments to TheHRR --Ryan Meyers: "...fell on my wrist."

The Lady Cougars play the Miami Hurricanes tonight at Hofheinz Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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Sunday, December 17, 2006
Jody Conradt after Horns' loss to Lady Vols

Jody Conradt didn't sugar coat her post-game comments to the media after her Texas Longhorns were defeated 67 to 46 by Tennessee.

Good for her.

The Longhorns played good defense; but, their offense seemed dazed and confused much of the game. Far too much dribbling and not enough passing, cutting, and ball movement.

Take a listen to Coach Conradt's comments: "We're still having some problems offensively..."

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Sunday, December 17, 2006
Pat Summitt after Vols' Big Win over Horns

Tennessee versus Texas isn't the titanic tilt it used to be; but, it's always good to see two top women's programs face each other on the basketball court.

Sunday afternoon's match-up wasn't pretty to watch as both teams struggled to make shots in the first half.

However, following shooting a chilly 31.4% (11 for 35) in the first half, Tennessee got on track to shoot 57.1% (16 for 28) in the second half to rout the Longhorns 67 to 46 before an announced crowd of 7,522 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

The Lady Vols dominated the rebounds 48 to 30 and swarmed all over Longhorns' All-American Tiffany Jackson the entire game.

Jackson made just 2 of her 13 field goal attempts in the game.

Lady Vols' Superstar Candace Parker struggled with her shot (5 for 15); but, she did finish the game with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

Tennessee was led by Sidney Spencer's 15 points. In this game, Spencer showed she's more than just a three-point shooter by knocking down shots off the dribble as well as making a few step back shots.

Junior point guard
Shannon Bobbit settled down in the second half for Tennesse and penetrated the Longhorns' defense repeatedly and finished with a game-high seven assist.

Lady Vols' Head Coach Pat Summitt spoke with the media after the game; and, she mentioned her team "...missed so many lay-ups..." in the first half. She was definitely right.

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Saturday, December 9, 2006
Owls win Hackerman with Defeat of Idaho State

Balanced offense led the Rice Owls to an 88 to 69 victory over the Idaho State Bengals Saturday night at Autry Court.

With the win, Rice (7-3) won the 2006 Gene Hackerman Invitational.

Senior post Lauren Neaves was named the Most Valuable Player of the event. Neaves finished Saturday's game with 12 points; nine rebounds; and three blocked shots.

Senior Samantha Stovall scored 13 points; dished out five assists; pulled down five rebounds; and picked up five steals. (I voted for Stovall for MVP.)

Three other Owls scored in double figures: guard Kadie Riverin and center Valeriya Berezhynska each added 12 while wing Maudess Fulton pitched in with 11.

Rice freshman point guard Tara Watts played her best game of her young career with eight points; seven assists (o turnovers); and four rebounds.

The Owls led the Bengals 45 to 36 at halftime. Rice started the second half with a 12 to 4 run; and, the Bengals never recovered.

The Owls pushed the lead to as much as 23 (84 to 61) in the second half and cruised to the victory.

Idaho State's Natalie Doma led all scorers with 21 points and had a game-high 10 rebounds, and Grohs and Andrea Lightfoot added 14.

Doma and Boesel were named to the all-tournament team along with Domonique Thomas of Alcorn State and Kristin Peoples of Kent State.

Kent State won the consolation game 89-53 over Alcorn State.

After the game, Owls head coach Greg Williams said playing on consecutive nights "helps prepare us (Rice)" for tournament action later in the season.

Rice returns to action Thursday, December 21, versus La. Tech in Ruston, Louisiana.

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Friday, December 8, 2006
Rice Owls' Williams Comments after Victory over Alcorn State

Rice Owls junior point guard Kadie Riverin scored a game-high 14 points and Rice (6-3) used a 42-18 first half to defeat Alcorn State 72-51 in the first round of the 10th Gene Hackerman Invitational Friday at Autry Court.

The Owls will meet Idaho State, 87-75 winners over Kent State, in Saturday's championship game at 7 pm.

Alcorn State and Kent State will play in the consolation game at 5 pm.

Junior center Valeriya Berezhynska scored 12 points and grabbed nine boards for the Owls, while senior post Lauren Neaves added 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Senior Samantha Stovall had another strong showing, hauling down nine rebounds and dishing out five assists.

The Owls shot 48.3 percent from the field, and held Alcorn State to 27.4 percent shooting.

Owls head coach Greg Williams spoke with The HRR after the game; and, though he was pleased with his team's overall performance, he immediately shifted focus to Saturday's game versus Idaho State.

Listen to his comments: "...back to back nights..."

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Thursday, December 7, 2006
Comments from LA Sparks' Teleconference Call

Thursday, the WNBA and the Los Angeles Sparks announced the Sparks were purchased by Katherine E. Goodman and Carla J. Christofferson.

In the afternoon, WNBA President Donna Orender; the new owners; and members of the media (including yours truly) participated in a teleconference.>

I thought I'd do something different and post the teleconference as an mp3:

The conference call is about 11 minutes long.

Give a listen: December 7, 2006, teleconference

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Thursday, December 7, 2006
HBU's Todd Buchanan after Huskies' Loss to #2 Oklahoma City

I took time to head to Sharp Gym Thursday night on the campus of Houston Baptist University to watch the number two-ranked NAIA school (Oklahoma City Stars) in the country battle twelveth-ranked HBU.

The game was filled with 50 turnovers (29 by the Stars); and, neither team "brought their 'A' game".

However, the Stars (8-0) continued their dominance of the Huskies and defeated HBU (5-3) 65 to 52 before an enthusiastic crowd of 689 fans.

With tonight's win, Oklahoma City has defeated HBU in all six of their match-ups.

HBU shot poorly (37.7%) throughout the game; however, one bright spot was the solid play of senior post Velencia Kuykendall who scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards.

Junior point guard Dominique Thomas played the poorest game I've seen her play.

The Angleton, TX, native scored 14 points and dished nine assists; however, she turned the ball over 11 times!

Oklahoma City raced to a 16 to 4 lead in the first half; but, careless turnovers on numerous fast-break opportunities kept HBU in the game.

The Huskies regrouped from their poor start to trail the Stars 35 to 26 at halftime.

The Stars started the second half similar to the first; and, the Huskies never recovered.

Oklahoma City's Alexandra Kotta led all players with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore wing Chelsea Ledbetter added 17 points; seven rebounds; and five assists. However, the two of them combined for 11 of the team's 29 turnovers.

HBU Huskies' head coach Todd Buchanan spoke with me after the game and he told me the Huskies had "little to no shot" of winning the game getting outrebounded 47 to 23.>

Listen to his postgame comments.

HBU returns to action Saturday, December 9, versus Red River Athletic Conference opponent Southwest Assemblies of God.

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Sunday, December 3, 2006
Marquette Defeats Owls 78 to 62

Four games in eight (nine depending on how you count) days.

Playing a game less than 48 hours after one of the top wins in program history.

And, last but not least, facing a quality opponent.

Add those three factors and you get the result the Rice Owls received Sunday afternoon: a 78 to 62 loss to the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Rice struggled to make shots the entire game. The Owls shot a frigid 30.6% (11 for 36) in the opening 20 minutes and an even worse percentage (28.1%, 9 for 32) in the second half.

The Owls trailed 44 to 30 at halftime due 20 first half points from Marquette's Krystal Ellis and 58.1% (18 for 31) shooting.

Elllis was unstoppable in the first half. She penetrated the Owls defense at will and was a perfect 8 for 8 from the field.

Lauren Neaves scored the first three points of the second half; but, Marquette answered with a 14 to 5 run to put the Owls behind by 20 (58 to 38) with 14:16 remaining in the game.

Rice struggled with Marquette's solid half-court execution throughout the game; however, during the first half, the Owls couldn't stop the Golden Eagles from scoring in transition.

After the game, Neaves said she and her teammates had a "lack of focus and energy..." in the game.

To their credit, the Owls did not quit. With 5:37 left in the game, Marquette led 70 to 48; but, Rice scored 12 straight points in two and a half minutes to pull within 10 points with 3:11 remaining.

Owls' guard Krystal Frazier hit two three-pointers and a lay-up during the run.

Marquette maintained control and finished the game with the 12 point victory.

Owls' head coach Greg Williams described his team's performance as "real flat".

He was exactly right.

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Friday, December 1, 2006
"Good" Owls Dominate #10 Aggies

Basketball fans! Get on board the Rice Lady Owls' roller coaster! If you dare!

After two poor performances on the road last week, Rice (5-2) returned to Autry Court and produced two dominant wins in a five day period.

Defeating Sam Houston State earlier in the week on Monday was only impressive because the Owls were expected to blow out the 'Kats; however, Friday night, the number 10 Texas A&M Aggies were the competition.

Before the game, a few people asked me my thoughts on the game. My answer was the same: "It depends on which Rice team shows up. The good one or the bad one."

Following the 79 to 66 win over the Aggies, it is very safe to say the "good Owls" showed up Friday night at Autry Court.

Rice trailed A&M 10 to 4 at the 16:50 mark of the first half; then, the Owls find a rhythm on offense which lasted the rest of the half.

Rice made a remarkable 69.0% (20 of 29) of their shots to take a 47 to 33 lead to the locker rooms.

The Owls missed just one of their last 12 shots over the final 10:10 of the first half.

Lauren Neaves

Teammate Valeriya Berehzhynska came off the Rice bench and scored 21 points (9 for 11 from the field) in just 20 minutes.

The Aggies had no answer for Val. She scored 11 straight points during a three-minute stretch in the first half which help the Owls turn a two-point lead (18 to 16) to a nine-point margin (29-20).

Senior forward Samantha Stovall added 13 points; five assists; and solid defense throughout the ball game.

After the game, head coach Greg Williams described Friday's victory as a "great win for our program..."

Rice needs to string together victories instead of making their fans queasy riding along this "wild 'n wacky" roller coaster ride.

Rice doesn't get too much time to enjoy the great win. The Owls host a good Marquette team, Sunday, December 3, at Autry Court. Tip-off is set for 2pm.

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Friday, December 1, 2006
Rice's Val, Stovall, and Neaves Discuss win over Aggies

Here are the post-game comments from three Rice Owls players (post Valeriya Berezhynska, wing Samantha Stovall, and post Lauren Neaves -- Rice's rock) after Rice defeated #10 Texas A&M 79 to 66.

Neaves delivered 20 points and 20 boards versus the Ags while Val scored 21 points in just 20 minutes.

Stovall added 13 points and five assists.

These comments are in the post-game media session. Val is the first player you'll hear on the file; then, Stovall; followed by Neaves.

"...keep that momentum..."

Rice (now 5 and 2 on the season) hosts Marquette Sunday, December 3, at Autry Court. The game starts at 2 p.m.

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Friday, December 1, 2006
10th-ranked Aggies Beaten by Rice

I was truly looking forward to the Texas A&M - Rice Owls women's basketball match-up.

In fact, I passed on a chance to watch my Houston Cougars (I'm a proud alum) win the Conference USA football championship 34 to 20 over Southern Miss.

But, I digress...

Friday night, Texas A&M came to Autry Court ranked the number 10 team in the country. Well, the Aggies will take a fall in the polls thanks to a thorough 79 to 66 loss to the Rice Owls.

Foul trouble plagued the Aggies much of the game; but, more importantly, A&M simply couldn't stop the Owls' frontcourt duo of Lauren Neaves (20 points and 20 rebounds) and Valeriya Berezhynska (21 points in 20 minutes).

Aggies' head coach Gary Blair spoke to the media after the game; and, he didn't pull any punches or mince any words. He simply stated Rice "made a good team look bad".

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