The University of Houston’s Women’s Basketball team gave a dominant performance against the Sam Houston State Bearkats in a blowout 106-65 win Tuesday night at the Fertitta Center.
Six players scored double-digit points. Senior forward Bria Patterson along with freshman guard Kierra Merchant led the team with 19 points each.
Senior guard Laila Blair had a solid showing — earning 17 points. Junior forward Peyton McFarland chipped in with 11 points and junior forward Djessira Diawara contributed 10 points.
The first quarter began with the Cougars going on a 12-0 run until the Bearkats finally made their first couple points from the line with free throws at the 5:36 mark. The Bearkats would be held to only four more points for the remainder of the quarter as the Cougars ran the pace of the match right from the start.
In the second quarter, the Cougars continued to display their control of the match. Both Patterson and Merchant lead the team scoring 10 points.
The Cougars extended their lead and held the Bearkats to only 10 points, marking the score 60-16 at the end of the first half.
Once the third quarter began, the Bearkats found their wake-up call as they scored 19 points throughout the quarter. However, with the Cougars still in possession of the pace of the match, Houston scored 21 points in the period and maintained a strong lead
Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Bearkats slowly continued their late push to catch up to the Cougars as Sam Houston scored 30 points in the last quarter.
Despite the Bearkats’ efforts, the Cougars had complete control of the match from the very beginning, never looking back as Houston scored 25 points in the final quarter, ending with a three-point jumper from Onyeje assisted by Merchant.
UH improved to 2-0 and will play Grambling State at home on Sunday afternoon.