TicketsFreshman Brown Scores 16 in UC Victory
Contact: Geoff Wiswell
12/1/2004
Micah Harvey had season-highs of six assists and seven points. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio ? Freshman Ashley Brown scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Cincinnati to a 65-54 win over Dayton on Wednesday evening at Fifth Third Arena.
Brown was one of four Bearcats in double-figures, as UC (3-2) got 12 points and seven rebounds from both Anne Stephens and Toni Slaughter and 11 points from Leslie Knoch.
UC won despite not making a field goal in the final 10:15 of the game. The Bearcats maintained their lead by making 13-of-18 foul shots in that span and 21-of-32 for the game.
?We were definitely more aggressive tonight,? said head coach Laurie Pirtle. ?We were more comfortable in our offense and it allowed us to get to the foul line.?
UC shot just .328 for the game, but held the Flyers (3-2) to .276 shooting in the second half and forced 15 turnovers, 29 for the game. The Bearcats committed just five turnovers in the second half after making 13 in the first 20 minutes.
Jennifer Strong was the only Flyer in double-figures with 11 points, while Angela Cape added 12 rebounds.
UC continues its six-game homestand when it hosts No. 15 Michigan State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Leading by three at halftime, 30-27, UC quickly upped the margin to 12 with an 11-2 run over the first five minutes. Karen Twehues hit both of her three-pointers in the stretch and Knoch had one as well.
Neither team out together consecutive points for the next four minutes. The Bearcats took a 52-39 lead on a Stephens jumper with 10:15 left. It gave UC its largest margin, at 13, and was their final basket.
Dayton, which was 2-of-12 from the field in the half to this point, put together a 9-2 run with five different players scoring to close to 54-48 with 3:44 left.
The UC defense allowed just two more baskets by the Flyers for the reminder of the game and went seven-of-eight from the line in the final two minutes.
The Bearcats shot just .324 in the first half, but managed to jump out to a 17-7 lead as Dayton committed seven turnovers before getting a single shot off. After a pair of Cara Wright baskets and a Strong three-pointer, UD had made its first three shots, but made 10 turnovers.
Brown scored nine of her points in the opening stretch, surpassing her previous best of eight points just seven minutes into the game.
The Flyers heated up and put together a 15-4 run that gave them a brief, 22-21, lead with 7:09 remaining in the half. Strong had six points in the run, which was immediately answered by a Knoch triple to reclaim the lead for UC.
The 65 points scored by UC was the highest total of the year and Dayton lost on the road for the first time in four games. The win also moved UC to 490 in its history, racing four other schools to become the first in Conference USA history with 500 wins.