Houston point guard Ashley Chevalier looking for a path to the net during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 5 2024 in Houston, Texas | Gillian Wisniewski/The Cougar
In the Big 12 opener, Houston women’s basketball lost 74-59 to Texas Tech at the United Supermarkets Arena on Dec. 22
Despite a fighting comeback by the Cougars in the first quarter to take the lead for the first time, Houston could not hold the lead and secure the win.
Texas Tech used a 6-0 burst in the opening minutes to take an early lead before the Cougars called a time-out. Following the time out, the Coogs rallied and forced 9 turnovers to take a 17-14 lead by the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Texas Tech found their rhythm, and the Red Raiders went on a 9-0 scoring run to take back the lead, going 5 for 7 from the field.
Going into the half, the Coogs faced a scoring drought of more than three minutes, while Texas Tech finished the half shooting an impressive 50% from beyond the arc, with junior guard Bailey Maupin leading the way with 18 points.
Despite a strong inside presence, with 20 points in the paint in the first half, Houston still found themselves trailing 31-40 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Cougars struggled to score, as they went nearly five minutes without a field goal. Nine of their 15 points in the quarter came from the free-throw line, as Texas Tech committed 7 fouls.
In the fourth quarter, a player scuffle gives graduate guard Laila Blair her second technical of the game, forcing her to spend the rest of the game in the locker room. The game concluded with the Cougars ending on a three-minute field goal drought to close out the contest.
Despite staying resilient the entire game, the Cougars finished the game with 18 turnovers. Coach Ronald Hughey pointed to this as a major contributor to the outcome of the game.
“The game is always going to go to the team that eliminates the most mistakes,” Hughey said. “You can be prepared all you want to, but you have to eliminate mistakes, and that’s what we didn’t do today.”
Redshirt sophomore guard Gigi Cooke led the Cougars scoring 12 points off the bench, followed closely by Blair with 11 points. The Cougars’ scoring effort was a collective one, with every player making their mark on the scoreboard.
Maupin finished with a career-high 28 points to lead the Red Raiders to victory.
Houston is now 4-9 on the season and will resume conference play on Jan. 1 against Kansas State.
