Houston women’s basketball axed by Stephen F. Austin in second consecutive loss

Despite redshirt senior guard Kyndall Hunter’s 20-point performance off the bench, Houston women’s basketball as it suffered a 82-78 loss to the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks at William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas on Monday.

A +12 turnover margin off 31 SFA turnovers could not help the Cougars avoid a second consecutive loss on their 2025-26 campaign after starting 2-0, as the Ladyjacks grabbed their 22nd win over Houston in 27 meetings all-time. As a result, the Cougars also remain winless in 12 head-to-head meetings on the road in Nacogdoches. 

Until the third quarter, Houston didn’t hold a lead of more than a full possession. That threshold was broken when the Cougars opened the frame on an 18-9 run to give them a 60-54 lead, fueled in large part by 10 points off the bench from freshman forward Jade Jones. 

The start of the fourth quarter nearly signaled a runaway for the Jacks, as they opened it up on a 10-0 run, which included senior guard Harmanie Dominguez’s third triple in six minutes, to give them their largest lead of the night at 73-62. 

Just when it looked bleak for Houston with under seven minutes remaining and SFA shooting at over a 50% clip as a team, the Cougars sought a response with a 13-2 run, including a 5-0 burst of Hunter’s own on a triple and a layup in 16 seconds, to knot things up at 75 with three minutes remaining. 

With 79 seconds left, Hunter heaved her second triple of the quarter to make it 79-78. However, this would be the last of the Cougars’ scoring efforts, when after a driving layup from sophomore forward Cha Gardner, a turnover from freshman guard Kayla King forced Houston to foul with 20 seconds remaining. 

Freshman guard Kaylinn Kemp only made one of SFA’s final four free throws to make it 82-78, but three-pointers off the mark from Hunter and King ultimately sealed the Jacks’ 12th straight home win all-time against Houston.

Among three Ladyjacks in double figures, sophomore guard Myka Perry posted 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Dominguez’s four triples accounted for the bulk of her 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

Up next, the Cougars will look to rebound back to the win column and move above .500 again in the second leg of their in-state road trip, as they’ll head near the border to face UTRGV at UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m.