HOUSTON - The Oregon State women's basketball team lost its road opener on Thursday night, falling 49-32 to Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion in the Cougars' home opener.

Sophomores Brittany Kennedy and Kirsten Tilleman each scored eight points for the Beavers, who were an ice-cold 15 of 55 (.273) from the field and even cooler from the free-throw line (1-for-6, .167) and from beyond the arc (1-for-7, .143). Tilleman also had eight rebounds.

"Unfortunately, you go on the road, into a hostile environment, some things don't always work out, the ball doesn't bounce your way and sometimes it doesn't go in," OSU assistant coach Krista Reinking said. "We have to regroup and get ready for the next one, Houston Baptist," who the Beavers face at noon on Sunday at HBU's Sharp Gym.

Courtney Taylor had 14 points and 19 rebounds and Porche Landry added 15 points for the Cougars, who outscored OSU 34-18 in the paint, 25-10 off turnovers and 16-10 on second-chance points in the convincing victory.

"We knew Courtney Taylor and Brittney Scott were their two top players, but Landry did a great job for them," Reinking said. "Credit Houston. They did a good job tonight. They are a good team.

"They were very young last year when we played them at our place," a 69-47 OSU victory. "Having that year of experience has definitely helped them out."

The Beavers were 7 of 33 from the field in the first half and trailed 23-15 at the break. They hit their first four shots and opened the second half on an 8-0 run to tie the game, but Houston answered with 11 straight points for a 34-23 lead and never looked back.

"Kirsten hit three straight buckets in the beginning of the second half, she's a competitor," Reinking said. "We made a run but unfortunately we never could get over that hump to close the gap and take the lead.

"We'll look at the film tonight and we'll focus on some details we didn't execute today in practice. We're still trying to find our rhythm right now. We're a very detail-oriented program and when we all don't focus on the details at once, things can get kind of scattered, as we saw tonight."

Houston 49, Oregon State 32

HOUSTON (49): Courtney Taylor 5-13 4-6 14, Lesslee Mason 3-6 0-4 6, Brittney Scott 2-12 1-1 5, Porche Landry 7-10 1-1 15, Roxana Button 2-10 0-0 5, Megan Morton 0-2 0-0 0, Brittany Mason 0-2 0-0 0, Ashlee Joseph 1-6 2-3 4, Jasmine Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-61 8-15 49.

OREGON STATE (32): Kirsten Tilleman 4-8 0-0 8, El Sara Greer 2-2 0-0 4, Talisa Rhea 2-12 0-1 4, Haiden Palmer 1-9 0-2 2, Brittany Kennedy 3-10 1-2 8, Tayler Champion 1-2 0-0 2, Kassandra McCalister 0-2 0-0 0, Kate Lanz 1-3 0-1 2, Angela Misa 1-2 0-0 0, Julie Futch 0-1 0-0 0, Anita Burdick 0-3 0-0 0. Stacey Nichols 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 15-55 1-6 32.

Halftime: Houston 23, OSU 15. 3-Point Goals: Houston 1-14 (Button 1-4, Scott 0-7, Morton 0-2, Taylor 0-1), OSU 1-7 (Kennedy 1-1, Rhea 0-2, McCalister 0-2, Palmer 0-1, Lanz 0-1). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Houston 46 (Taylor 19), OSU 42 (Tilleman 8). Assists: Houston 6 (Scott 2, Landry 2), OSU 7 (Kennedy 3). Total Fouls: OSU 18, Houston 16. Technicals: None. Att.: 373.