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Volume 4, Issue 1                                    University of Houston

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Lady Cougars trounce Lady Panthers in cat-fight

By Christian Schmidt
Breaking News Staff

The UH women's basketball team finished the first month of the season with one of its best starts ever, going 6-1 with its only loss coming to the No. 14-ranked Colorado Buffaloes.

Dec. 5, the Lady Cougars manhandled Prairie View A&M, winning 68-30. Houston's offense struggled in the first half, when they were only able to put up 25 against the inept Lady Panther defense. Houston shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half, but improved in the second half to make its final shooting percentage a respectable 38.8.

The Lady Panthers shot just 14.3 percent in the first half and 20.3 for the game.

The 30 points that Prairie View scored are the fewest by a UH opponent since Rice scored just 30 in 1981.

The Lady Panthers were led by Monica Grass. Grass recorded 14 points and 11 boards for a double-double, contributing nearly half of her team's scoring.

UH had only 13 turnovers to Prairie View's 25, and the Lady Cougars out-rebounded their opponent, 50-48.

Sophomore point guard Courtney Pastner turned in the best showing of her career with UH totaling 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two assists in just 28 minutes of play.

Freshman Kiki Harris grabbed a personal best and team high 11 rebounds, while sophomore Nicole Oliver grabbed a personal best seven steals. Oliver, the team's best defensive player, leads the Lady Cougars in steals with 3.7 per game.

Sophomore superstar Chandi Jones recorded 11 points in limited action and fellow guard Shondra Bush chipped in 10.

Houston goes into action again when it heads to Starkville, Miss., to participate in the Mississippi State University Classic on Saturday. The Lady Cougars will face Montana in the first round and either Jacksonville State or Mississippi State in the second round.
 

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