Sophomore Guard Laila Blair led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points along with six assists and four rebounds. | Esther Umoh/The Cougar
The Houston women’s basketball team wrapped up its 2021-22 season with a 79-64 loss against Alabama in the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
The Cougars finished the season with an 18-16 overall record, making it one game further into the WNIT than last season.
After a 3-pointer to open the scoring for UH, Alabama sparked an 11-0 run to lead 11-3 early with 4:55 left in the first quarter.
The Cougars attempted to stop the bleeding but the Crimson Tide’s momentum was too heavy as they produced their first double-digit lead and eventually doubled the score at 24-12 to close the first quarter.
UH managed to turn things around in the second quarter with an 18-4 run to take a 30-28 lead backed by six points from sophomore guard Laila Blair.
Both teams traded scores to round out the second quarter and head to the locker room even at 40-40.
Blair led all scorers at the half with nine points while graduate guard Eryka Sidney recorded six points at the break.
An extended 20-2 run through the third quarter saw the Crimson Tide regain control of the game as they stretched out to a 60-42 lead with 2:16 remaining in the period.
UH finished the period with four points in the final two minutes as Alabama led 62-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
Despite a 16-point deficit, the Cougars kept battling to cut the gap to 10-points at 67-57 with 5:50 left in the game.
The Crimson Tide boosted their lead back to 15 points and finished the job as the Cougars fell by a final score of 79-64.
Blair led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points along with six assists and four rebounds.
Sidney ended with a season-high 12 points in 27 minutes, the second-most in a game for her this season.
