When that final buzzer went off, Cougars had accomplished something they haven’t all season: a victory on the road. They took down Marshall 71-63.
The Cougars started slowly and saw themselves down 19-9 with 10 minutes before halftime. It was the combination of the turnovers they gave away as well as their inability to put the ball in the hoop.
Landry
Cougars only shot 8-30 from the field in the first half, but free throws kept the team afloat. Porsche Landry hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final two minutes and created momentum heading into halftime when they were down only 33-30.
At the start of the second half, the game began to heat up, and so did the Cougars shooting. The game was never out of reach for Cougars, as the Thundering Herd’s lead never grew larger than five in the second half.
After Landry scored seven of the first nine points for UH, freshman guard Alecia Smith found junior forward Marissa Ashton for a lay-up that tied the game at 41 with 12:46 left to play.
After that, the game went through 10 different lead changes — none more important than the final one — junior forward Te’onna Campbell found freshman forward Marche Amerson on a lay-up to take a 60-58 lead with 3:03 left to play in regulation. The Cougars didn’t waste any time, striking on two consecutive 3-point plays to put the game away.
First, Landry converted on a lay-up while being fouled, and made the free throw.
Campbell put the nail in the coffin as she drilled a 3-pointer, her first of the season. Campbell’s shot extended the Cougars’ lead to 66-58, their largest of the day. The Cougars secured the victory with free throws by Landry and Campbell down the stretch to end the game with a 71-63 victory.
UH got out of their funk in the first 20 minutes, when it shot 27 percent from the field, to hit 52 percent of attempts in the second half. The Cougars also forced a total 24 turnovers throughout the entire game. The bench for UH scored 21 points, 17 from Ashton.
After securing their first win on the road, the Cougars are now 8-8 and 2-1 in Conference USA.
The Cougars will now face a big test as they host C-USA leader Southern Miss (13-4) in a showdown at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Hofheinz Pavilion, where the Cougars are 7-2. They have the possibly of going over the .500 mark, something they haven’t accomplished all season.
