Houston Cougars still winless after 79-53 loss to La Tech

Posted: December 7, 2011 -- 11:21 p.m. CT.

HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Houston Cougars competed Wednesday night versus Louisiana Tech. In fact, the Cougars had a few bright moments of solid offense. Unfortunately, the brief bright moments were overshadowed by far too many dark moments resulting in another loss for the young Coogs. La Tech defeated the Coogs 79-53 in front of an announced crowd of 505 fans.

Houston freshman Tahlia Pope scored the first two points of the game. Minutes later, Pope split two free throws to tie the game at 4; however, Jasmine Bendolph sank a three-point shot to put Tech ahead 7-4. The Coogs (0-9) would get no closer the rest of the ball game.

Roxana Button, Houston's best (healthy) player, picked up two fouls less than four minutes into the game and headed to the bench. With Button on the bench, the young and inexperienced Coogs struggled mightily to score and La Tech took advantage. Tech led by as much as 20 points in the opening half.

With Button on the bench and the lack of guards, Pope spent some time running the offense. Pope admitted running the offense wasn't easy.

"Just a little bit. I just had to focus and execute," Pope said. "It was a little different because we didn't have our leader (Button); so, it was a little difficult."

Freshmen Amanda Lawson and Danielle Parks each scored baskets to trim the Coogs' halftime deficit to 36-20. Parks scored eight points in the first few minutes of the second half; however, Houston's defense negated any positive signs on offense. The Coogs lack of communication on defense resulted in easy baskets for the Lady Techsters inside and outside the paint.

Pope described the reasons for the porous defense: "Not communicating. Not talking enough. That's what it comes down to."

"(Defense) is something that I take as much pride in as anything," said Houston Cougars' head coach Todd Buchanan. "I'm a firm believer and very old school when it comes to defense. You've got to have two things: want, which is heart; and, you've got to talk. You've got to communicate."

Tech (3-6) led by as much as 29 points in the ball game. Tavasha Anderson scored a game-high 17 points for Louisiana Tech. Tech shot 48.4% (31 for 64) from the field.

The Cougars shot 36.0% (18 for 50) from the field. Button and Parks led the Coogs with 12 points each. Pope added 11 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds; however, Pope made only five of her 11 free throw attempts. The Coogs shot 14 for 28 from the foul line which drained any positive momentum they generated early in the second half.

"I was pleased with our energy and effort in the second half," Button said after the game. "We didn't lay down and quit. Obviously, we have room for improvement; but, we stuck together as a team; and, we didn't quit."

The Cougars host Houston Baptist, Saturday, December 10. Tip is set for 2 p.m. Both teams are winless.

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