TicketsBearcats Host Alabama State on Saturday
Contact: Geoff Wiswell
12/17/2004
Anne Stephens scored 17 points vs. Evansville. |
GAME FACTS:
Date: Sat., Dec. 18, 2004
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Records: Cincinnati, 3-5
Alabama State, 2-3
Radio: www.bearcast.uc.edu
TV: None
Live Stats: www.ucbearcats.com
Tickets: $5/$3, 800-556-CATS
Series: First Meeting
Last Meeting: None
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team hosts Alabama State on Saturday, Dec. 18 in hopes if snapping a three-game losing streak. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats dropped to 3-5 with a loss at Evansville on Wednesday. The Lady Hornets lost at Louisville on Thursday, 77-46, to drop to 2-4 on the year.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS PPG RPG APG FG%
F 1 Ashley Brown, 6-0 Fr., Wilberforce, Ohio 6.3 6.4 0.5 .439
C 45 Anne Stephens, 6-4 Jr., Mineral Wells, W. Va. 13.0 6.6 0.7 .539
G 11 Leslie Knoch, 5-6 Jr., Whipple, Ohio 9.4 3.3 3.6 .463
G 13 Toni Slaughter, 6-0 So., Shelbyville, Ky. 10.8 6.9 2.1 .333
G 32 Karen Twehues, 6-0 So., Minusio, Switz. 9.8 3.1 1.1 .303
ALABAMA STATE PROBABLE STARTERS PPG RPG APG FG%
F 10 Latille Ross, 5-11 Fr., Opelika, Ala. 2.6 7.0 1.2 .133
C 55 Crystal Kitt, 6-5 Sr., Mobile, Ala. 12.0 6.6 0.8 .575
G 1 Latoya Johnson, 5-6 Sr., Jacksonville, Fla. 11.4 3.4 1.0 .375
G 11 Frantina Coleman, 5-4 Jr., Tuskegee, Ala. 2.2 2.4 1.6 .375
G 20 Shantae Robinson, 5-5 Fr., Chicago, Ill. 8.2 2.6 1.4 .346
STORYLINES:
? UC stands 10 wins from reaching the 500-win mark in program history.
? Toni Slaughter has scored in double-figures the past four games, averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in that span.
? Six different Bearcats have scored in double-figures this year and five players have led the team in scoring in at least one game.
? UC and Alabama State have never met. The Lady Hornets opened the season with a loss at Arkansas, who the Bearcats face on Jan. 2.
? ASU has won back-to-back SWAC titles and senior center Crystal Kitt is the preseason pick for league Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
? The Bearcats have not lost three-straight at home since the 1995-96 season saw a five-game home losing streak.
NOTING EVANSVILLE:
? UC scored a season-low 50 points for the second-straight game.
? Toni Slaughter equalled her career-high with 20 points, her fourth-straight game in double-figures.
? Leslie Knoch grabbed a career-best six rebounds.
? UC went 3-of-9 behind the arc, season lows for both three-pointers attempted and made.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Bearcats opened the season with a combined total of 71 games of starting experience. 49 of those games came from Anne Stephens (25) and Micah Harvey (24). For comparison, last year?s team brought 229 games of starting experience into the 2003-04 campaign. Nine of the players on the 2004-05 roster are in just their first or second year at UC.
TAKING ADVANTAGE: Fully healthy for the first time in her career, redshirt junior Leslie Knoch has become a leader for the Bearcats on and off the court. She is one of four team captains and has started all eight games this year, the first starts of her career. She has scored in double-figures four times this season, with a career high 20 points in the comeback win over Ball State. She ranks 11th in C-USA in assists (3.3/g), seventh in three-point percentage (.424) and sixth in three-pointers made (1.75/g).
COMING AROUND: Sophomore captain Toni Slaughter has turned on the offense in the last four games, averaging 15.3 points in that span. She had failed to score in double-figures in the first four games after averaging 11.8 points in her last eight starts last year. Slaughter leads the team in rebounding at 6.9 per game and has grabbed at least five in each game. She led the team with 15 points against No. 15 Michigan State and tied her career-high with 20 points at Evansville.
TALE OF TWO HALVES: The Bearcats are holding opponents to 27.5 points in the first half, while scoring 30.1. In the second half, however, UC has allowed an average of 36.5 points while scoring just 28.3. The last three opponents and four on the year have posted 40 or more points after halftime and UC has reached 30 points in just two second stanzas. The Bearcats were ahead or tied at halftime of their first six games, despite a 3-3 record.
SCORING FROM DEEP: After making just seven-of-30 (.233) from behind the arc against Indiana State and Dayton, the Bearcats rebounded by making seven-of-13 vs. Michigan State. For the season UC has made 45-of-125 (.360) treys to its opponents' 29-of-88 (.330). Last season, the Bearcats ranked 19th in the country with a .366 team three-point percentage, which was a school record, as was the 177 made treys. This year they are 50th nationally in three-point percentage and 56th in three-point field goals.
GETTING TO THE LINE: After taking just 39 free throw attempts (9.8 per game) in their first four games, the Bearcats have gotten more aggressive. They have taken 86 in the last four games for a 21.5 average per game. Last season UC set a school-record by making .746 of its attempts, but got to the line 88 fewer times than its opponents.
APPROACHING MILESTONE: Now in its 34th season of play, UC has won 490 games. The Bearcats are vying with four other schools to become the first women's team in Conference USA to reach 500 all-time victories. Southern Miss is the current leader with 495, while Houston has 493. East Carolina (488), and Louisville (484) are right behind UC.
UNQUESTIONED LEADER: Head Coach Laurie Pirtle is UC's all-time leader in coaching wins and on Feb. 21, 2002, she earned her 250th win leading the Bearcats. She joined DePaul's Doug Bruno as the only C-USA coaches with at least 250 wins at their current school. On Feb. 20 against East Carolina she became the 54th active coach to win 350 games in a career.
A DAY FOR THANKS: The day before Thanksgiving left much to be thankful for in Bearcat basketball at Fifth Third Arena. In the afternoon, the UC women came back from a 14-point deficit with fewer than nine minutes left to top Ball State, 62-58. Leslie Knoch's career-high 20 points led the comeback effort. Later that night, the men trailed Northern Iowa by 18 with 10 minutes left, but UC evened the score and eventually won, 76-70, in double overtime. The greatest comeback in Fifth Third Arena history was led by Jihad Muhammad's 23 points, nine coming in the final 2:50 of regulation.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: The Bearcats will play 14 games this year against teams that reached the postseason in 2004. As a result, UC's schedule is ranked as the 38th toughest in the nation by the WBCA/Summerville RPI. UC's 2004-05 opponents had a combined 438-326 record for a .573 winning percentage last year. Included in the strong home schedule are match-ups with Michigan State and Arkansas, as well as the annual Crosstown Shootout against Xavier.
MISSING PIECES: With the loss of three starters from last year's squad the Bearcats have a lot to make up for. UC returned just 50.5 percent of its scoring and rebounding. Anne Stephens is the leading returner in both categories, as she averaged 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year. She is carrying the load this year so far, leading the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and ranking second in rebounds (6.6 rpg). New starters Leslie Knoch and Ashley Brown have picked up the slack, ranking fourth and fifth in scoring while leading the team in assists (3.6 apg) and ranking third in rebounding (6.4 rpg), respectively.
DEFENSIVE LOCKDOWN: The 31 points scored by Detroit in UC's 60-31 win on Nov. 21 was the 11th-fewest ever allowed by the Bearcats. It was the lowest total by a UC opponent since Robert Morris scored 29 on Nov. 20, 2001. It was also the fewest points ever scored by Detroit. The seven blocked shots by the Bearcats equalled the second-best single-game total in school annals.
CLOSE CALLS: UC was 3-8 last year in games decided by six points or fewer, but won on two of the last three occasions. The season opener at Toledo, where UC lost a 12-point halftime lead and was defeated by five, and the 62-58 comeback win over Ball State continued the trend of close games. The Bearcats lost 16 games last year by an average of just 8.6 points.
HOME SWEET SHOE: Since Fifth Third Arena became the home of UC basketball in 1989, the Bearcats have gone 145-76 (.656) on their home court. Over the past seven years they have been nearly unbeatable at home, posting a 98-22 mark (.817). UC went 15-1 at home in 2001-02, the best-ever mark. The Bearcats put together a school-record 21-game home win streak from Jan. 1, 2002 until a loss to Tulane on Feb. 2, 2003.
POWER CONFERENCE: Last year Conference USA produced an all-time high of 17 postseason basketball teams (6 NCAA Men, 4 NCAA Women, 2 NIT, 5 WNIT). Only the Big East with 19 (6 NCAA Men, 8 NCAA women, 4 NIT and 1 WNIT) and the Big 12 with 18 (4 NCAA Men, 7 NCAA Women, 5 NIT and 2 WNIT) produced more postseason basketball teams last March.
POSTSEASON TRADITION: The Bearcats have reached postseason tourney play seven straight times, with this era accounting for all but two of the postseason appearances in school history. Four of the seven have been to the WNIT, including last year. The seven-season streak is the longest active streak in Conference USA.
CONFERENCE USA SUCCESS: The Bearcats are one of seven teams to have a conference record over .500 throughout the history of Conference USA. UC is 77-57 (.575) in the nine-year history of the league, posting winning league marks in the five years before this one. The Bearcats were 12-4 in the 1998-99 season to claim the regular season championship.
ROAD WEARY: The Bearcats have won 56 of their last 88 games, with 22 of those 32 losses occurring away from Cincinnati. UC has lost 14 of its last 18 road games. The Bearcats averaged 11.3 fewer points scored on the road last year than at home.
AMAZING ACCURACY: Twice last season the Bearcats tied UC and C-USA records by being perfect from the free throw line as a team. On Dec. 13 they made 11-of-11 at Indiana State and against Loyola Marymount on Dec. 21 UC had a 14-of-14 performance as a team. For the year the Bearcats led C-USA with a .746 percentage, the best in school history and second in C-USA annals. Seven of 11 players shot over .700. This year UC is shooting .670 from the line and has taken 30 fewer attempts than its opponents.
COMING OUT FIRING: Sophomore guard Karen Twehues had an immediate impact on the Bearcats once she joined the team last January. In her first two games she scored 27 points and made 6-of-13 three-pointers. She finished second on the team in three-pointers and three-point percentage. This year she has made 19-of-47 from behind the arc (.404).
BEARCATS SIGN TOP 10 RECRUITING CLASS: During the early signing period this fall, UC received letters of intent from five high school seniors. The Bearcats' class was ranked as the 10th best in the nation by Dan Olson of All-Star Girls Report:
? Shelly Bellman from Ottawa-Glendorf High School in Ottawa, Ohio is a 5-10 guard/forward who has twice been named an honorable mention All-American by Street and Smith?s and is ranked No. 121 nationally and one of the top 20 guards by ASGR. She averaged 13 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.5 assists per game last year.
? Michelle Jones is a 6-1 forward from Mt. Notre Dame in Cincinnati. She is ranked No. 93 in the nation by the All-Star Girls Report. She was named second team all-state last year after scoring 15.7 points per game.
? Angel Morgan is a 5-8 guard from Springfield North High School in Springfield, Ohio. She is ranked No. 95 in the nation by ASGR and earned all-county and all-conference for three years.
? Kahla Roudebush is a 5-8 guard from Noblesville, Ind. and Hamilton Southeastern High School. She earned honorable mention all-state from the Louisville Courier-Journal last year and was named to the Indiana Basketball Tremendous 26 Team. She is ranked as No. 115 nationally by ASGR.
? Jill Stephens is the headliner of the class. A 6-3 center from Mineral Wells, W. Va. and Parkersburg South High School, she is ranked as the 44th best senior in the nation by Blue Star Basketball and is a two-time first team all-state honoree and honorable mention All-American. Stephens averaged 22.4 points and 13 rebounds per game last year and was one of 48 players invited to the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival last summer. She is the younger sister of current Bearcat Anne Stephens.
UP NEXT: UC wraps up its pre-holiday schedule by hosting Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.