Tide Women's Basketball Edged at Houston, 68-62
1/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Alabama women's basketball team battled all day but could never overcome a talented Houston squad on Saturday afternoon as the Cougars outlasted the Tide for a 68-62 victory.
The loss drops the Crimson Tide to 10-3 this year and marked the team's final non-conference game of the regular season. Houston improves to 8-3 overall and an impressive 3-1 this year against SEC teams.
"It is very disappointing because I thought our plan for the game was pretty good," said UA head coach Rick Moody. "We got their players in uncomfortable spots but we had a few offensive lapses and too many turnovers. They are a transition offense but those points for them today came mostly on our miscues. We just need to get a more consistent performance from game to game."
The two teams struggled to find a flow at the start of the game as both squads missed some easy shots and committed uncharacteristic turnovers in the first five minutes. Houston made the first move using a 9-2 run to take a 15-11 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half. The Tide answered with a 9-0 spurt of its own for a 20-15 advantage with 10 minutes on the clock.
After Jamilah Johns put the Tide up by two with 4:21 remaining, the Cougars outscored Alabama 10-2 to close the half and take a 35-29 lead into the break. Houston's pressure defense forced 11 first half turnovers by the Tide resulting in 16 points while their attacking style of offense allowed them to go to the free throw line eight times. UA shot no free throws in the opening stanza.
Alabama got back into the game quickly in the second half as Beth Vice sparked the Tide with eight points to trim the UH margin to two, 41-39, at the 15:11 mark. Houston's Shondra Bush scored 10 straight points in an 11-2 run putting the Lady Cougars up 52-43 with 11:36 left. The Tide again rallied to cut the UH edge to just two, 54-52, with 8:38 remaining as Johns scored three straight baskets and Monique Bivins hit a trey.
However, a pair of turnovers by Alabama allowed Houston to extend their lead back to eight points with just over six minutes left to play. The Crimson Tide defense turned up its intensity forcing UH into a scoreless three-minute stretch that allowed Bama to again pull to within two, 62-60, on a backdoor layup by Oreal Taylor with 4:01 left in the game.
The score stayed close the rest of the way as neither team could capitalize on open looks. Houston grabbed three offensive rebounds in the final minute and did a good job of avoiding the Tide's attempt to foul down the stretch to hold on for the six-point win.
Johns led the way for Alabama finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Vice reached double digits for the seventh game in a row scoring 10 points all in the second half. Katie Sipe added 12 points on four three-pointers all coming in the first period. UA outrebounded the Cougars 40-29 but ended with 19 turnovers to just six by Houston.
The Lady Cougars were led by 21 points from Bush including 14 in the closing half, while All-American Chandi Jones, who averages over 28 ppg, was held to just 17 on the afternoon. Nicole Oliver also reached double figures for Houston scoring 10.
Alabama will have a week off from competition before returning to the hardwood to begin the Southeastern Conference portion of their schedule at Kentucky on Jan. 12.
Alabama (10-3) 29-33—62
Houston (8-3) 35-33—68
