North Texas Daily

Jesse Brackeen / Intern Writer

The Mean Green women’s basketball team lost its regular season opener at home to The University of Houston 46-42 Friday night.

The Mean Green (0-1) got off to a fast start, taking a 15-14 lead midway through the first half behind an early eight points from junior forward Teadra Jones. The transfer guard finished with 11 points and said she fit in well with her new teammates.

“I was nervous, but my teammates made me comfortable. If I’m not sure about something, they always let me know,” Jones said.

The team then went through a seven minute stretch in which it was outscored 12-2 due in part to its 11 first half turnovers. The Mean Green was outshot 29 percent to 44 percent from the field and went into halftime trailing 31-19.

The team was unable to muster much offense in the second half as it shot 27.1 percent from the field and was ineffective from the free throw line, making only 52 percent of its free throws for the game.

Head Coach Mike Peterson said the team must cut down on missed free throws to win close games against good teams.

“You cannot go 14-27 from the free throw, it’s not like we had to make every free throw to win the game,” Peterson said. “Make half your misses, and you win the game.”

Following strong play from senior forward Briesha Wynn, who led the team with 12 points, the Mean Green got to within four points with less than a minute to play. However, the team was not able to come up with the necessary baskets to win or force overtime.

“The game is about putting shots in the hole,” Wynn said. “At the end of the day a lot of the shots we took tonight were good shots, those shots we practice and practice, we just got to knock them do.”

The team finished the night with 13 missed free throws and 22 turnovers, but the Mean Green defense forced thirty Houston turnovers and notched thirteen steals in the game.

Next up, the Mean Green will take on The University of Northern Colorado at The Super Pit Monday at 11:30 am.