SMU forward Delisha Wills battles Texas A&M’s forward Danielle Gant for the ball last season at Moody Colliseum. The Mustangs will be facing Houston tonight at 7 p.m. in Moody Colliseum. (Stuart Palley)

The Mustangs hope to improve upon their Conference USA three-game winning streak, and potentially break into the No.1 spot in C-USA polls.

Hosting the 12-6 and 4-2 University of Houston Cougars at 7 p.m. tonight in Moody Coliseum, the Mustangs look to improve on their 12-7 and 5-1 record. On the road, Houston is only 1-2, while SMU is 2-1 inside Moody Coliseum. While Houston is 3-0 on their home court, the Mustangs are 3-0 outside Dallas.

“It will be nice to be home,” said Head Coach Rhonda Rompola. “But we do turn right around and go on the road again next week.”

While Houston remains tough competition in Conference USA, the Mustangs defeated the Cougars at home and on the road last season. However, failing to establish a consistent win pattern in conference play, Houston faced a second week loss to the University of Texas at El Paso, a team the Mustangs defeated on the road last weekend.

“Houston is very, very good,” said Rompola. “They are always very dangerous and they are always very physical . . . It’s anybody’s game depending on who shows up that day.”

Continuing to lead the Mustangs is junior forward Brittany Gilliam with 14.4 points per game and 7.6 rebounds. Junior forward Delisha Wills has 12.2 points per game, with a 73 percent free throw rate.

Courtney Tayor, Brittney Scott and Roxana Button lead Houston’s offense. Taylor, leading the team with 296 points on the season, and averaging 16.6 points per game also has a team high of 10.5 rebounds. Scott currently averages 12.7 points per game with 228 season points, and Button wraps up the double-digit scoring with 10.2 points per game.

On defense, the Cougars 40.7 boards per game, while surrendering 17.2 turnovers against their opponents. Houston also outnumbers the Mustangs with 9.8 steals per game and 4.8 blocks.

The Mustangs will host 5-14 and 0-6 Rice on Saturday in Moody Coliseum.