The Cougar women’s basketball team began the year with a 76-58 win over the TSU Tigers on Friday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
With this win, Houston extended its all-time record against TSU to 12-1.
It was a night for the veterans to take the reigns, as the senior players racked up shots.
Senior guard Tye Jackson led the team with 18 points, followed by senior forward Ryan Meyers who had 14 and senior forward Whitney James finished with 12.
The Cougars went down by one early into the second half, after grabbing a three-point lead at halftime.
After TSU took the lead, the two teams traded scores until a little less than seven minutes into the second half. Houston finished the game strong after a Tye Jackson jumper with 13:36 left in the game.
The Cougars held the Tigers to just 32.1 percent from the field in the second half, as they only made eight buckets.
Coach Hughes mentioned that the Cougars would have to improve their transition defense in order to have a successful game. Their work in practice showed, as the Cougars notched 16 steals, leading to 12 fast-break points, while TSU only had 5.
Jackson and senior guard Twiggy McIntyre led the team with five steals each, asserting their defensive prowess. The Cougars also won the rebounds game, grabbing 51 off the glass, versus 44 by TSU.
Freshman guard Courtney Taylor had an impressive showing in her first game as a Cougar, leading the team with 8 rebounds.
The Cougars also grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, double the Tigers’ total of 9.
The combination of out-rebounding the Tigers and taking away 16 steals was the formula for success in the Cougars’ season-opening win.
