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WNBAHouston (1-0) At Nevada (1-1)
GAME NOTES: Hitting the road for the first time this season, the Houston Cougars take their act to the Lawlor Events Center in Reno where they will contend against the Nevada Wolf Pack.
Houston's only other game prior to this weekend took place on Tuesday night versus Nicholls State and the Cougars easily controlled the 92-60 rout at home.
From here the Cougars remain out west, traveling to Alaska to take part in the Great Alaska Shootout between November 25-28. First up on the schedule for Houston is nationally-ranked Oklahoma State, followed by a date with San Diego and an opponent yet to be determined.
As for the Wolf Pack, they began 2009-10 with a 75-61 triumph over Montana State at home last weekend, but more recently the team made the trip to Las Vegas and was turned back by the Rebels in an 88-75 final.
In terms of the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Cougars hold a commanding 7-1 edge, taking care of the Pack in the first round of the CBI Tournament in March of 2008, albeit a single-point victory at 80-79.
Points were coming in from all over the place for the Cougars in their win against Nicholls State, led by Aubrey Coleman who deposited a game-high 33 points and cleared nine rebounds for the home team. One of four players to score in double figures for Houston, Coleman made good on 12-of-25 shots from the floor, accounting for more than one-third of the team's total shot attempts. Kelvin Lewis chipped in with 18 points, Desmond Wade 13 and five assists, followed by Maurice McNeil who tacked on 10 points and pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds. Last season as the Cougars put up a 21-12 record, Coleman was the leading scorer then as well with his 19.4 ppg, although for some reason he felt he was a three-point threat even as he converted just 20.8 percent of his chances. A year ago the Cougars carried four double-digit scorers on the roster as they generated 75.8 ppg and outscored opponents by more than seven per contest.
The Wolf Pack should have had a distinct advantage in the paint against UNLV earlier this week at the Thomas & Mack Center, but Luke Babbitt failed to fully flex his muscles and that cost Nevada. Babbitt, did come up with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but his mere 2-of-11 shooting from the field was a glaring issue for the big man. While he tried to make up for it with a perfect 10-of-10 at the free-throw line, those numbers only go so far. Brandon Fields posted 22 points, Joey Shaw 15 and nine boards and Armon Johnson 14 points and four assists in the loss. Babbitt is always going to draw the most attention on the Wolf Pack, but while he is averaging 20 ppg and 7.5 rpg, he needs teammates like Fields (18.0 ppg), Johnson (15.0 ppg) and Shaw (10.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) to take some of the heat and also present more of a force at the defensive end of the floor so that opponents don't try to speed up the game and dictate the tempo.
Playing at home and having revenge as a factor, the Wolf Pack are simply too talented to allow a team like Houston to come into Reno and steal another win.
Predicted OutcomeNevada 78, Houston 74Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.
