The Houston’s woman’s basketball team capped off a dominant performance with a 63-39 road victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday.
The win propels the Cougars to an overall record of 7-13 and now sit 4-3 in AAC play after snapping a three-game losing streak.
UH had the upper hand early and started with a 7-0 run to force a Cincinnati time out. The Cougars’ disruptive defense created problems in the early going for the Bearcats as UH ended the first quarter with a 13-8 lead.
A 7-2 run to start the second quarter by the Cougars forced another Bearcats timeout. Trying to create offensively, Cincinnati relied on isolation plays, having only one guard on the floor at a time. UH’s defense continued to force Cincinnati’s struggles as the Cougars held the Bearcats to only five points in the second quarter and led 31-13 at halftime.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Cincinnati created some momentum and matched the Cougars offensively at 38-22. After the UH timeout, Cincinnati kept cutting the lead down and at the end of the quarter only trailed 43-30.
To start the fourth quarter, UH hopped on a 7-3 run to lead 50-33. Both teams scored some points late, but no comeback was sparked as UH finished the game with the 24-point lead as time expired.
Laila Blair led all scorers with 17 points, three rebounds and two assist, shooting 55 percent from the field. After the game, Blair now sits only eight points away from 1,000 career points.
UH will now return home as it prepares to play host to Tulane on Sunday at Fertitta Center.