Rice University
Houston
Rice Blitzed In Second Half, Falls to Houston 72-53
2/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2010
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Rice had thwarted all challengers at Tudor Fieldhouse, showcasing the resolve and resilience necessary to turn back the best Conference USA had to offer as it approached the halfway point of the league schedule.
The Houston Cougars had done the same except they worked their magic away from Hofheinz Pavilion, boasting a perfect C-USA road record in advance of their first of two meeting with their archrivals.
The intangibles that buoyed the Owls in close calls against Marshall, East Carolina and SMU proved worthless against the Cougars' athleticism, as UH blitzed Rice for a 72-53 victory on Thursday night.
The Owls (10-11, 4-4 C-USA) had their nine-game home winning streak snapped by the Cougars (11-10, 5-3), who improved to 4-0 on the road in C-USA. After the Owls sprinted to a 12-4 lead less than five minutes into the game, UH ratcheted up the intensity and overwhelmed Rice.
"They were the more aggressive team," Rice coach Greg Williams said. "Usually in basketball the more aggressive team usually wins. They just kicked us on the boards. They really just outworked us and played harder than we did in the second half."
With junior forward Courtney Scott (20 points, 14 rebounds) slow to get going, the Cougars turned to guards Porsche Landry and Brittney Scott to climb back into contention. UH did so with ease, taking a five-point lead before the Owls settled down on offense and managed fruitful possessions against the Cougars' collapsing and harassing defense.
Rice freshman center Opal Taskila helped stabilize the Owls with two late baskets in the first half, but the Cougars went inside coming out of the intermission and immediately attacked Taskila with Lesslee Mason on the low block. Mason scored six points to chase Taskila from the game, and remained hot when starter Jackie Stanley, well rested after playing just seven foul-plagued minutes in the first half, reentered the contest. She buried an open jumper that extended the UH lead to 43-30 then scored in the post two possessions later before Taylor caught fire.
With Scott and Landry carrying the team in the first half, Taylor scored only two points while making one of her four attempts. In the second half she was unstoppable en route to her 35th career double-double that matched the school-record total established by Sancho Lyttle (2003-05).
"Taylor and Mason just took over the game inside," Williams said.
The Owls never did recover from the Cougars' 12-1 burst out of the intermission. After shooting a paltry 27.8 percent in the first half, the Owls missed their first six shots and 16 of their first 20 in the second. The Cougars didn't completely run away and hide because of their awful shooting from the free-throw line (19-for-37), but their superior rebounding (plus-16) combined with the Owls' shooting was enough.
"They definitely beat us to the boards," Rice senior guard Tara Watts said. "Even when we did box them out it seemed like they were out-jumping up for everything.
"We did such a good job on their post players in the first half, then they came out and just took it to us. They were on and we just had a very off night."
Owls forward Morgan Mayse grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds but scored only three points on 1-for-8 shooting. Stanley finished with six points and five rebounds while the Owls' three perimeter starters - Watts, D'Frantz Smart and Jessica Goswitz - combined to shoot 7-for-28.
Scott posted 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks for the Cougars while Mason scored 14 points and snagged 15 rebounds.
Rice will host UAB at 2 p.m., on Sunday in conjunction with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association designated Pink Zone Game to raise breast cancer awareness. Admission is free for those fans wearing a pink shirt, and breast cancers survivors will be honored at halftime.
