Dymond Gladney led the Cougars with 16 points, two rebounds and a steal in the loss to the Bulls. | Jiselle Santos/The Cougar
The Cougars dropped the ball against the American Athletic Conference opponent USF Bulls on Wednesday, losing 74-45.
The Cougars struggled to gain momentum as the Bulls took control of the court with a 14-0 run, leaving the score at 18-2 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, Houston shortened USF’s lead with a jumper from senior forward Dorian Branch, back-to-back shots from junior guard Julia Blackshell-Fair and points from sophomore guard Dymond Gladney.
The Bulls responded by hitting four of the next five shots from the field, increasing their lead to 33-11.
The Cougars could not stop the Bulls’ strong offense, and when the first half ended, the game was lopsided with the score at 40-18 in favor of USF.
In the third frame, several Cougars put points on the board, but both teams ended the quarter with 14 points each, so Houston could not make up any ground.
At the top of the fourth, USF went on a 7-1 run, forcing a Houston timeout. Gladney responded with points on back-to-back possessions and became the only Cougars’ player to reach double figures.
Gladney led the way for Houston with 16 points for her fourth-straight game in double figures.
Freshman forward Bria Patterson tied her career-high with seven rebounds, while Branch tallied two assists.
The loss to USF brings the Cougars record to 3-4 in conference play and 10-11 overall.
Houston will look to bounce back when they take on Tulane on Saturday.
