Sophomore guard Britney Onyeje sizes up the defense against Wichita State. | Andy Yanez/The Cougar
It was a tough shooting game for Houston as the Cougars shot 26.8 percent from the field and were held to a season-low in points in their 50-38 loss to UCF Saturday afternoon at Fertitta Center.
Coming into the game, the Cougars had won their previous three games by a combined 70 points, but UH was unable to continue its recent dominance against the Knights.
After forcing 30 turnovers in their 80-46 thrashing of Temple on Wednesday, the Cougar defense was its usual self early against UCF, forcing 10 Knights turnovers and only allowing four points in the first quarter. The Cougars ended up forcing another 30 turnovers in the matchup.
The Cougars were sloppy on offense, however, and could only muster up six points in their first 17 possessions. UH ended the game with more turnovers than field goals, and shot a poor 26.8 percent from the field.
Suffocating defense and sloppy offense told the story of the first half as neither team broke the 35 percent shooting mark from the field, and the two teams combined for 34 turnovers were committed.
The Knights led 20-13 at the half, the lowest point total through the first two quarters for the Cougars all season.
The sloppy play carried into the third quarter as neither offense could gain any traction. Neither team could hit consecutive field goals and the shooting struggles also persisted at the free throw line.
A small Cougar run to start the fourth quarter cut the Knights lead to three, but that is as close as it got.
Knights sophomore guard Alisha Lewis hit three pivotal shots from beyond the arc and helped stretch the lead to double-digits.
The Cougars tried to get back into the game from the 3-point line but ended the night shooting four for 27 from range.
The Knights also maintained a healthy edge on the boards throughout the contest, ending with 44 compared to the Cougar’s 30.
As the game’s final minutes ticked, the Knights’ full-court press was too hard to handle for the Cougars as late turnovers and rushed shots made the deficit insurmountable.
This marked UCF’s ninth straight victory over UH.
The Cougars sit in fifth in the American Athletic Conference standings with their next contest scheduled for Wednesday against Tulane in New Orleans.
