Lady Cougars ready for
the Hurricanes
By Brad Sebastian
Daily Cougar Staff
The UH women's basketball team (23-7) had
little time to celebrate its victory over Rice in the first round of the
Women's National Intercollegiate Tournament on
Wednesday.
With the win, the Cougars advanced to the
second round of the tournament to face Miami (Fla.) at Hofheinz Pavilion
at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Houston's first-round victory was marked
by tough, physical play. Head coach Joe Curl doesn't expect that to change
Saturday.
"We've got to do a better job of rebounding
if we're going to continue to advance," Curl said.
Houston's leader in the middle is senior
Valerie Muoneke. The 6-2 center has been playing her best basketball of
the season lately. Muoneke has emerged as a major
key to Cougars' recent success.
Muoneke brings a worker's attitude to the
game.
"With our kind of team, you're not only
(playing) for yourself, you're doing it for your team," Muoneke said. "You've
just got to step it up."
The Cougars head into Saturday's game without
any serious injuries, but late-season bumps and bruises may be a concern.
"We played through the (Rice) game kind
of banged up," Curl said. "Chandi (Jones) kind of tweaked her knee a little
bit."
Jones played all 40 minutes of the Rice
game and is not expected to miss any action Saturday.
Miami, with a record of 19-11 this year,
advanced to the second round by defeating Georgia Tech 73-64 Wednesday
night in Atlanta.
The Cougars will have to contend with offensive
power Chanivia Broussard. The athletic forward led the team in scoring
last season as a freshman and at 6-0 can
wreak havoc in the paint or take the ball
outside.
On the defensive end, Miami is led by junior
Meghan Saake. The 5-10 guard earned Big East Defensive Player of the Year
honors by averaging 4.0 steals per game
this season.
If the Cougars win Saturday, they will
face the winner of the second-round match-up between Valparaiso and Ball
State. Date and location for that game have yet to
be determined.
The Cougars have never been to the third
round of the WNIT in its current format.
If the Cougars win two more games in the
tournament, they will match a Houston record for wins in a season with
25.
