The UH women’s basketball team held off the Houston Jaguars for a 70-61 exhibition victory in its final tuneup before the Cougars open regular season play.
Former UH basketball star Chandi Jones, who led the Jaguars with 20 points, hit a three to tie the game at 55 with 10:31 left, but that was as close as her team would get. The Cougars gave up only one basket in the final five minutes to secure the victory.
The Cougars shot a dismal 32.9 percent from the field, but scored 13 more points than the Jaguars from the charity stripe, which was ultimately what decided the game.
"Any time you can get to the line those are easy points," UH assistant coach Wade Scott said.
Sophomore guard Courtney Taylor led the Cougars with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but missed 12 of her 19 shot attempts.
"I missed a lot of layups. The concentration (on offense) wasn’t there. I was focusing more on defense than offense," she said. "I was in too big of a hurry, I didn’t realize how much time I had. I won’t let that happen next game."
Shooting was not the Cougars’ only problem. The team also made several bad passes that contributed to 22 turnovers.
"We forced some passes," Scott said. "We’ve got a lot of young talent that has to learn how to play at this level."
Freshman guard Porsche Landry added 10 points and eight assists for the Cougars, but she was not satisfied with her shot selection.
"I was looking for more inside shots than outside shots," Landry said. "I could’ve looked for my outside shot more."
Freshman guard Roxana Button added 12 points, but also committed five turnovers against the Jaguars.
"I have to handle the ball better and put more pressure on defense," Button said. "We can clean it up."
UH out-rebounded the Jaguars 61-45 and grabbed 28 offensive boards. Scott said head coach Joe Curl’s style of offense allows the team to put itself in good positions to grab rebounds off of missed shots.
"They really battled hard, and (rebounding) is one of the key things that we emphasize to the kids, and tonight it showed," Scott said.
The Cougars saw their 43-37 halftime lead cut to 2 less than two minutes into the second half, but Taylor led the Cougars on a 7-0 run to create some breathing room. However, UH was unable to put the Jaguars to bed, which concerned the coaching staff.
"We couldn’t extend the lead and we lacked that killer instinct," Scott said. "You’ve got to give credit to (the Jaguars). They’re experienced, and they didn’t let us get away."
The performance of Houston’s freshmen provided a bright spot in the win.
"Our freshmen played well and they showed that we’ve arrived," Taylor said. "This win is a good start, but we still have a lot to prove."
The Cougars open the regular season against Southeastern Louisiana at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Hofheiz Pavilion.
