Houston women’s basketball clawed by Southern U in return to Fertitta Center

Poor shot selection and early turnovers kept Houston women’s basketball from ever taking the lead in its 70-62 loss to Southern U on Sunday at Fertitta Center.

“We’ve been a bit inconsistent as a team with energy and focus, and that’s really on me,” coach Matthew Mitchell said. “I’ve just got to make the atmosphere make sure it’s required of us.” 

That inconsistency amounted to Houston’s fourth loss in its last seven games after a 2-0 start to the program rebuild under Mitchell, as the Cougars now sit with a -5 point differential on the season. 

Despite three Cougars scoring in double figures including redshirt senior guard Kyndall Hunter’s 14-point performance, a 31.3% shooting clip from 3-point range mixed with going 8-for-13 on layups significantly limited Houston’s opportunities down the stretch. The largest run was no more than a 6-0 run for the Cougars in a third quarter featuring 12 points off the bench from junior forward Jorynn Ross. 

Following the week-long break, the Cougars looked to match their cleanliness from the consolation game in the Baha Mar Hoops championship consolation game against Tulsa on Nov. 30, in which they only committed six first half turnovers. 

Though Houston matched its turnover total from the first quarter in the Baha Mar championship opener against Arkansas State on Nov. 28, the bulk of Houston’s 14 turnovers came in the first quarter alone. This likely created a ripple effect for the rest of the game to pair with cold streaks from the floor despite the Cougars remaining clean in ball security for the succeeding frames. 

However, even in winning the battle on the boards with a +1 margin, Houston never saw a deficit smaller than 26-24 with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter. The paint battle also proved consequential as the Tigers outscored the Cougars 30-20 in the split.

Junior guard Zaria Hurston and senior guard Olivia Delancy each led the way and combined for 22 points on 8-17 shooting for Southern U, featuring three triples by Delancy.

Despite the efforts of Hunter, Ross and graduate guard Briana Peguero, the Cougars were without junior guard Kierra Merchant, who in averaging 9.4 points per game was out with illness.

“We really missed her today and it shortened our rotation,” Mitchell said. “When she’s locked in and focused, she gives us some really good energy and good minutes.”

Up next, with the impending return of Merchant, the Cougars will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. for a weekend road trip to take on the New Mexico Lobos at The Pit on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. CST, as they’ll look to get back in the win column and grab their second road win of the season.