There’s no place like home for the UH women’s basketball team, which defeated Miami 70-64 on Friday to extend its win streak at Hofheinz Pavilion to three games.
UH (4-1) never looked back after going on a second-half 11-2 run that turned a 1-point deficit into a 61-53 lead. Sophomore guard Jasmine Johnson, who scored 13 points, capped off the run with a three-pointer with 6:27 left in the game.
"In the first half we could have (communicated) better on defense, but in the second half we made some clutch shots," Johnson said.
Sophomore forward Courtney Taylor had a team-high 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, marking her third double-double this season.
"It was a big win for us," Taylor said. "It’s very important to box out (and get rebounds). As a small lineup playing against people who are taller than you, easy put-backs can put you down."
Houston put together another total team effort to pull out the win with four players scoring in double figures. The Cougars also shot 16 of 21 from the free-throw line, which helped them recover from 35.9 percent shooting, and hustled on the defensive end to hold Miami to 38.5 percent shooting.
"We didn’t have every one of our players hitting on all cylinders, but we hit on all cylinders as a team," head coach Joe Curl said. "To beat a team like Miami is a feather in your cap. The (team) chemistry is coming out of our kids."
Freshman guard Porsche Landry made five of her six free-throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to prevent a comeback by Miami (1-2). Senior forward Zane Jakobsone also made three key shots in the second half and held her own on the defensive end against more athletic Miami players.
"I thought Zane stepped in and did an incredible job, not only shooting the ball but also defensively," Curl said.
Freshman forward Shenise Johnson led the Hurricanes with 21 points, but seven of them came from the charity stripe. Senior guard LaToya Cunningham added 15 points for Miami, but she scored 8 points in the first four minutes of the game when Jasmine Johnson was on the bench. Once sophomore guard Jasmine Johnson stepped in, she shut down Cunningham for the remainder of the game.
"I was just trying to keep her out of the middle and put a hand in her face," Jasmine Johnson said.
After last season’s 1-5 start, Taylor is excited about the Cougars’ 4-1 start this year.
"It’s very important (for us to get off to a strong start)," Taylor said. "Last year we started off super slow."
