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Harris leads UH to victory at USF

Backup center comes off bench to score 16, two free-throws in the last minute to secure win

Cougar Sports Services

Kiki Harris doesn't start anymore.

The junior center started nearly every game her first two seasons with the Lady Cougars, but this season she's been coming off the bench behind senior Amanda Barksdale, who transferred to UH from Notre Dame to finish her college career.

But Saturday, Harris showed what an important part of the UH women's basketball team she can be. Her 16 points and seven rebounds were the difference in leading Houston (16-3 overall, 5-1 in Conference USA) to a 62-57 victory over South Florida (8-12, 1-6). She also hit two free throws with just seconds to play to seal the victory.

The game started out on a rocky note for Houston, as the Lady Cougars hit just seven of their 31 shots in the first half and trailed 24-18 at halftime.

The Lady Bulls limited Houston's fast break chances by getting back on defense and limiting their turnovers to just 15. The Lady Cougars had no fast-break points in the game.

In the second half, the Lady Cougars came out on fire, outscoring the Lady Bulls 44-33. UH shot much better in the second half, hitting 14-of-36 shots.

USF hit one more field goal than the Lady Cougars, but UH went to the free-throw line 14 times more than the Lady Bulls. USF hit 33.3 percent of its shots while UH hit just 31.8 percent of its shots.

Houston had a 10-game win streak snapped with a 77-75 overtime loss to Louisville on Jan. 25. But UH hopes this win over South Florida is the start of a new winning streak. Another 10-game winning streak would take the Lady Cougars to the Conference USA championship game.

Senior guard Chandi Jones scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one blocked shot. The team's leading scorer this season (21.1 points per game) struggled with her shots, making just 7-of-23 shots from the field and just 3-of-12 from behind the arc. It was Jones' first double-double this season.

Harris' 16 points marked a career high. Barksdale, the starter, played only 11 minutes and grabbed five rebounds. Junior forward Sancho Lyttle had 11 points and nine boards.

South Florida's Jessica Dickson led the Lady Bulls in scoring with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Anedra Gilmore had nine assists to lead the Lady Bulls.

Houston goes back on the road to face Alabama-Birmingham at 7 p.m. tonight. The Lady Blazers game closes out UH's trip to the Southeast.

UAB (7-13, 1-6) has lost seven of its last eight games, including a 96-66 thrashing at the hands of No. 21 Texas Christian on Saturday.

Natasha Thomas leads the Lady Blazers in scoring with 15.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Crystal McFadden is second on the team with 13.4 points per game. McFadden had 19 points against the Lady Horned Frogs and Thomas had 18.

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