TicketsNov. 16, 2006
- It was only a matter of time until 's Emy Ogide would have an offensive breakout. The 6-foot-2 junior forward came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points Thursday in 's 65-60 win over at Fifth Third Arena. She doubled her previous high of nine points set last year against on Feb. 21, 2006, and was the team's leading scorer for the first time in her UC career. Ogide also pulled in eight rebounds, helping the Bearcats edge UD, 41-40 on the boards.
"Emy has proved me right. She has really come along," said UC head coach Laurie Pirtle, who pegged Ogide her most improved player in the preseason. "Dave (assistant coach Dave Dagostino) and Dawn (associate head coach Dawn Hoosier) did a good job having her post up medium. She is so coachable."
The win brings UC to 3-0, the second consecutive season the Bearcats have started with three straight victories.
"We will learn a lot of lessons from this game," said Pirtle. "It's good to get a win along with those lessons."
The Bearcats and Flyers battled to a 30-30 draw after 20 minutes of play, which saw six leads changes and four ties. bounded to a 6-0 lead to start the contest, while UC did not convert its first basket of the game until the 17:42 mark on a driving lay up by senior Karen Twehues. Baskets were hard to come by as the Bearcats managed only eight points in the first six minutes and shot just 24 percent from behind the arc in the first half. UC's feisty defense created several deflections, seven steals and cashed in for nine points on 12 Flyer turnovers.
The second half started off similar to the first with UD jumping to an early lead, while the Bearcats clawed back to stay within striking distance. The Flyers held a one-point lead with 9:04 to play in the game. Ogide scored on a pass from freshman Carla Jacobs - one of her career-high nine assists - to put the Bearcats up for good with 8:08 left to play. Jacobs put UC up by nine heading into the two-minute mark. The Flyers mounted a comeback but missed three 3-pointers in the final 23 seconds.
The Bearcats were shooting 45 percent from three-point range coming into the game with . They managed just 26 percent against the Flyers. With the outside shot not falling, UC pounded it inside, scoring 36 points in the paint - more than half of their total output.
"We've been shooting so well," said Pirtle. "But we weren't shooting well tonight so we had to go back inside."
- Sophomore Shelly Bellman dished out a career-high six assists. Last season as a freshman she distributed five assists on four separate occasions. She also scored 12 points, the 17th time she has scored in double digits.
- For the third consecutive game, the Bearcats have had three players score in double digits - Ogide (18), Bellman (12) and Twehues (10).
- In addition to her career-high nine assists, Jacobs scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six steals. "Carla is very confident," said Pirtle. "She knows how to make things happen. She is so resilient. If she makes a mistake she'll make up for it on the other end."
- Though the team struggled from three-point range, Twehues drilled two of her three attempts. She can also play defense, corralling six boards and coming away with three steals. "This is Karen's senior year. She is echoing me and providing leadership," said Pirtle. "She asks a lot of her team and to do that you have to be a great example, and she is."
- The Bearcats' 65 points was more than 20 points less than their average of 87 points a game in their first two games.
- UC shot 38 percent from the free throw line on 8-of-21 attempts. The Bearcats shot better from the field, converting 26-of-62 for 42 percent.
- The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena for the third game of their four-game home stand when they host St. Francis () Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.