The University of Houston women's basketball team (17-8, 12-5 American) closed out an unprecedented season with a 50-48 win over Arizona State (12-12, 6-9 Pac-12) in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) Fort Worth Region Consolation Final.
Three Cougars closed out the game in double-figures led by a 12-point contribution from Laila Blair to go along with a team-high six assists. Britney Onyeje added 11 points, followed by Miya Crump with 10 points. Bria Patterson posted a career-high six steals to pace the Cougars on defense, as Tatyana Hill was just shy of a double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds.
The Cougars got out to hot start, leading by as many as 12 points before the halftime break. The Sun Devils could not withstand the Cougar defense, turning the ball over early as the Cougars capitalized on the mistakes to score 20 of their 21 first quarter points off turnovers.
Arizona State turned things around in the third quarter, outscoring UH 16-6 to take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter. Tough defense down the stretch, ignited by a steal from Crump helped the Cougars find their offensive rhythm as UH outscored ASU 11-6 in the fourth frame.
With 5:01 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Blair knocked down a jumper to get the Cougars within three. On the next trip down Patterson snagged a lay-up and put it back up for two to get the Cougars within one, before Crump hit a three-pointer to give UH its first lead since the halfway point of the third quarter.
Houston closed out the game with sound defense, earning its third win over the season over a program from a major conference.
Courtesy of UHCougars.com
The Cougars concludes the season with its most wins since its 2017-18 campaign and its most wins in the The American since joining the league. The Cougars returned to the postseason for the first time since the 2019-20 season and were just shy of reaching the NCAA tournament after being selected as the first replacement team if a team were to drop out of the field of 64.