SMU guard LaShandra Hill drives past Houston guard Brittney Scott last night in Moody Colliseum. (Casey Lee)
The Mustangs improved to a near perfect 6-1 in Conference USA play with a 59-56 victory over the University of Houston, Thursday night in Moody Coliseum.
Nailing a three-pointer with three seconds left, junior Brittany Gilliam secured SMU’s fifth consecutive conference win of the season.
“I was just glad I hit the shot,” said Gilliam. “When it left my hands everything just felt fine.”
In what was expected by head coach Rhonda Rompola to be a close game, the Mustangs’ offense gelled with the help of Gilliam and junior forward Jillian Samuels leading the Mustangs to a last-second victory.
With their fifth consecutive conference win, SMU is now 13-7 on the season. Houston fell to 12-7 and 4-3.
The Mustangs started the night with a ten-point unanswered run, followed by another eight-point spree, putting them up by 12 points with just under ten minutes remaining in the first half. Never surrendering the lead in the first half, the Mustangs faltered in the second half when Houston tied the game about halfway through the second half.
“What I was most proud of was we didn’t panic,” said Rompola, who posted her 325th career win Thursday night. “I think we dodged a bullet in this game.”
The Cougars started closing in on the Mustangs in the first half, coming within three points of the Mustangs with just under one minute remaining, but SMU pulled again by five points to close the half at 31-26.
Houston tied the game at 37 in the second half when Ashlee Joseph hit a three-pointer with 12:35 on the clock. Locked in a tied game for nearly two minutes, Houston pulled ahead to put the Cougars up 39-37. Answered by a three-pointer from Samuels, SMU momentarily regained the lead, but lost in it again, as Houston pulled ahead 41-40.
“We were a little out of sync today but we still found a way,” said Rompola. “When you’re not playing well you have to find ways to get it done and we hit some big three’s at the end.”
“I was thinking that we needed to keep our cool as a team and not try and get everything all at once,” said Rompola.
“Everyone’s getting comfortable with each other,” said Gilliam. “We’re all just starting to know their own roads. It’s different people stepping up every night.”
