Senior forward Courtney Taylor has outworked opposing front courts this season. She is the nation’s fourth-best rebounder at 12.1 per game and leads the Cougars with 16.1 points per game on 50 percent shooting. With 583 made field goals in her career, she is fifth all-time at UH.| Aaron Cisneros/The Daily Cougar
Courtney Taylor continues her career as one of the top players in Cougar history, earning her fourth Conference USA Player of the Week award for the season and eighth of her career.
Taylor dropped 21 points and 18 rebounds on Tulane in the Cougars only game last week.
“It’s always an honor to get C-USA Player of the Week,” Taylor said. “I try not to think about it. I try just to go out there and help my team perform and get the win. To get it again is pretty awesome.”
Coming off a tremendous season that earned her C-USA Player of the Year for 2009-10, Taylor was also named C-USA Preseason Player of the Year.
She has again lived up to the hype, averaging 16.1 points, third in C-USA and a conference-leading 12.1 rebounds. Taylor has also posted 15 double-doubles this season — the fourth best total nationally.
“Playing my heart out was a result of getting C-USA Player of the Year,” Taylor said. “Hopefully I can just continue on and be the reigning MVP this year.”
A perfect 9-0 in conference play has put UH atop the C-USA standings in their first season under head coach Todd Buchanan,
“I think that coach Buchanan emphasizes team, sportsmanship, family and all togetherness,” Taylor said.
The Cougars three-game lead in C-USA has the Cougars in line to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
“We haven’t done that before since I’ve been here and it’s been a goal,” she said.
“We don’t want to settle for the Women’s NIT. All together we’re just pushing, trying to make a name for ourselves.”
The Cougars have given Taylor plenty of support this season with three other players scoring in double figures led by Brittney Scott (15.6), Porsche Landry (15.3) and Brittany Mason (10.5).
“They get it to me on open looks because we have such good shooters out there,” Taylor said. “Landry can get to the basket and Scott can shoot it up there to kind of open it up for me.”
Only seven games remain before the regular season ends and the C-USA Tournament begins. Two of those remaining games come against cross-town rival Rice (14-9, 6-3).
The Cougars take on the Owls at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
“We want to stay undefeated,” Taylor said. “We don’t want to drop our undefeated ranking to Rice.”
