Sports

Houston skid ends at 3

Jones drops 26 on A&M-CC, Harris blocks two

By Christian Schmidt
The Daily Cougar

It took more than two months for the Lady Cougars to get their second road win of the season, and it couldnit have come a moment sooner for the struggling team.

Brian Viney/The Daily Cougar

"This was the big shot in the arm that we needed heading into the end of our schedule and moving on to tournament time," assistant coach Todd Buchanan said.

Houston beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 66-43 Tuesday night, ending a three-game losing streak for the Lady Cougars. Houston is 11-10 overall (2-6 in Conference USA). The Lady Islanders fell to 12-12 overall. The loss was only the second at home for the Islanders, who are 9-2 in Corpus Christi this season.

The Lady Cougars went up 23-8 with 7:51 remaining in the first half on a three-point basket by backup guard Sara Hinkley and did not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game.

Brian Viney/The Daily Cougar

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi opened the second half with a 10-4 run to close the gap to 10 points at 36-26 for the Lady Cougars. Led by junior guard Chandi Jones, Houston answered with a 13-0 run to grab a 15-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the second half.

Buchanan said the Lady Cougars are playing the rest of the season in two-game stretches. With a win over the Lady Islanders, Houston has the momentum it will need to compete in a two-game home stretch against conference opponents Memphis and Saint Louis this weekend.

Jones scored 26 points and added 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double this season. She is second in the nation in points per game at 26.8. Jones played only 27 minutes, sitting for much of the second half once the Lady Cougars established a substantial lead.

Hinkley scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore center Kiki Harris scored 10 points, pulled down four rebounds and added two blocks in addition to hitting both of her free-throw attempts.

Houston shot only 34.9 percent from the field, but held the Lady Islanders to just 25.9 percent shooting. Nine players recorded 10 or more minutes for the Lady Cougars, and all players who suited up for the game saw at least some action.

"Everybody played from top to bottom tonight," Buchanan said. "Balance is the key word."

Houston finishes the season with a 9-4 record against non-conference opponents. The Lady Cougars have six games remaining in the regular season, all against Conference USA opponents.

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