UH head coach Joe Curl has done all he can to make sure his players are prepared and motivated for tonight’s Conference USA tournament opener against UTEP at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
But thanks to the C-USA awards committee, one player will have more motivation than any other player in the tournament.
Junior forward Courtney Taylor was named C-USA Player of the Year on Monday, a testament of her dedication to leadership, toughness, rebounding and all-around consistent play.
Curl hopes the award will give Courtney a boost in the selection process for First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive teams.
“I’m very, very proud of Courtney, and I’m not surprised at all that she was selected for the award,” Curl said. “She’s a great kid and a great player. We talked about how I’m hoping this award will give her more confidence, since she was selected as the best player in the conference.”
Not surprisingly, it was Taylor’s 39th career double-double that helped the No. 2 seed Cougars end the regular season on a high note with Thursday’s 81-58 win over in-town rival Rice.
Taylor, who averages 15.4 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game, finished with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for UH (16-13, 10-6 C-USA).
Brittney Scott shouldered most of the offensive load, racking up a game-high 24 points, and Roxanna Button continued to provide instant offense off the bench, finishing with 17 points.
Opal Taskila had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Owls (13-16, 7-9), who entered the tourney as the No. 7 seed but lost to No. 10 seed UTEP, 62-61, on Monday.
Against Rice, the Cougars jumped out front almost immediately after the opening tip and raced out to a 50-23 lead over Rice to close out the half.
The difference in the opening half came down to field-goal percentage. While UH shot a respectable 48.5 percent from the field, Rice only managed to connect on 25.8 percent of its shots, which allowed the Cougars to get their second highest total for an opening half this season.
The Owls tried to make a move after the break on the strong post play of Taskila, but they were never able to get any closer than 23 points.
After resting with a first round bye, Curl is ready to get his team in on the postseason action and bring home a C-USA title.
“I think we’re well rested, maybe too well rested,” Curl said. “The fact that we’ve beaten them recently doesn’t mean anything in tournament play. Everyone takes their game up a notch. But we’re ready to play, and I think we have a legitimate shot at winning the tournament.”
C-USA Tourney first-round results
UTEP 62, Rice 61 — Guard Jareica Hughes exploded for 25 points and four assists to lead the 10th-seeded Miners to an upset of the No. 7 seed Owls.
Hughes, an All C-USA selection, shot 9-of-17 from the field and hit 6 of 8 free throws. Anete Steinberga and Briana Green each added 10 points for UTEP (16-15).
Rice ended its season with a 13-17 record.
UTEP will face No. 2 seed UH in the second round at 8:30 p.m. today.
UAB 52, Tulsa 45 — Forward Tamika Dukes had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help the sixth-seeded Blazers come from behind against No. 11 seed and tournament host Tulsa.
Tulsa (12-16) was led by seniors Larrissa Williams and Teka Brooks, who scored 11 points apiece in the final game.
UAB (15-14) advances to face No. 3 seed SMU at 6 p.m. today.
ECU 102, Southern Miss 64 — Five East Carolina players scored in double figures to lead the fifth-seeded Pirates to a rout of the 12th-seeded Golden Eagles.
Freshman Shala Hodges led East Carolina (21-9) with 17 points.
Pauline Love recorded game-highs of 32 points and 11 rebounds for Southern Miss (9-21).
East Carolina moves on to face fourth-seeded Memphis at 2:30 p.m. today.
UCF 59, Marshall 57 (OT) — Chelsie Wiley scored 19 points, four of them coming on crucial free throws in overtime, to lift the eighth-seeded Knights (11-15) past the ninth-seeded Thundering Herd.
Mystee Dale scored a game-high 21 points for Marshall (14-16).
The Knights will challenge top-seeded Tulane at noon today.