The Cougars were successful at flipping the script on their turnover woes, and winning the turnover battle during the National City Xavier Invitational this weekend.
The Cougars came out victorious in their third and final game of the invitational, beating McNeese State 87-57 on Sunday.
Houston hit the ground running, and started the game with a 20-2 run, from which they never looked back. Interestingly, the Cougars turned the ball over 25 times, while only forcing 20.
They overcame these turnovers, by having their best shooting effort this year, making 45 percent from the floor, including 47.5 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Freshman forward Courtney Taylor, who notched her first career double-double with 10 rebounds and a career-high 19 points, led Houston’s scoring barrage.
Senior guard Twiggy McIntyre came off the bench and scored 18 while dishing out four assists and stealing the ball five times.
This win snapped the Cougars’ five-game losing streak, and gives them plenty of momentum to head into their showdown with Louisiana State on Thursday.
Tye Jackson did not play in this game for precautionary reasons after her knee swelled up during pre-game workouts. Her status is officially day to day, and she may not play Thursday.
On Saturday, the Cougars lost 70-61 against Liberty University.
Though they won the defensive battle by causing 20 turnovers and only giving up 12, and holding Liberty to just 33.3 percent from the field, the Cougars were unsuccessful from the field again.
The Cougars only connected on 19 of their 71 shots from the field. Free-throw shooting was also a problem for the Cougars, as they took an unusually high amount of free throws (44) but only made 72.7 percent (32).
Taylor, who had a team-high 11 points and nine rebounds, led the Cougars with freshman center Cobilyn Hill who had 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Cougars fell 69-47 in their first game, Friday against Xavier University thanks to another poor shooting night.
Had the Cougars shot better from the field, this may have been a different game. Houston caused 22 turnovers, while only giving up eight, their greatest turnover margin all season long.
