Southern Methodist junior guard Brittany Gilliam hit a 3-pointer from 22 feet away to lift the Mustangs to a 59-56 win over UH on Thursday at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
Gilliam’s trey was one of five that the Mustangs (13-7, 6-1 Conference USA) hit in the second half. The shot capped off an 8-0 run by SMU to end the game.
‘We had two defenders on her when she shot it,’ UH head coach Joe Curl said. ‘She just hit a big-time shot.’
Freshman guard Roxanna Button’s 3-pointer fell short of the basket as time expired, leaving the Cougars (12-7, 4-3 C-USA) with their third straight conference road loss.
Sophomore forward Brittany Mason’s bucket with 3:06 remaining gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the game, 56-51. Unfortunately for the Cougars, this was their last basket of the game.
‘We had them on the ropes,’ Curl said. ‘They made us work the shot clock down, and once the shot clock got down, we had to take a shot we didn’t want.’
Before Gilliam’s game-winning trey, SMU junior guard Jillian Samuels hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to tie the game at 56.
UH fought to battle back from an early 23-12 deficit. Great defense combined with a collective effort on the defensive boards helped the Cougars shake off their rough start.
‘The team fought their butts off,’ Curl said. ‘We were able to cut (SMU) off from driving, and we forced them to hit (jump) shots. I’m not disappointed with our effort.’
UH sophomore forward Cobilyn Hill had her best performance of the season, leading all scorers with a season-high 19 points.
She was also a force on the defensive end, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking four shots.
‘She played well,’ Curl said. ‘She was very powerful and played well on the defensive end.’
After trailing 31-26 at halftime, the Cougars worked their way to a 39-37 lead – their first of the game – off a layup from sophomore forward Courtney Taylor with 11:04 remaining.
Both teams made only 24 field goals, but the Cougars missed 11 more shot attempts than SMU.
Taylor had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars, despite feeling ill. She vomited in a trash container on the sidelines in the first half but managed to play 34 efficient minutes.
The Cougars continue their three-game road trip at 7 p.m. Saturday against Tulsa at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
