Sports Women's Basketball

UH women’s basketball falls late to Middle Tennessee

Junior guard Laila Blair led the Cougars with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in the loss against Middle Tennessee. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar

The Houston women’s basketball team dropped its final road non-conference matchup as it fell 68-61 to Middle Tennessee on Wednesday.

The Cougars now move to 2-9 on the season with American Athletic Conference play sitting on the horizon at the end of December.

Middle Tennessee opened the game with a 5-0 run before jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the early going. UH responded with a dominant 12-0 run led by back-to-back 3-pointers off turnovers to take the lead at 16-10. The Blue Raiders ended the first quarter with a second 5-0 run to close the gap and trail 16-15 heading into the second quarter.

The Cougars held on and battled early in the second with Middle Tennessee knocking on the door. Leads exchanged, but the Blue Raiders outscored the Cougars 22-14 in the period and took the lead in the final minutes to hold on 37-30 heading into the locker rooms.

In the second half, the Cougars rode a 6-0 run near the midway point of the third quarter before the Blue Raiders heated up with a 9-0 run to create distance at 50-36. Middle Tennessee followed up with a 6-2 run strung together with a 5-0 run to end the third quarter, outscoring UH 25-12 to lead 62-42 heading into the fourth.

The Blue Raider fought to maintain its lead, but the Cougars battled back with a 15-0 run to trail 66-61 heading into the last minute of regulation.

Middle Tennessee capitalized on a trip to the free throw line as the Cougars comeback bid fell short.

Senior guard De’Myla Brown and junior guard Laila Blair led the Cougars with 12 points each on the day. Blair also posted game-highs with six rebounds and five assists while senior guard Britney Onyeje scored 10 points.

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