Lady Cougars defend rank
By Crystal J. Doucette
Daily Cougar Staff
The alpha and omega of Conference USA womenis
basketball face off again Sunday in Hofheinz Pavilion as the Lady Cougars
take on South Florida.
UH begins a three-game, two-week homestay,
which it will need now that itis at the top of the heap. As No. 1 in C-USA,
the Lady Coogs are now the big, red target of every team in conference.
South Florida (0-5 C-USA, 3-13 overall)
is the only team in C-USA that has not won a conference game. The Lady
Bulls are also winless in road competition and are struggling through a
five-game losing streak.
In its loss to Southern Miss, South Florida
sophomore guard Aiya Shepard knocked down 22 of the teamis 37 points for
the night.
Junior forward/center Denetrice Stinton,
the only Lady Bull with a greater than 44 shooting percentage, missed the
last two contests because of the stomach flu.
Jones
The Lady Cougars are enjoying three consecutive
victories and top billing in conference and the National Division. Houstonis
turnaround season is catching national attention as several players step
up to lead the team.
Freshman guard/forward Chandi Jones is
receiving a large amount of media attention for her achievements on the
court. A candidate for C-USA Freshman of the Year, All-Conference and All-American,
Jones is the top scorer for the Lady Coogs. She ranks 11th among national
scorers with 22.1 points per game.
Senior forward Moneit Sykes is second in
scoring for the team and first in rebounds with 6.9 per game. Sykes has
recorded four double-doubles in points and rebounds this season and nine
consecutive games with double-figure scoring.
Also of note on the Lady Coogsi squad are
seniors ShaRonda Lasseter, Jessica Shanklin and Cathy Lida, junior Valerie
Muoneke and freshman Nicole Oliver. Lasseter made it to the 1,000-point
club on Dec. 3 in the Lady Coogsi 19-point victory over No. 8 Louisiana
Tech; she shoots a .505.
Shanklin is a solid leader on the floor
as point guard and is the teamis best shooter beyond the arc. Lida has
stepped up to pull UH out of trouble more than once this season with her
efforts on both offense and defense.
Muoneke, who missed five weeks of competition
due to a broken finger in her shooting hand, has worked her way back into
the starting five for the past three games. Oliver is a key to the Lady
Cougar defense and is playing smarter every night.
The entire UH squad will have to play as
well or better together in order to fend off the crabs in the C-USA basket
and earn its ticket to the NCAA tournament.
Houston takes the court against South Florida
on Sunday at 2 p.m.
