TicketsDec. 17, 2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Treasure Humphries led four Bearcats in double-figures as Cincinnati ran past Indiana, 73-59, in women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena. It was the ninth-straight home win for UC and the first win over a Big Ten team since 1988.
The Bearcats rose to 7-1 with the win, while the Hoosiers fell to 5-5. UC had lost its last nine games against Big Ten foes after defeating Ohio State, 64-58, in 1988.
Humphries scored 21 points with four assists and three steals, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 9-of-9 from the line. Michelle Jones added 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds, while Shelly Bellman contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Micah Harvey, in her third game of the season after recovering from a preseason knee injury, added nine points and four assists.
Cyndi Valentin led IU with 16 points and Whitney Thomas posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. UC committed a season-low 13 turnovers and forced 22, resulting in a 26 to 11 edge in points of turnovers. The Bearcats, who lead the nation in rebounding margin, were outrebounded for the first time this year, 36 to 33.
"I'm really happy with our aggressiveness and resiliency," said head coach Laurie Pirtle. "We finished really well against their press."
The Bearcats will seek their 10th-straight home win when they host Toledo on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. It is UC's final non-conference home game.
The first five minutes of the game saw six lead changes, as a 4-0 start by Indiana was the biggest margin in that span. A jumper by Humphries at the 15:18 mark sparked a 7-2 run by the Bearcats. Bellman scored the other five points in the run, hitting a three-pointer to give UC a 14-10 lead with 13:27 to play.
The Hoosiers fought right back to tie the game at the 11:57 mark on a pair of free throws and a Carrie Smith jumper. The Bearcats held IU to just three field goals for the rest of the half and scored the next nine points to take control. Humphries made two steals and scored five points to carry UC to a 24-14 margin with 6:16 left.
After three free throws by IU made the margin 26-19, the Bearcats scored six-straight points, four by Jones, to claim their largest lead of the half, 32-19, with 1:59 to play. The Hoosiers came back to cut the lead to 10 before a Jones score with 36 seconds left made the halftime score 34-22.
Humphries and Jones each scored nine points in the first half for UC, combining to make 7-of-9 shots from the floor as the Bearcats shot .467 as a team. Jones had a game-high six rebounds and Bellman added five points and five rebounds.
The Hoosiers, who were held to .348 shooting form the field, were led by Valentin with six points and Jenny DeMuth with five rebounds. The Bearcats scored 14 points off of 11 IU turnovers.
In the second half UC scored five of the first eight points to take a 14-point lead after four minutes, but IU came right back and scored the next six points to close to 39-31.
Jill Stephens, who scored 11 points in the second half and finished with 13, hit a pair of jumpers to key a 9-2 run. Harvey hit her second three-pointer to cap the run and give the Bearcats a 48-33 lead with 11:34 to go.
The Hoosiers continued to fight their way back into the game, eventually pulling within nine, 54-45, when Valentin hit a three-pointer with 7:33 left in the game.
Humphries responded with a backdoor cut for a lay-in and then made her third steal and an easy score as UC jumped back ahead, 62-47, with 5:22 to play. The Hoosiers got no closer than 13 the rest of the way as Humphries made all six of her free throws in the final three minutes.