# 2018–19 Houston Cougars women's basketball team

The 2018–19 Houston Cougars women's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The season marked the sixth for the Cougars as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Ronald Hughey. They played their home games at Fertitta Center, which reopened on December 1, 2018, after a $60 million upgrade. The Cougars played their first three non-conference home games at H&PE Arena while construction on Fertitta Center was completed. They finished the season 15–16, 9–7 in The American play to finish in fourth place. They lost to South Florida in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference women's tournament. They received an at-large bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to Arkansas in the first round.

## Media

All Cougars games home and away are aired on the Houston Cougars IMG Sports Network, streamed online via the Houston Portal, with Gerald Sanchez and Louis Ray on the call. Before conference season home games were streamed on Houston All-Access. Conference home games rotated between ESPN3, AAC Digital, and the Houston Portal. Road games typically streamed on the opponents' websites, though some conference road games also appeared on ESPN3 or AAC Digital.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/06/2018* 9:00 pm | | at No. 24 California | L 79–80 | 0–1 | Haas Pavilion (1,246) Berkeley, CA |
| 11/09/2018* 7:00 pm | | Georgia Tech | W 95–89 $^{2OT}$ | 1–1 | H&PE Arena (791) Houston, TX |
| 11/14/2018* 6:30 pm | | at Louisiana Tech | L 88–100 $^{OT}$ | 1–2 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,128) Ruston, LA |
| 11/16/2018* 11:30 am | | at Incarnate Word | W 79–60 | 2–2 | McDermott Center (404) San Antonio, TX |
| 11/18/2018* 1:00 pm | | Boston College | L 57–64 | 2–3 | HP&E Arena Houston, TX |
| 11/21/2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Columbia | W 83–72 | 3–3 | Levien Gymnasium (348) New York, NY |
| 11/24/2018* 2:00 pm | | New Mexico | L 84–89 $^{2OT}$ | 3–4 | HP&E Arena (802) Houston, TX |
| 11/28/2018* 4:00 pm | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 71–76 | 3–5 | Alico Arena (2,021) Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/01/2018* 1:00 pm | | at East Tennessee State | W 84–77 | 4–5 | J. Madison Brooks Gymnasium (933) Johnson City, TN |
| 12/06/2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas A&M | L 52–68 | 4–6 | Fertitta Center (2,107) Houston, TX |
| 12/17/2018* 7:00 pm | | Texas–Arlington | L 61–65 $^{OT}$ | 4–7 | Fertitta Center (831) Houston, TX |
| 12/21/2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at George Mason | W 66–56 | 5–7 | EagleBank Arena (602) Fairfax, VA |
| 12/30/2018* 2:00 pm | | at Southern Miss | W 61–44 | 6–7 | Reed Green Coliseum (1,093) Hattiesburg, MS |
| AAC regular season ||||||
| 01/06/2019 11:00 am, CBSSN | | No. 1 Connecticut | L 61–81 | 6–8 (0–1) | Fertitta Center (3,644) Houston, TX |
| 01/09/2019 7:00 pm, ADN | | at SMU | W 72–61 | 7–8 (1–1) | Moody Coliseum (685) Dallas, TX |
| 01/12/2019 1:00 pm | | Temple | W 78–65 | 8–8 (2–1) | Fertitta Center (866) Houston, TX |
| 01/20/2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Wichita State | W 66–58 | 9–8 (3–1) | Charles Koch Arena (1,457) Wichita, KS |
| 01/23/2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cincinnati | L 57–68 | 9–9 (3–2) | Fifth Third Arena (814) Cincinnati, OH |
| 01/26/2019 2:00 pm | | Tulsa | W 76–44 | 10–9 (4–2) | Fertitta Center (1,185) Houston, TX |
| 01/30/2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UCF | L 56–58 | 10–10 (4–3) | CFE Arena (3,306) Orlando, FL |
| 02/02/2019 2:00 pm | | SMU | W 69–68 $^{OT}$ | 11–10 (5–3) | Fertitta Center (1,552) Houston, TX |
| 02/05/2019 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | at Temple | L 65–76 | 11–11 (5–4) | Liacouras Center (3,287) Philadelphia, PA |
| 02/10/2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at South Florida | W 54–52 | 12–11 (6–4) | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| 02/16/2019 12:00 pm | | East Carolina | W 63–52 | 13–11 (7–4) | Fertitta Center Houston, TX |
| 02/20/2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Tulane | W 83–82 $^{OT}$ | 14–11 (8–4) | Fertitta Center Houston, TX |
| 02/24/2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Memphis | W 59–57 | 15–11 (9–4) | Elma Roane Fieldhouse (657) Memphis, TN |
| 02/27/2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Florida | L 49–59 | 15–12 (9–5) | Fertitta Center (919) Houston, TX |
| 03/02/2019 12:00 pm, SNY/ESPN3 | | at No. 2 Connecticut | L 61–83 | 15–13 (9–6) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| 03/04/2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | UCF | L 50–59 | 15–14 (9–7) | Fertitta Center Houston, TX |
| AAC Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2019 11:00 am, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) South Florida Quarterfinals | L 55–72 | 15–15 | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| WNIT ||||||
| 03/21/2019* 7:00 pm | | at Arkansas First Round | L 80–88 $^{OT}$ | 15–16 | Bud Walton Arena (3,689) Fayetteville, AR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |