TicketsNov. 17, 2005
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Cincinnati vs. St. Francis (Pa.)
Date: Saturday, November 19, 2005
Time: 3:05 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176) Cincinnati, Ohio
Records:
Cincinnati: 0-0 (9-19 in 2004-05)
St. Francis: 0-2 (21-10 in 2004-05)
TV: WXIX-Fox 19 (Dan Hoard and Anthony Buford)
Live Webcast: www.uc.edu/UCVision
Radio: www.Bearcast.uc.edu
Live Stats: www.UCBearcats.com
Tickets: $5/$3, 513-556-CATS
Series: Cincinnati leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 28, 2001 at UC - UC 76, SFU 49
SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati women's basketball opens its 35th season of play when the Bearcats host St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The game will be televised live in Cincinnati on WXIX-Fox 19 and over the internet at www.UC.edu/UCVision. While UC will be opening its season, the Red Flash enter having played twice already, falling to Oregon and Michigan.
STORYLINES:
The Bearcats return nine letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad.
UC boasts 154 games of starting experience, but also has nine freshmen or sophomores on the team.
The Bearcats were led in the preseason by freshman Shelly Bellman, who averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. She shot .619 from the floor and made 2-of-5 three-pointers. Fellow newcomers Michelle Jones and Jill Stephens were also among the team leaders, scoring 10.0 and 9.5 points per game, respectively.
The Bearcats won the only previous meeting between the schools, 76-49, in 2001.
The Red Flash are coming off consecutive Northeast Conference titles but bring just one starter back.
2004-05 Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year Anne Stephens is UC's leading returning scorer at 12.0 points per game, while Amber Hein scored 7.4 points per game for SFU.
This is the first of at least four Bearcat games to be televised.
LAST TIME VS. ST. FRANCIS: Freshman Debbie Merrill set career highs with 26 points and 10 rebounds and Valerie King added 16 points as Cincinnati raced past St. Francis, 76-49, on Nov. 28, 2001 in Fifth Third Arena. Merrill connected on 13-of-17 field goal attempts and added a career-best four steals. The Bearcats dominated the glass, enjoying a +18 rebounding margin while forcing 18 turnovers. Carlin Chesick led SFU with 12 points and Sami Allison added 10.
ON SEASON OPENERS: UC has won six of its last nine season openers and is 13-21 all-time. The Bearcats are 21-13 in their 34 home openers and have won the last nine and 11 of 15 in Fifth Third Arena. The last loss in a home opener was a 76-73 decision to Ball State on Nov. 25, 1995.
EXPERIENCED CATS: The Bearcats entered last season with just 71 games of starting experience, with 49 of those coming from Anne Stephens and Micah Harvey. This year UC boasts 154 returning starts spread among seven players. Harvey leads with 44 and Stephens has 36 starts. The nine returners combine for 350 games of playing experience.
YET STILL YOUNG: Despite those 350 games played, the UC roster still boasts nine players who are freshmen or sophomores. The five true freshmen on the squad were named the 10th best recruiting class of 2005 by the All-Star Girls Report.
NEW FACES: Cincinnati moves to the BIG EAST Conference this year. The Bearcats have a 60-71 record (.458) vs. current members of the BIG EAST. They have never played Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall or Villanova.
DePaul 11 -18 .379
Louisville 25 -29 .463
Marquette 8 -17 .320
Notre Dame 0 -1 .000
Pittsburgh 2 -1 .667
South Florida 10 -3 .769
Syracuse 1 -1 .500
West Virginia 3 -1 .750
TOTAL 60 -71 .458
CHANGE HAS NOT BEEN GOOD: The Bearcats are hoping to avoid the letdown that has occurred the other three times they began play in a new conference. In 1983-84, UC went 16-12, but won just three of 10 Metro Conference games. 1991-92 saw the Bearcats repeat that 3-7 mark in their initial year in the Great Midwest Conference while going 11-17 overall. In Conference USA's inaugural season, 1995-96, UC went 4-10 in the new league and 8-19 overall.
APPROACHING MILESTONE: The Bearcats are approaching the 500th win in school history with a 496-438 record. The 496 wins are the seventh-most among BIG EAST schools.
STRONG SCHEDULE: The Bearcats will play 13 games this year against teams that reached the postseason in 2005. Included in the strong home schedule are match-ups with Elite 8 finisher Rutgers, 2001 national champion Notre Dame and regional rivals Louisville, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Currently four 2005-06 opponents -- No. 5 Rutgers, No. 7 Connecticut, No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 18 DePaul -- are ranked in the top 25 and four others are getting votes in at least one of the polls. Cincinnati's 2005-06 opponents compiled a 426-361 record in 2004-05 for a .541 winning percentage.
SISTER ACT: Sisters Anne (Sr.) and Jill (Fr.) Stephens are one of 14 sets of siblings playing together in Division I in 2005-06. At 6-4 and 6-3 in height, they are tied with the Adiar twins (George Washington) and Paris twins (Oklahoma) for the tallest sibling duo in the nation. Anne was named Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year last year, while Jill was ranked as one of the top 50 players in her class.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since Fifth Third Arena became the home of UC basketball in 1989, the Bearcats have gone 150-82 (.647) on their home court. Over the past eight years they have a home record of 103-28 (.786). 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.
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 is one of six BIG EAST coaches with at least 275 wins at their current school. On Feb. 20, 2004 against East Carolina Pirtle became the 54th active coach to win 350 games in a career.
HIGHLY TOUTED: The Bearcat roster features five freshmen -- Shelly Bellman, Michelle Jones, Angel Morgan, Kahla Roudebush and Jill Stephens -- who make up what was ranked as the 10th best recruiting class in 2005 by the All-Star Girls Report. All five were listed among the top 125 players in the class and all were nominated for the McDonald's All-American game.
TOP 10 CATS: Seniors Anne Stephens and Micah Harvey and junior Karen Twehues are seeing the results of their careers in the UC record books. Stephens now has 46 career blocks to rank ninth in school history. Harvey has handed out 324 assists in her career, which is seventh all-time. Harvey's 135 assists as a sophomore was the eighth-best single-season total in UC history. Twehues has made 87 three-pointers in just 47 career games to move into fifth in UC annals.
COACHES FAVOR SCARLET KNIGHTS: In the annual preseason poll of the league's coaches, Rutgers was picked to win the BIG EAST in 2005-06, narrowly edging Connecticut. Rutgers guard Cappie Pondexter was named the preseason Player of the Year. The Bearcats were picked to finish 15th, just behind Syracuse and Pittsburgh.
ROAD WEARY: Of UC's last 45 losses, 29 have occurred away from Cincinnati. UC has lost 21 of its last 26 road games and 10 of the last 11. The Bearcats averaged 10.1 fewer points scored on the road last year than at home.
BEARCATS SIGN THREE: Building on last year's Top 10 recruiting class, UC has received National Letters of Intent from three top players in Ohio. All three are listed among the top 25 seniors in Ohio by Ohio Girls Basketball Report.
Carla Jacobs (5-8, G, Shaker Heights, Ohio) led Regina High School to its fifth state championship in six years last year after missing the previous season with a knee injury. The first team all-state selection is listed as the fourth-best point guard in the nation by All-Star Girls Report and Blue Star Index. Last year she averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game
Stephanie Stevens (5-7, G, Pickerington, Ohio) has earned all-district honors three times and last season was named first team all-county and all-conference. She averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game and led Pickerington Central to a third sectional championship during her career.
Natasha Graboski (6-3, C, Upper Sandusky, Ohio) has twice been named all-district in Division II at Upper Sandusky High School. Last year she carded averages of 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game to earn first team all-league honors.
TRADITION OF SUCCESS: Last year broke a string of seven-straight postseason appearances for the Bearcats. This era accounted for all but two of the postseason appearances in school history. Four of the seven were to the WNIT, including 2004. Cincinnati has also enjoyed 20-win seasons in five of the last eight years and winning years in seven of the last nine.
HITTING THE BOARDS: UC won the rebounding battle in six of the last 10 games after being outrebounded in 10 of the first 18. In those 10 games the Bearcats recorded four double-digit rebounding margins and posted all four of their league wins.
UP NEXT: The Bearcats continue their season-opening homestand when they host East Tennessee State on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.