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Houston Combo of Scott and Taylor Too Much for UTEP, 74-67
Jan. 10, 2010
EL PASO - Lifted by the 30th career double-double from junior forward Courtney Taylor the University of Houston women's basketball team swept its Conference USA opening roadtrip as the Cougars defeated UTEP Sunday by the score of 74-67 at the Don Haskins Center. The win made the Cougars 2-0 in league games, just one of three C-USA teams to make it through the first week of conference play without a blemish on their record. Taylor, who returned to action Friday night against Tulane after missing two straight contests due to injury, led the Cougars with 14 rebounds to go along with 24 points and reunited the lethal UH inside-outside combination with junior guard Brittney Scott. Scott continued to show her offense prowess against the Miners, leading all scorers in the game with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting. The win, which improved the Cougars' overall record this season to 8-7, erased a trend of frustration for Houston in El Paso, a place where it had not beaten UTEP since Dec. 4, 2002. From her the point guard spot, sophomore Porsche Landry was efficient on the afternoon, dishing out eight assists while adding four points and four steals. Junior forward Lesslee Mason aided the cause as she pulled down a dozen rebounds. After UTEP's Jareica Hughes opened the afternoon's scoring with a 3-point field goal, the Cougars went to work. The visitors surged out by scoring the next nine points to make the score 9-3 with 15:43 remaining in the period. Houston would not trail again in the game after its initial 3-0 deficit. The Miner's lone consistent in the game's opening 10 minutes was Hughes, who scored the team's first eight points, allowing Houston to build a nine-point advantage 17-8 before UTEP's Anete Stienberga finally became the first Miner other than Hughes to reach the scorers' column with 11:24 left in the half. Houston's lead swelled to as many as 10 three times in the first half, the last being on a long distance jumper by Megan Morton at the 6:39 mark. Taylor was a force in the opening period, leading the way for the Cougars with 13 first half points. The Crockett, Texas, pushed the UH lead back up to eight on the final play of the stanza, taking a feed from Landry and laying the ball in to send the teams to the intermission with Houston leading 33-24. After the break, the Cougars remained on the offensive attack and expanded their lead to 12, 40-28, on a pair of free throws by Jasmine Johnson with 15:17 on the clock. Houston's lead hovered around a 10 before ultimately hitting high-water mark of 15 following a Scott lay-up with 4:49 to play. The Miners attempted to whittle the lead down, getting it to single digits on six different occasions. However, the Cougars were too much down the stretch and posted their second consecutive road victory. Houston women's basketball returns to action on Friday when it hosts East Carolina in a 7 p.m. C-USA contest at Hofheinz Pavilion.
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