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Sports

Cougars tamed by turnovers in road loss

by JONG LEE
The Daily Cougar

Turnovers and droughts were major themes that led to Houston's 63-51 loss to Southern Miss Sunday in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Cougars (7-15, 4-8 in Conference USA) dropped their fourth consecutive game and picked up their eleventh road loss of the season as they struggled to handle the ball. Southern Miss (12-13, 6-6 C-USA) turned 27 Houston turnovers into 28 points, 14 of which were steals.

"They're a pressing basketball team and we had 16 turnovers at halftime. I can't really remember them really forcing any turnovers, we just kind of turn the ball over," head coach Joe Curl said. "Turnovers are definitely an issue we have to deal with, and we have to try and get better with that."

Junior Tye Jackson scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while freshman Ryan Bradley was the only Cougar with double-digit points, gaining 11 points and five rebounds in her 21 minutes of action.

"(Bradley) is definitely capable of stepping in and giving 11 points and five or seven rebounds. One time in the game, she was a major part of us for cutting into that lead and maybe even taking the lead," Curl said.

After taking a 40-35 lead to start the second half, the Cougars saw it shrink as Southern Miss went on a 9-2 run. The Cougars were limited to just four field goals the rest of the contest, and the Golden Eagles took a 27-11 run to seal a 12-point win.

"We fought hard as a team. We had a chance to come back in the end and I felt like we were trying to get the ball to the people we were going to be successful with it, but I guess it just didn't happen," Bradley said.

The Cougars still have two more road games to finish their road schedule.

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