HOUSTON (SMU) - Despite the Mustangs leading for nearly the entire final quarter of play, Houston heated up over the final minutes of the contest to edge SMU, 60-56, on Saturday afternoon.

A McKenzie Adams layup with just over five minutes left to play in the fourth quarter gave SMU its largest lead of the game at eight points. From there, however, it was all Cougars. Houston finished the game on a 16-4 run to grab the lead and deny SMU the conference road win. 

Adams, once again, was the Mustangs' leading scoring, finishing with a game-high 19 points to go along with her six rebounds. Fellow senior Kiara Perry joined Adams in double-figures, dropping in 12 points. 

SMU's defense was a big reason the Mustangs were in a position to get the road conference victory. Up against Houston's quick-hitting offensive pace, SMU held Houston 16 points below its season average point total. Freshman Ariana Whitfield was especially active on the defensive end, finishing with a career-high five steals. Whitfield also finished with a team-high four assists. 

While SMU finished at a solid clip of 70 percent from the free-throw line, the Mustangs missed three of their final four attempts while trying to close out the Cougars. Those misses helped to energize Houston during its frantic comeback. 

The Mustangs' 44 percent from the floor was much higher than Houston's 34 percent, but the Cougars were able to overcome that by finishing with 11 more field goal attempts and seven more free throws. That was accomplished by the Cougars grabbing eight more offensive rebounds than SMU and forcing the Mustangs into six more turnovers. 

Houston is a team that relies on the 3-point shot, and that was the case again on Saturday. The Cougars knocked down eight shots from behind the arc, while SMU was only able to connect on 18 percent of its attempts (3-of-17). 

SMU returns home on Wednesday, January 31 to host Temple at 7 p.m.