Coogs edge Tulane in Overtime, 83-82

POSTED: February 16, 2019 -- 6:06 p.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Fertitta Center) -- The Houston Cougars found a way to win Wednesday afternoon in a thrilling 83-82 overtime victory over the Tulane Green Wave. Houston almost lost the game in regulation. Almost.

Houston (14-11 overall, 8-4 in the American Athletic Conference) led by nine points (70-61) with 2:49 left in the fourth period. However, the Coogs' offense broke down with 1 missed shot and three turnovers while the Green Wave methodically erased Houston's lead. Tulane scored 11 consecutive points to lead 72-70 with 8.1 seconds remaining.

After Houston called a 30-second timeout to advance the ball into the frontcourt, Houston guard Angela Harris caught the inbounds pass and dribbled the ball as the clock dwindled. Harris didn't pass; nor penetrate the paint; instead, she dribbled inside the three-point line then took a step-back jump shot which swished through the nets to tie the game at 72 with 0.8 seconds on the game clock. Harris was 1 for 9 from the floor before the game-tying shot.

Tulane called timeout to set up one final play; however, Serithia Hawkins stole the inbounds pass to send the game into overtime.

"Hats off to a gritty Tulane team," Houston Head Coach Ronald Hughey said in his post-game press conference. "(Tulane Head Coach) Lisa Stockton is one of the best coaches in the country; and, in our conference, hands down. We knew at some point we'd have to combat some pressure; and, that they'd be able to get into some of the plays that they wanted to run. We wanted to weather the storm. We knew that time was going to come. We didn't think it would come at a time where we needed to make a two point shot to go into overtime."

Hawkins split two foul shots to begin overtime; then, Tulane's Krystal Freeman scored 2 of her game-high 27 points to put Tulane ahead 74-73. Houston scored six in a row to lead 79-74. Tulane's Sierra Cheatham swished a three-point shot to slice Houston's lead to 79-77 with 91 seconds remaining.

Angela Harris was fouled on the inbounds play and made both foul shots for a 81-77 lead with 90 seconds on the game clock. Freeman scored a lay-up with 41 seconds left for an 81-79 Houston lead.

Tulane opted not to foul and played tight defense. The Coogs patiently worked the ball around the frontcourt before Octavia Barnes passed to Hawkins for a lay-up with 13 seconds remaining.

The Green Wave raced up the court; but, Houston's defense limited Tulane to a long three-point shot which banked in with just 0.5 seconds on the clock. The Coogs called timeout then passed the ball inbounds to end the game.

The first half featured scoring runs. Houston led 10-2 then went scoreless the rest of the first quarter. Tulane scored the final 12 points of the quarter and led 14-10 after 10 minutes.

Tulane led 16-10 in the second quarter when Houston scored 8 in a row and led 18-16. Houston led 33-31 at halftime. Dorian Branch scored 14 points in the second quarter. Branch was a perfect 4-for-4 from three in the quarter.

Octavia Barnes took over for Branch in the third quarter. Barnes scored 12 points in the third on 4-for-4 three-point shooting. Houston outscored Tulane 26-18 in the third and led 59-49 after three periods.

The Coogs led by as much as 13 (67-54) in the fourth quarter before Tulane mounted a comeback and took the lead 72-70 before Angela Harris swished the jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to force overtime.

Houston has won 5 straight games inside Fertitta Center and maintains its lock on fourth place in the AAC. Today's win keeps Houston's lead over fifth place Tulsa to 2 games in the loss column with 4 conference games remaining. The top 4 teams get a bye into the quarterfinals of the AAC Championship which begins Friday, March 8, with the First Round.

"With the season we're having and the adversity we're having to go through, we're very proud and appreciative to be where we are right now," Coach Hughey said after the game. "We still have work to do; but, we're going to stay in the hunt because our goals haven't changed. We're not changing our goal of being an NCAA Tournament team. We're not changing our goal of being a top three team in the conference. We're not changing from trying to get to 20 wins every year in this program. I don't care who is on the floor. We want to keep fighting."

NOTES:

Octavia Barnes scored a career-high 24 points. Her previous career-high was 15 points (3 times, most recently, January 9, 2019, versus SMU). Angela Harris dished out a career-high 11 assists surpassing her previous high of 7 dimes (versus Milwaukee, November 17, 2017).

NEXT:

Houston's next game is Sunday, February 24, at Memphis, at 1 p.m., on ESPNU.

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