Connors Layups Up Game-Winner on Houston
12/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Connors, Bad Ankle and All, Beats No. 15 Houston
LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State power forward Jayme Connors, hobbled with a bad ankle due to a fall earlier in the contest, turned pained into triumph, converting a layup with 7.1 seconds left to lead the unranked 49ers (4-3) to a 54-52 win over No. 15-ranked Houston (9-2). Daphne Andre missed a three-pointer with two seconds left which would have given the Cougars the win. Connors, who was averaging 12 points a game, finished with just four points, but did grab 10 rebounds, and did not leave the game again after returning with 11 minutes left in the first half due to a sprained ankle. Connors finished up with 35 minutes. It was the program's first win over a ranked team since 1992, a string of 18-straight by ranked opponents. The 49ers, who outrebounded a much taller Houston squad, 43-to-36, got a key rebound from Aisha Hollans with 30 seconds left to set up the final play of the game. Hollans grabbed her 13th and final rebound of the game, weaving her way between three Houston post players. Hollans finished with her second-straight double double of 12 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) scored a game-high 20 points for the 49ers, hitting 8-of-11 from the field. LBSU finished the game shooting 43 percent, hitting just 29 percent in the second half. Houston got back in the game thanks to a 12-0 run midway through the second half, after trailing the 49ers by 11 with 17:13 left. Joanna Overstreet led Houston with 15 points, shooting 31 percent from the field, and 29 percent in the second half. A three-pointer by Andre tied the game at 52-52 with 2:00 left after McCutcheon's driving layup with 3:14 left put the 49ers up 52-47. With 4:49 left in the game, Sancho Lyttle, the Cougars' leading scorer and rebounder, fouled out on an inbounds pass in a 47-47 tie. Lyttle finished the contest with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The 49ers went nearly eight minutes without a field goal, as Houston went from 11 points down to a 43-42 lead with 9:51 left on two free throws from Crystal Simpson, capping a 12-0 run. Saunders jumper at 17:13 gave the 49ers a 43-31 lead, McCutcheon's jumper at 9:35 re-took the lead for The Beach at 44-43. The 49ers played a nearly perfect first half, leading the Cougars 35-27 behind a 55 percent clip. LBSU outrebounded Houston 23-to-16, as The Beach took a 33-24 lead with 3:25 left thanks to Hollans. Hollans scored 11 straight points for the 49ers to give them its largest lead of the half, after a 22-22 tie. Houston shot just 33 percent. A scary moment came for The Beach in the early moments of the game, as starting power forward Jayme Connors left the floor with an ankle injury with 15 minutes left, only to return five minutes later and score on the next possession to give the 49ers a 17-15 lead at 10:28. Connors did not leave the game again, despite being hobbled by that ankle. The 49ers open up Big West play next week with UC Santa Barbara on December 28 and Cal Poly on December 30. Both contests are at The Pyramid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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