TicketsNov. 25, 2005
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Cincinnati vs. Detroit
Date: Saturday, November 26, 2005
Time: 5:00 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176) Cincinnati, Ohio
Records: Cincinnati: 2-0; Detroit: 1-2
TV: None
Radio: www.Bearcast.uc.edu
Live Stats: www.UCBearcats.com
Tickets: $5/$3, 513-556-CATS
Series: Cincinnati leads, 4-2
Last Meeting: Nov. 21, 2004 at UC; UC 60, UDM 31
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team closes its season-opening homestand when it hosts Detroit on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The 2-0 Bearcats have scored 78 points per game thus far and won by an average of 29.5 points. This is their first 2-0 start since 2001-02. The Titans are 1-2 on the season and on a three-game road trip that started with losses to Kansas State and Kansas.
STORYLINES:
The Bearcats will be seeking their first 3-0 start since an 11-0 beginning to the 2001-02 season.
UC is two wins shy of the 500th in program history.
Senior guard Micah Harvey is doubtful after injuring her knee last week.
The Bearcats have won four of the six meetings between the schools and all three in Cincinnati.
The Titans opened the season with home win over Western Carolina before the two losses in Kansas.
Detroit starts three seniors, including leading scorer Lindsey Pasquinzo (15.0 ppg), while the Bearcats start three freshmen.
UC has allowed just six three-pointers in its last six games and the Titans are averaging 8.3 per game.
NOTING THE EAST TENNESSEE STATE GAME:
The Bearcats improved to 2-0 for the first time since they started the 2001-02 season 11-0.
Treasure Humphries set new career-highs with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Karen Twehues made a trio of three-pointers to reach 90 for her career, fifth in school history.
UC's 46 first-half points were the most points in a half since a they put up 59 and 46 points in the two halves of a 105-60 win over Charleston Southern on Nov. 25, 2003. The 82 points in the game was the highest total since an 83-51 win over Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 4, 2004.
The Bearcats allowed more than one three-pointer (4) for the first time in six games.
LAST TIME VS. DETROIT: Cincinnati held Detroit to .164 shooting to earn a 60-31 win in the home opener for the Bearcats on Nov. 21, 2004. The 31 points were the fewest ever scored by the Titans and the lowest total allowed by UC since Nov. 20, 2001. The Bearcats outrebounded UDM 51-27 and scored 15 second-chance points. Anne Stephens had 16 points and two blocks for UC and Ashley Brown added eight points and 13 rebounds. Jennifer McGee led Detroit with nine points and Lindsey Pasquinzo added six.
HOLDING DOWN THE ARC: In their past six games, dating back to last year, the Bearcats have allowed just four three-pointers. St. Francis missed all six of its attempts in the opener and East Tennessee State made four, but of 20 attempts. The six opponents are a combined 6-of-63 behind the arc. UC has made 23 triples in the six games in 73 attempts.
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. Four have started at least one game and the fifth, Jones, is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game.
GETTING TO THE LINE: Last year UC averaged just 14.7 free throw attempts per game and shot just .662 from the line. This year has gotten off to a much improved start as the Bearcats have taken 51 free throws in two games and made 41 (.804).
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. They entered this year boasting 154 returning starts spread among seven players. Harvey led with 44 and Stephens had 36 starts. The nine returners combined 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.
UNQUESTIONED LEADER: Head Coach Laurie Pirtle, in her 20th year, 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.
APPROACHING MILESTONE: The Bearcats are approaching the 500th win in school history with a 498-438 record. The 498 wins are the seventh-most among BIG EAST schools.
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.
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.
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. HOME SWEET HOME: Since Fifth Third Arena became the home of UC basketball in 1989, the Bearcats have gone 152-82 (.650) on their home court. Over the past nine years they have a home record of 105-28 (.789). 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.
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 47 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 90 three-pointers in just 49 career games to move into fifth in UC annals.
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. 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.
UP NEXT: The Bearcats take to the road for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 30 for the annual match-up with crosstown rival Xavier.