The Cougar women’s basketball team was handed their first loss Tuesday, dropping a 95-83 road decision to Cal State Bakersfield.
Houston senior guard Twiggy McIntyre scored a game-high and career-high 30 points in only her second regular-season contest in roughly a year and a half.
The Roadrunners (2-0) were led by junior guard Kelley Tarver, who poured in 27 points, three assists and three steals. Four other Roadrunners also scored in double figures.
The big story in this game was the turnover margin. The Cougars (1-1) forced 24 turnovers in their first game against Texas Southern, while turning the ball over only 17 times.
CSB flipped the script on the Cougars, who committed 28 turnovers to the Roadrunners’ 17.
The Roadrunners converted the 28 turnovers into 32 points. Many of those turnovers came in key situations, hampering the Cougars’ ability to make a viable comeback.
The Cougars also shot poorly from behind the perimeter, hitting only 23.5 percent of their three-pointers. On the other hand, the Roadrunners shot lights-out from behind the arc, hitting 52.9 percent of their three-pointers.
The Cougars, however, dominated the boards, racking up 50 rebounds to the Roadrunners’ 33.
Freshman center Cobilyn Hill provided another bright spot for the Cougars. She finished with eight points, nine rebounds and a game-high seven blocks.
Hill’s performance marked the first time that a Cougar had seven blocks in a game since Darla Sampson recorded eight against Baylor on Jan. 17, 1990.
Houston moves on to face Cal Poly at 7 p.m. today in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
