Women's Basketball
UCF Ends Women's Basketball's Run at C-USA Championship

Cougars finish the season at 19-10, most wins since 2004-05

Head coach Joe Curl guided the Cougars to a 19-10 record this season and along the way became the program's all-time leader in coaching wins with 176.
 
Head coach Joe Curl guided the Cougars to a 19-10 record this season and along the way became the program's all-time leader in coaching wins with 176.
  
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March 6, 2009

Final Stats

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NEW ORLEANS, La. - Despite a valiant second half comeback effort led by sophomore forward Courtney Taylor, who finished with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds, the University of Houston women's basketball team could not overcome a sluggish first half Friday, falling to UCF 79-66 in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship at Fogelman Arena.

The setback drops the Cougars' overall record 10 19-10 this season, but UH still has an outside chance to earn a berth to the Women's NIT. Houston will learn its postseason fate on March 16 when the field for the 2009 Women's NIT is announced.

Taylor's effort saw her lead the Cougars in scoring for the 15th time this season and fall just one rebound shy of her 26th career double-double. Earlier this week, the Crocket, Texas, native was selected First Team All-Conference and to C-USA's All-Defensive Team.

Joining Taylor in double-figure scoring were sophomore guard Brittney Scott, who finished with 15 points, and sophomore center Cobilyn Hill, who chipped in with 14.

The first half was one of frustration for the Cougars as they shot only 24.7 percent from the floor, making just seven of their 29 shot in the period. UH was also guilty of 10 turnovers as its struggle to find its rhythm in the opening 20 minutes, which saw both Taylor and Scott briefly leave the court due injuries.

The Cougars offensive woes were most evident in the period during a 7:55 scoring drought that began at the 17:33 mark and led to the deficit growing to 16-8.

By contrast, the Knights were efficient in the first half, making 15-of-31 shots for a 48.4 shooting percentage, which helped them take a 39-21 lead into the intermission.

Following halftime, the Cougars remained resilient and slowly began to chip away at the UCF lead. A lay-up by Taylor cut the lead to nine with 1:55 to play and UH would again pull to within double-digits on a rebound a put-back by Ashlee' Joseph with just 49 seconds remaining, leaving the score 75-66.

UH could not complete the comeback, however, as UCF iced the win by going 4-for-4 from the free throw line during the games final minute.

For the game, UCF shot 51.7 percent from the floor, including a mark of 15-of-26 (57.7 percent) during the second half. The Cougars connected on only 38.7 percent of their shots in the contest.

Freshman Porsche Landry, who started every game during the regular season, was not in the starting line-up as she was recovering from an injury suffered during the team's regular season finale. The Houston native did come off the bench to play 10 minutes and contribute four points.

If the Cougars are not selected for the post season, the team and its fans still have plenty of reasons to be optimistic as UH is in a position to return all but one member of its roster for next season. The team's youthful core of six sophomore and two freshmen all played significant parts in this season's success while gaining valuable experience for the next several years.

 

 

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