Feb. 16, 2008

Box Score

Game Book in PDF Format

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of Houston women's basketball team dropped its third-straight game, falling to Tulane 73-69 Saturday in Conference USA action at Fogelman Arena.

Houston (14-12, 8-4 C-USA) made a late rally but could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit. Tulane (14-11, 4-8 C-USA) handed UH its third-straight loss in New Orleans.

Tye Jackson (Houston, Texas/Westfield HS/Purdue) knocked down three triples in the final 27 seconds of the game to pull Houston within two, 71-69 with 2.5 seconds to go.

The Green Wave's Nikki Luckhurst, who hit four three pointers and finished with 16 points, closed the door with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

The Cougars got back in the game after a 14-5 run that spanned 6:34 seconds and had UH down seven, 51-44, with 11:01 left. Houston went 0-for-5 from the field during 2:30 of the run, failing to take advantage of a five-minute span where Tulane scored only one field goal.

UH pulled within five on four occasions, but did not get any closer until Jackson's last-second shooting barrage. She finished with 11 points.

Twiggy McIntyre (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS/Kansas State) led UH with 18 points. She was 8-for-10 from the free-throw line and also grabbed five rebounds. She fouled out with 21 seconds left after being whistled for her third offensive foul of the afternoon.

Ryan Meyers (Arlington, Texas/Arlington HS/Grayson County CC) made her first start in 15 games and responded with a season-high 10 rebounds. She also added four points, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Courtney Taylor (Crockett, Texas/Crockett HS) scored 11 and pulled down nine rebounds. Cobilyn Hill (Houston, Texas/Eisenhower HS) came off the bench for only the third time this season and scored six points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a shot.

Tulane had a 40-29 halftime lead after shooting 45.2 percent (14-for-31) along with knocking down five three pointers.

The Cougars moved out to a 5-0 lead, but were quickly reeled back in by the Green Wave, who used a 29-6 run to lead by 18 with 8:53 remaining.

The Cougars battled back, outscored Tulane 23-11 over the final eight-and-a-half minutes and had the deficit down to 11 by the break, eclipsing the 20-point plateau in the opening half for the first time in two games.

Luckhurst's 18 left five Green Wave players in double figures. Chassity Brown scored 14, Alendra Brown finished with 11 and Ashley Langford and Spring native Megan Valicevic each had 10. Valicevic also had a team-high eight rebounds.

UH continues a four-game league road swing at Tulsa and SMU next weekend. The Cougars take on the Golden Hurricane at 7 p.m. CST Thursday at the Reynolds Center before facing off with the Mustangs at 2 p.m. Saturday at Moody Coliseum.

Fans can listen to a free internet radio broadcast of all UH games this year by clicking on the Stretch Internet Broadcast link at UHCougars.com. Streaming video for all home games will also be made available through the All-Access package at UHCougars.com.