By Catherine Laroche

On Sunday, the Louisville women’s basketball team will take on Houston in Freedom Hall on national television. This isn’t too surprising. Houston is a Conference USA foe, and the women’s team splits home action between Freedom Hall and Cardinal Arena. This particular Houston game, however, will not be like any other game the Cards have played this season.

The game will be broadcasted on ESPN, the first and only game that will be nationally televised for the Cards this season. The Cougars are currently ranked right outside the top 25, though they have been ranked as high as No. 16 this season U of L is not ranked.

Houston (13-4) is 3-0 against C-USA opponents (Tulane, Southern Miss and UAB) this season. They opened the regular season with a loss in exhibition competition, but from there, they went on a 10-game winning streak before dropping to a three-game losing streak.

Some Houston victories include wins over Wisconsin, then-No. 14-ranked Purdue and Virginia. Their only losses were to Wake Forest, Long Beach State and New Mexico State.

The last time the Cards and Cougars saw action against each other was on Jan. 25, 2004, when U of L defeated then-No. 25 Houston in overtime 77-75. The game had 17 lead changes and nine ties.

Then-freshman Jazz Covington scored a season-high 30 points. Senior Sara Nord connected on two free throws with 34 seconds left to give the Cardinals the lead, and Covington made one free throw with 27 seconds remaining in the game to seal the deal.

To mark up another win against Houston come Sunday, the Cards must play good defense against Sancho Lyttle. She leads Houston in scoring, averaging 20 points a game with 12 double-doubles this season.  Other notable players include Joanna Overstreet and Jasmin Moore. Overstreet leads C-USA in steals and assists; Moore has stepped up off the bench and has completed eight 3-pointers in the last three games.

For the Cards, Covington and Missy Taylor have stepped it up recently. In the last three games, Covington has averaged 20.6 points. Taylor was named C-USA Player of the Week on Dec. 20, 2004.

The Louisville-Houston game will tip off at 4 p.m. Sunday. If you can’t make it to Freedom Hall, then catch the Cards on ESPN.