Houston guard Laila Blair (14) drives to the basket against Arizona guard Skylar Jones (4) during the first overtime quarter of an NCAA college women’s basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 22 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Joshua Braggs/The Cougar
The Houston women’s basketball team faced a season full of adversity and challenges.
The Cougars have often been down to as few as six available players, and three key players: senior forward Maliyah Johnson, senior guard Kateri Poole and senior forward Avalon Miller all sustained season-ending injuries.
“It’s been a crazy year with all the injuries,” coach Ronald Hughey said. “We are a team that likes to run the floor and press, but with only six or seven players healthy enough to play, we had to change our game plan completely.”
The bad
This season, UH finished with a 5-25 record, which is tied for the second-worst record in program history.
The Cougars also finished last in the Big 12 with a 1-17 record. Their only victory came on Jan. 14, when they defeated No. 24 Oklahoma State 79-76 inside the Fertitta Center.
Houston’s conference finish, a mere .056 win percentage, is tied for the second-worst in program history.
The only worse finish was the 1996-1997 season, their first year in the Women’s Conference USA, where they went 0-14 in conference play.
The Cougars’ offense averaged 58.7 points per game, the fifth-lowest in program history, and shot just .358 from the field and .289 from three-point range.
“You can run the perfect offense and get wide-open looks all you want to, but at the end of the day, you have to make shots,” Hughey said.
Defensively, UH allowed 68.6 points per game, giving them a -10 scoring margin, which ranked last in the Big 12.
Opposing teams out-rebounded the Cougars by an average of 9.4 boards per game and out-assisted them by 5.5 assists per game.
With their struggles on the court, Houston also saw a drop in attendance, finishing last in the Big 12 in that category. The Cougars averaged just 891 fans per game, with the next lowest being UCF at 1,431.
To put this into perspective, Iowa State, the leader in attendance, averaged 10,000 fans per game, which is a gap of 9,109 fans per game between the Cyclones and the Cougars.
Given the poor performance this season and Houston’s 14-year NCAA tournament drought, significant work in the offseason will be necessary to get the program back on track.
The good
Graduate guard Laila Blair has been a bright spot for the Cougars this season and throughout her time at Houston.
“I am so blessed to have played my entire career as a Cougar, and it was God who brought me back here this offseason,” Blair said.
Blair averaged 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists this season. She made history by breaking several records, including setting the school’s 3-point record and moving to second all-time in points scored.
“I cannot even begin to say how much Laila has meant to this program,” Hughey said. “She had many options to go to different schools, but she chose to stay home to be a Cougar.”
Senior forward Peyton McFarland played a key role for Houston, especially in the latter part of the season when many players were injured.
“Peyton is doing everything she can to help us win games,” Hughey said. “Sometimes, we have to rotate in guards to give her a break, so I’m proud of how she’s overcome adversity and what she’s done for us this season.”
McFarland averaged 6.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game and played 29.8 minutes per game, an 11-minute increase from last season.
Sophomore guard Kierra Merchant also stepped up, averaging 9.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
“She’s had some excellent games for us, and I’m proud of how she’s improved,” Hughey said. “Merchant is giving us everything she has, and it’s challenging because she’s just a sophomore.”
Graduate guard Eylia Love and redshirt sophomore guard Gigi Cooke were also vital for the Cougars this season. The duo combined for 23.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, providing consistent offense for the team.
“Eylia Love and Gigi Cooke have both had moments where they’ve shone,” Hughey said.
The duo did just that in the final games of the season.
Cooke delivered a career-high 25 points against No. 8 TCU, while Love set her season-high of 20 points against UCF.
Houston celebrated five seniors on Senior Night: redshirt senior guard Leilani Augmon, senior forward Maliyah Johnson, senior guard Keteri Poole, Blair, Love and McFarland.
In the Big 12 Tournament, the team fell to Colorado 66-58 in the first round, despite the Buffalos turning the ball over 33 times and Houston aquirng a season high 16 steals.
The season came to a hault, leaving Houston with one Big 12 win to its name.
