TicketsHouston Overpowers Bearcats, 63-56
Contact: Geoff Wiswell
1/21/2005
Karen Twehues scored a team-high 16 points. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio ? Sancho Lyttle scored 21 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to lead the Houston Lady Cougars to a 63-56 win against Cincinnati in Conference USA women?s basketball action on Friday night in Fifth Third Arena.
Houston improves to 14-3 overall, while staying perfect in conference play at 5-0. UC falls to 5-13 overall with an 0-4 ledger in C-USA play.
?We let them get up on us at the beginning of both halves,? said head coach Laurie Pirtle, ?and we didn?t focus enough on defense and rebounding. We gave up too many easy scores off of turnovers and offensive rebounds.?
Houston opened the game with an 8-0 run over the first 2:21. Lyttle and Joann Overstreet each scored four points in the spurt, with three of the baskets coming off of the fast break.
UC was able to pull even at 13 when Karen Twehues hit her second three pointer of the game at the 13:00 mark, capping a 13-5 run.
Twehues finished with a team-high 16 points, but shot only 6-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-15 from three-point range.
With Houston?s zone causing the Bearcats to work the ball around the perimeter, the Cougars were able to open a five-point lead at 24-19 with 7:30 to play in the half. But again Cincinnati bounced back, pulling even at 26-26 after a Treasure Humphries three-pointer with 5:12 remaining.
The Bearcats trailed by only two at halftime, 36-34, thanks in large part to the six triples UC was able to knock down. Houston outscored the Bearcats 13-2 at the free throw line in the stanza and held a 15-13 edge on the backboards.
The Cougars opened the second half with a 7-0 run to push the lead to nine at 43-34. UC made several runs at Houston, getting as close as six on several occasions, but the Cougars had an answer each time.
With UC trailing by eight with under 30 seconds to play, Micah Harvey scored on a layup to cut the lead to six for the final time at 62-56. A Crystal Simpson free throw with eight seconds remaining provided the final margin.
Lyttle, who averages 20.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest coming into the game, imposed her will inside, as the Cougars outscored UC, 28-20, in the paint.
Harvey scored 14 points and dished out a team-high four assists. Crystal Ashley and Humphries led the Bearcats with six rebounds apiece.
Cincinnati is next in action on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. when they host TCU on ?Take a Kid to the Game Day? in Fifth Third Arena.