- Joshua Siegel/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars’ disappointing season hit another bump in the road on Sunday as they dropped their second-straight contest, losing 67-43 to Conference USA nemesis UAB.
UH (2-14, 1-3 C-USA) was without Head Coach Todd Buchanan who was suspended for one game by the conference for not leaving the court in a timely manner after being ejected during Thursday’s 76-61 loss to SMU. Buchanan will return for the Cougars’ next game.
Associate Head Coach Wade Scott took over the play calling duties, but in the end, the result was an all-too-familiar one.
The Cougars fell behind UAB (13-3, 4-0 C-USA) early, trailing 13-3 within the first five minutes. UH was able to get back in the game with some staunch defense and even took a 14-13 lead with 8:36 to go in the first half. The lead was short lived though as UH turnovers sparked a 21-8 Blazer run to close the half.
The second half was dominated by UAB and the Cougars were never able to get back in the game.
“We turned the ball over a little too much,” Scott said. “We got a little too passive. We were in there for a while, but we let it slip away and we couldn’t get it back.”
After last season’s regular season success, where the Cougars went 26-6 and 16-0 in conference play, this season has been a polar opposite. The loss of last year’s seniors coupled with new players and injuries, namely to team standout Porsche Landry, have left the team reeling to find answers.
“Part of it is that you have people who are playing positions they aren’t used to playing,” Scott said. “Youth also plays a part in it. You have a lot of young kids out there who are trying to grasp what it is like to play in Division I.
“You’re going to have some ups and downs, but right now it’s just more down than up.”
Senior guard Roxana Button echoes Scott’s sentiments.
“We lost six seniors and most of them were our leaders,” Button said. “We have a whole new team coming in this year and ‘a work in progress’ is the best way I can explain it.”
Even though the season has not played out the way the team hoped, they believe they can turn things around and climb up the conference standings before the season’s end.
“We need to keep working in practice, stay focused and continue to learn from our mistakes,” Button said. “Not going backwards is the biggest thing.
Senior guard Michelle White believes that improvement on defense is the key for the Cougars to compete in C-USA.
“If we keep working and buying into what the coaches are saying, I think we will be right there, competing in every game on the schedule,” she said.
sports@thedailycougar.com
