by Adam Burns
Daily Cougar StaffDallas -- When the Lady Cougars walked off the Moody Coliseum court with an 81-76 victory over the SMU Mustangs Wednesday, it wasn't because forwards Pat Luckey and Jennifer Jones were carrying the team as they are so often required to do.
Just when a Houston squad that had lost nine of its last 11 games and was facing an uphill battle against an SMU team that had swept them in the regular season, the starting backcourt for the Cougars stepped up huge.
Eight second-half three-pointers by Fleceia Comeaux and Tanda Rucker, and Comeaux's clutch free-throw shooting in the final few minutes of the game, lifted Houston over the third-seeded Mustangs.
"We had a defensive lapse in the second half and left them open on the perimeter," said SMU coach Rhonda Rompola. "They were hot, and they took advantage of it."
Perhaps the thought of her next loss being her last game as a collegiate basketball player had something to do with Rucker's stunning performance.
Rucker's first three in the second half gave Houston a 57-56 lead with 6:38 remaining.
Rucker hit three more in the four minutes and five seconds to help Houston to a five-point edge, 70-65.
"We found a new confidence (tonight)," said Rucker, who finished with 23 points and 5-for-9 from the three-point range. "Fortunately for us, we were knocking down our three-pointers.
"I think it opened up the game pretty much."
Comeaux, who had four three-pointers, all in the second half, finished with a team-high 25 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. She also hit four vital free throws in the final 37 seconds to kill any chances for an SMU comeback.
Comeaux said she had help from an unusual source to sink the clutch charity shots.
"I was praying," she said. "Every time I went to the free-throw line, I asked (God's) help, and I got it."
Houston coach Jessie Kenlaw knew her team would have to step up in order to seal the win.
"I knew we would have to be running on all cylinders," she said. "I think what we had to do was get through the regular season and focus on the tournament."
Things didn't go so well for SMU's backcourt players, who were continually beat on the perimeter by their counterparts.
"We gave them some room on the perimeter," Rompola said, "but we didn't want to open up the drive."
SMU senior guard Jennifer McLaughlin had been averaging 18.8 points a game over the last five games, but had only 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting after a two-point first half.
"The biggest difference in this game was our defense," Kenlaw said. "We had struggled with our defensive intensity.
"We had some lapses, but, ultimately, it was enough for us to win."