Coming off her first ever Conference USA Player of the Week award, forward Lesslee Mason has assisted the Cougars’ push to first place atop the C-USA standings.
“The award means a lot to me, I was extremely excited to find out, I’m just overwhelmed with happiness when I found out I received the award,” Mason said.
UH (17-4, 8-0 C-USA) has won eight games in a row as Mason chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in the Cougars 72-67 comeback win Jan. 30 against SMU.
Mason has been a workhorse starting 51 of 52 games over the past two seasons for UH after transferring from Ohio State in 2008.
“I’m treated a lot differently at UH than I was at Ohio State,” she said. “I transferred because I wanted a new start. I felt like I could play more of a major role at a different school.”
The Cougars are in their first season under head coach Todd Buchanan after 12 seasons under Joe Curl. Buchanan’s style has led the Cougars to a fresh start.
“With coach Buchanan, he allows everyone to be just the type of player they want to be,” Mason said, “When it comes to me, he doesn’t put as much pressure on me and lets me play my game and so I just feel more comfortable on the court this year.”
After transferring from Ohio State to UH, Mason sat out the 2008-2009 season after her two seasons in Columbus, Ohio where she played limited minutes.
The Cougars are hoping to get the top seed in the C-USA Tournament in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Mason said, “We’re trying to go out with a bang. We know the talent is there, and if we come up short, it will be a total disappointment.”
