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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team opens the 2006-07 season at Youngstown State University on Friday, Nov. 10. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center will be at 7:05 p.m. Both squads are coming off losses to Ohio Girls' Basketball Report Legends. Cincinnati fought back from an 11-point deficit but ultimately fell to OGBR, 78-74. Two nights earlier Youngstown had 28 turnovers and suffered a 73-63 defeat to OGBR. Sophomore Velissa Vaughn led Penguins with 11 points. Sophomore Shelly Bellman paced the Bearcats with 16 points per exhibition contest.
THE WORD ON YOUNGSTOWN STATE: YSU returns seven letter winners and two starters from a young squad that went 8-20 last season.
· Cincinnati native Lauren Branson, a graduate of McNicholas High School, is a returning starter for the Penguins.
· UC will try to keep its record vs. YSU perfect. The Bearcats have beaten the Penguins in all three previous attempts, with each victory decided by 11 points or less.
· It's been more than 20 years since the Bearcats women's basketball team has faced off against YSU. The last meeting saw UC take a an 84-74 decision in 1983.
· With a start against YSU, Carla Jacobs will be the first UC true freshman starting point guard since Jolinda Lewis who earned the job during the 1995-96 season. Jacobs averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per exhibition game.
UC SEASON OPENERS: Under head coach Laurie Pirtle UC is 8-12 in season openers and 2-4 when the Bearcats open on the road. The last time the Bearcats won an away game to start the season was a 70-58 defeat of Dayton on Nov. 16, 2001. Last year the Bearcats won their opener at Fifth Third Arena with a resounding 74-39 victory over St. Francis (Pa.).
OGBR RUNDOWN: The young Bearcats squad, which starts four underclassmen, struggled against the more experienced OGBR in the 78-74 exhibition loss. Former WNBA player and Ohio State standout Larecha Jones scored down low and on the perimeter for 28 points. The 2006 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Kimberly Wilburn had three steals against UC.
· UC freshman Carla Jacobs started at point guard, while her older sister Tracy (Lander '06) started at shooting guard for OGBR. Though the Legends won the game, Carla won the battle of the siblings with 16 points to her sister's two points.
· The Bearcats rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit, pulling within one, 68-67, on a Karen Twehues trey with 3:32 to play in the game.
· UC's post players junior Emy Ogide and sophomores Michelle Jones and Jill Stephens provided a powerful punch for the Bearcats, combining for 29 points. Jones led the trio with 13 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field.
ON THE BRINK OF MILESTONES: Head coach Laurie Pirtle enters the 2006-07 season five wins shy of 300 victories at UC. She needs 22 to reach the 400-win milestone as she enters the 25th season of her career. The winningest UC women's basketball coach has won eight career coach of the year honors.
36thSEASON OF UC WOMEN'S HOOPS: The 2006-07 season marks Cincinnati's 36th year of varsity competition. Pirtle is the sixth coach to be at the helm of the program. The 2005-06 squad gave UC its 500th victory on Dec. 3, 2005 during the fifth game of the season, an 82-48 win over Eastern Illinois. UC's all-time record is 513-450. Under Coach Pirtle the Bearcats are 295-287 and have made postseason appearances in eight of the last nine years.
UC IN THE BIG EAST: Cincinnati enters its second season as a member of the expanded BIG EAST Conference. In the preseason polls of the league's coaches the Bearcats were picked to finish 12th among the 16 teams. The Bearcats have compiled a record of 71-77 against the current BIG EAST membership. Last year UC finished 11th in the regular season race with a 7-9 ledger and earned a berth to the BIG EAST Championships.
SURVEY OF SCORINGAND STARTS: The Bearcats return 78 percent of their scoring from last season, including the three leaders - senior Treasure Humphries (12.8 ppg) and sophomores Shelly Bellman (10.9) and Michelle Jones (9.1). Humphries and Bellman started every game last season, while Jones played in all 29 games and started 17. Sophomores Jill Stephens (13), Kahla Roudebush (6) and Angel Morgan (3) combined for 22 starts last year.
5/3 ARENA ADVANTAGE: Cincinnati enters its 17th season in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center with a 164-86 record and a .656 winning percentage since its opening in 1989-90, and a 116-32 mark in the past nine years.
HUMPHRIES HONORS: In 2006, Treasure Humphries became the first Bearcat women's basketball player to earn All-BIG EAST honors when she was named to the all-conference second team. A total of 22 Bearcats have earned all-conference recognition during the Pirtle era.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS: Senior Treasure Humphries has led the Bearcats in steals her junior and freshman years. She was a second team All-BIG EAST performer last season.
Senior Karen Twehues provides a strong outside threat for the Bearcats. She has 135 career three-pointers, fourth in UC history, and her .378 career three-point percentage is second in the record books. The veteran also speaks four different languages.
Junior Emy Ogide has been named the most improved player during practice. She did not start playing basketball until her sophomore year of high school. The athletic post player can govern the paint and open up the perimeter.
The five sophomores, Shelly Bellman, Michelle Jones, Angel Morgan, Kahla Roudebush and Jill Stephens, tabbed the "Fab Five" were a top 10 recruiting class. They learned plenty about Division I basketball last season with 68 starts between them.
The freshman class of Carla Jacobs, Natasha Graboski and Stephanie Stevens is also a highly touted group. Jacobs (D-III) and Stevens (D-I) were both honored as Ohio High School Basketball Players of the Year. Graboski earned second team all-state honors.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in UC's home opener.