March 7, 2008

Box Score

Notes

Quotes

ORLANDO, Fla. - Fifth-seeded Southern Miss overcame a 19 point second half deficit and for the second night in a row shot over 90 percent from the free throw line as a team to upset No. 4 Houston, 71-67, in game seven of the 2008 Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship at the UCF Arena in Orlando, Fla.

The Golden Eagles out-scored the Cougars 49-28 in the second stanza and dominated the interior scoring, holding a 40-26 advantage on points in the paint en route to the win.

Stephanie Helgeson hit a layup with 7:38 left in the game to give Southern Miss a 53-51 lead. It was the first lead for the Golden Eagles since an early 8-7 advantage. With Helgeson's basket, Southern Miss made up the huge deficit by out-scoring the Cougars 31-12 to begin the second half.

The game was then tight for the remainder as neither squad led by more than four points the rest of the way.

First team All-Conference USA performer Pauline Love led her team, scoring 18 points. She added seven rebounds and four assists. Love, who has been playing with a sore shoulder, actually left the game late in the first half with an undisclosed injury, but returned in the second half to help her team to the win.

Helgeson finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Kendra Reed also netted 17 points. Amber Eugene finished the contest with nice points and a team-high eight rebounds. Eugene finished the game 3-of-4 from the free throw line, with all three coming in the final seconds to help secure the win.

Southern Miss finished the game shooting 20-of-22 from the free throw line, good for 91 percent. They shot 46 percent from the floor.

Houston was led Courtney Taylor who notched a double-double with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. She also added two blocks and two steals.

Cobilyn Hill finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Brittney Scott and Zane Jakobsone scored nine points apiece.

The Cougars led at intermission, 39-22. Southern Miss struggled on offense, only shooting 29 percent in the first half, while going 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.

UH converted six Southern Miss first half turnovers into 10 points and the team was also bolstered by its bench production. The Houston subs out-scored the Southern Miss reserves, 19-2.

Taylor led all players in the first stanza with 10 points

Houston finishes its season with a 15-16 mark. Southern Miss advances to Saturday's second semifinal game with the win. The Golden Eagles (19-12) will face the winner of Friday's last quarterfinal game between No. 9 Rice and No. 1 UTEP at 5:30 p.m. EST on CSTV.