After 16 rebounds in the Cougars last contest, junior forward Te’onna Campbell scored a career and game-high 16 points against SMU. | Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
The Cougars turned it over on each of their possessions during the rest of the game, allowing junior guard Keena Mays to score six of the Mustangs final seven points to climb back late and take the lead.
Holding onto a three-point lead with less than two minutes to play, UH turned the ball over four times, allowing SMU to capitalize and steal a 58-54 victory.
The loss drops the Cougars to 9-10 overall and 1-7 on the road.
Junior forward Te’onna Campbell surpassed a milestone for the second straight game. She posted a career-high and game-high 16 points after grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds in the Cougars’ last contest.
Redshirt senior point guard Porsche Landry was just shy of a double-double but placed her name in the Conference USA history book, tallying 1,402 career points — the ninth most in conference history.
Playing like evenly matched teams, both shot 33 percent from the field in the first half. It was close throughout: The Mustangs only led 22-21 going into halftime. As the second half began, the Mustangs jumped out on a 9-0 run, giving them the largest lead of the game at 31-21.
UH sparked a 10-0 run when junior forward Marissa Ashton hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to five. Landry later converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 31 with 13:44 remaining in regulation.
After SMU went up 47-44 on a layup, UH called a timeout with 6:03 remaining, sparking a 10-4 run after junior center Yasmeen Thompson connected on a free throw, giving her team a 54-51 lead with two minutes left to play in the game. Thompson’s free throw was the Cougar’s final point of the game.
Mays keyed the final defensive possession for SMU by forcing an open-court five-second violation, erasing the Cougars chance to tie the game.
UH will play at home against Tulane University at 2 p.m. Saturday.
