HOUSTON (Interstat) — Esmeralda Enriquez scored 20 points and Houston withstood a determined second-half push from Kiarra McElrath to beat Hampton 73-65 on Monday in a women’s NCAA Division I game at Hofheinz Pavilion. Houston improved to 1-0, while Hampton fell to 0-1 in front of an announced attendance of 809. The Cougars used a decisive third-quarter run and a strong interior game to hold off the Pirates, who stayed within striking distance behind McElrath’s game-high scoring effort.

Houston’s Enriquez, the game’s top star, finished with 20 points, two rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. The 5-foot-8 guard from Yakima, Wash., who previously played at Davis High School, made a 3-pointer in the first quarter and later steadied the Cougars with driving layups and free throws. Hampton’s McElrath, a 5-foot-7 guard, had 33 points, one rebound and one assist in 34 minutes. Houston’s Elodie Lutbert, a 6-foot-6 forward who previously played at ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq, added 14 points, 13 rebounds, one assist and one block in 16 minutes. Raegan McCowan of Houston, a 6-foot guard who previously played at Lebanon High School, contributed 12 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes. Hampton’s Zoey Rixter, a 6-foot guard who previously played at Bartlett High School, had 10 points, six rebounds and one assist in 34 minutes. Kennedy Hall of Hampton, a 6-foot-3 forward who previously played at Westtown School, finished with eight points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block in 18 minutes. Houston’s Madison Carlton, a 6-foot-1 forward who previously played at Seven Lakes High School, had four points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 19 minutes. Aaryn Battle of Hampton, a 5-foot-10 guard who previously played at Camden Catholic, had three points, four rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes. Houston’s Jorynn Ross, a 6-foot-3 forward who previously played at Summer Creek High School, added four points, two rebounds, one assist and one block in 19 minutes. Marta Llompart of Houston, a 5-foot-8 guard who previously played at International School, chipped in four points, two rebounds, six assists and one block in 31 minutes.

Hampton opened the scoring on Battle’s layup, but Houston answered with Llompart’s layup and McCowan’s jumper off a turnover. Rixter’s hook shot tied the game at 4, and Battle’s 3-pointer later tied it at 7. Houston then began to create separation as Kayla King made a layup, Janiyah Williams hit a 3-pointer and King added two free throws. Hampton stayed close with Nilah Rivera’s layup and free throw and Hall’s jumper, while Houston took a 37-29 lead into halftime after Enriquez made a driving layup and free throw late in the second quarter.

Houston pushed its advantage to 57-43 after three quarters. The most important stretch came in the third quarter, when Enriquez, Lutbert and McCowan repeatedly attacked the paint and turned a manageable lead into a 14-point cushion. Enriquez opened the third with a driving layup, Lutbert scored on consecutive layups around the basket, and McCowan added a layup and a pullup jumper as Houston pulled away. Hampton answered late in the third with McElrath’s layups and free throws, then carried that momentum into the fourth. McElrath made a layup with 8:08 remaining, added a jumper off a turnover at 7:18, and hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions with 3:38 and 3:25 left. Her free throws with 2:55 remaining pulled Hampton within nine, and another layup with 37.3 seconds left made it a seven-point game. Houston answered each time, getting a layup from Lutbert with 2:47 remaining and two free throws from McCowan with 19.1 seconds left before Enriquez sealed the outcome with a free throw at 4.2 seconds. The Cougars’ composure at the line and their ability to score inside in the final minutes proved decisive.

Houston shot 30 of 55 from the floor, 3 of 10 from 3-point range and 10 of 20 from the free-throw line. The Cougars scored 73 points from 74 possessions for an offensive rating of 99.3. They were outrebounded on the offensive glass 16-12 but blocked six shots, recorded 11 assists and forced 21 Hampton turnovers. Hampton shot 21 of 63 from the floor, 3 of 21 from 3-point range and 20 of 29 from the free-throw line. The Pirates scored 65 points from 75 possessions for an offensive rating of 86.9. Hampton grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, recorded 10 assists, blocked two shots and committed 14 turnovers. Hampton’s 3-of-21 shooting from beyond the arc and Houston’s six blocked shots shaped the result.

Hampton’s upcoming schedule includes a game at SMU, followed by a home game against Norfolk State, trips to High Point and Delaware, games at North Carolina A&T and Campbell, a home contest against College of Charleston, visits to William & Mary and Towson, and a home game against UNC Wilmington. Houston will host Sam Houston, host Stephen F. Austin, visit Montana, host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, host Houston Christian, host Prairie View, host Texas Southern, host Montana State, visit Rice, and face LSU in Houston.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Houston 60, Hampton 59. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Houston with a 92.4 percent probability to win.