Guard Jasmine Johnson and the Cougars came up just short against Texas Tech in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. | Yulia Kutsenkova/The Daily Cougar
Heading into the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, UH knew that it would take a stellar showing to knock off Texas Tech on the road. Things only became worse when the Cougars reached Lubbock, where head coach Joe Curl was admitted to an area hospital after complaining of chest pains.
Ultimately, UH put forth a valiant effort but fell 80-77 to the Lady Red Raiders to end its season.
As he did during Curl’s previous health scares this season, assistant coach Wade Scott guided the team in Thursday’s game. On the court, Brittany Scott led the team with 29 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in her career at UH. Scott sits at 1,015 career points and became the 20th UH player to reach the milestone.
“It felt good,” Scott said of the milestone. “I didn’t even know until I was informed by my cousin and my mom after the game. It was a goal towards the middle of the year, but I really wasn’t focused on it. I would rather get the win and help my team in any way I could.”
As for Curl’s sudden departure, Scott said she was proud of her teammates’ focus throughout Thursday’s loss.
“It’s hard, but we usually have to try and stay focused on the game, because we’re still going to have to play whether he (Coach Curl) is there or not,” Scott said.
The Cougars didn’t let the bad news or the United Spirit Arena crowd affect them in the first half, as they jumped out a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. UH continued to control the early action and held 16-point leads on two occasions, including a 34-18 advantage at the 5:35 mark on Jasmine Johnson’s basket.
The Red Raiders then began to feed off their home crowd and went on an 11-3 run to close out the half. UH’s 16-point lead was cut in half as the Cougars took a 37-29 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Lady Red Raiders’ dismal first-half shooting (28.6 percent, 8-of-28) did not carry over into the final 20 minutes. Texas Tech scored 20 of the second half’s first 31 points to take its first lead at 49-48 with 12:13 remaining.
UH’s struggles continued as it fell behind by nine points at the 6:16 mark, but the Cougars still had a run in them as the game wound down.
Scott carried the Cougars, scoring the team’s final 13 points, including four free throws late and two three-pointers with less than 30 seconds left in the game to pull Houston to within 78-77. Tech held strong and made two free throws to advance to the WNIT’s second round.
