On its homecourt, UTEP was able to challenge UH late in the second half, but with Jasmine Johnson’s two made free throws, the Cougars were able to survive with a four-point win at Memorial Gym in El Paso. | Aaron Cisneros/The Daily Cougar
Faced with their toughest challenge yet, the Cougars came out on top 68-64 against the Miners on Thursday, moving one step closer to conquering Conference USA for the second time.
The Miners made the Cougars sweat it out until the very end.
The Miners had the edge at halftime, 30-26, in what turned into a grind-it-out affair that saw both teams shoot poorly from the field in the first half.
The scoring picked up in the second half, but neither team laid a strong claim to it as the game continued to go back and forth in the second half until two Jasmine Johnson free throws with four seconds remaining gave the Cougars a decisive four-point lead.
The Cougars frontcourt carried them. Both Courtney Taylor and Lesslee Mason finished with double-doubles.
Taylor scored 22 points and grabbed 10 boards. She also blocked two shots and had one steal.
Mason scored an efficient 19 points 3-of-5 FG, 13-of-14 from the free throw line. She also pulled down 14 rebounds.
Porsche Landry was on the floor for the near entirety of the game by playing for 39 minutes. Landry scored 13 points and handed out six assists.
Erika Warren scored 18 points in 21 minutes off the bench for the Miners. Deitra Caldwell also had 18 points.
The Cougar’s success at the free-throw line might have been what gave them the edge. UH connected on 26 of its 33 attempts from the line for 79 percent while the Miners managed to shoot 62 percent on 26 attempts.
The Cougars survived a scare against UTEP back in January when they pulled out a 70-62 nail-biter at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso.
The Cougars will take on Tulane at 12:30 p.m. today in their final fight before the C-USA Tournament championship game.
