Women's Basketball
Taylor's Incredible Performance Lifts Women's Basketball over SMU

Sophomore forward misses rare triple double by just one steal

Taylor's standout performance helped the Coguar's come-back efforts against SMU Friday night at Hofheinz Pavilion.
 
Taylor's standout performance helped the Coguar's come-back efforts against SMU Friday night at Hofheinz Pavilion.
  
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Feb. 20, 2009

 

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HOUSTON - Falling just one steal shy of only the fourth triple-double in the history of the program, sophomore forward Courtney Taylor willed the University of Houston women's basketball team to a 75-73 come-from-behind victory over SMU Friday at Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Crockett, Texas, native piled up 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor while adding 14 rebounds and nine steals. The double-double is the 24th of her career, ranking her second on the Conference USA list of active double-double performers. Taylor nearly joined the exclusive group of triple-double performers, the last of which came when former Cougar Stacey Johnson tallied 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Ball State on Dec. 29, 1994.

"We didn't come out with much energy in the first half but we persevered," head coach Joe Curl said. "We just came up with big shots down the stretch. Courtney Taylor came up one steal away from a triple-double and that was huge for us.

"I'm not really sure how we won but we did, and now we're tied for second place in conference."

The win improved UH's overall record to 17-8 this season with a 9-4 mark in C-USA, while SMU fell to 16-10 overall and tied with the Cougars at 9-4 in league play.

The first half was a back and forth affair with the Cougars holding a slim one point lead at the 8:47 mark, 18-17, before a run by the Mustangs allowed them to take control of the game. SMU claimed 10 of the next 12 points to give them a seven point lead, 27-20, with 5:03 to play in the half.

SMU got a three-pointer from Brittany Gilliam with just three ticks left in the half to give them their largest lead of the half and send them to the locker room leading 41-33.

Following the intermission, the Cougars fought hard to keep the game close, but still found themselves trailing by eight, 62-54, with 8:37 remaining.

Trailing 68-61, Taylor caught the ball down low and was fouled to send her to the charity stripe. Sinking both free throws, Hill sparked an 8-0 run by the Cougars that gave them a one point lead with 2:08 to play, the first advantage for UH since the 8:47 mark of the first half. The Cougars took the lead on a steal and lay-up by Taylor, a play which would look all too familiar to the Mustangs in the final moments of the game.

After SMU had retaken the lead by one point, 74-73, another steal and lay-up by Taylor would give the Coguars the lead for good with just 23 seconds remaining.

A free throw from freshman Porsche Landry and a stop on the defensive end iced the win for UH.

Joining Taylor in double figure scoring for the Cougars were sophomore Brittney Scott, who finished with 14 and freshmen Roxana Button and Landry with 12 and 11, respectively.

The Cougars will take the court for the final time at Hofheinz Pavilion Sunday when they host Tulsa in a 2 p.m. contest. Prior to the game UH will recognize senior Zone Jakobsone for her contribution to the women's basketball program.


 

 

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