TicketsDec. 16, 2006
Game Notes
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UC vs. Alabama A&M
Date: Monday, Dec. 18, 2006
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Site: Fifth Third Arena (13,176)Cincinnati, Ohio
Tickets: Adults $5, Youth (12 and under) $3, Groups of 15 or more $2 each.
Ticket Hotline: 1-877-CATS-TIX
Live Stats: GoBEARCATS.com
TV: None.
Radio: CATSVision All-Access (Tommy Gelehrter), Bearcast (Erwin McIntosh III, Brian Witherby)
Last Meeting: First Meeting
SETTING THE SCENE: returns to the friendly confines of Fifth Third Arena to take on Alabama A&M on Monday, Dec. 18. The 7 p.m. tip off marks the first meeting between the Bearcats (7-2) and Lady Bulldogs (4-3). UC is 5-0 in home games this season, while dropping to 2-2 when playing on the road with its 67-62 loss to No. 16 Louisville at Freedom Hall on Thursday. Alabama A&M is also 2-2 when playing away from home. The Lady Bulldogs suffered a 76-54 loss to (9-1) on Dec. 3 and have not played since. A&M will face No. 8 Ohio State on Saturday, two days before the clash with the Bearcats.
STORY LINES:
w There are four opponents on the Bearcats' 2006-07 schedule that UC had never played until this season and Alabama A&M is the last of the four. The Bearcats are 3-0 in first-time meetings this year, with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (89-65), Murray State (74-57) and Princeton (66-55).
w The Bearcats are 2-0 against Southwestern Athletic Conference teams this season. Cincinnati has already chalked up wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (89-65) and Alabama State (92-53), deciding the games by an average of 31.5 points. A&M is the third and final SWAC team on the 2006-07 schedule for UC.
w UC forward Emy Ogide's hometown of Rockmart, Ga. is an hour and 20 minutes from Stone Mountain, Ga., hometown of A&M forward Tamika Green. Rockmart is an hour west of Atlanta, while Stone Mountain is a suburb on the east side.
w Each team features a home-grown appeal. UC's roster includes eight players from Ohio. The Lady Bulldogs have nine players native to Alabama.
w The Bearcats are undefeated (5-0) when playing at home this season.
w UC and A&M will square off the game after facing a Top 25 opponent in the previous contest. UC lost to No. 16 Louisville and Alabama A&M plays No. 8 Ohio State on Saturday.
UC LAST TIME OUT: UC Coach Laurie Pirtle said her Bearcats needed to play two solid halves to beat No. 16 and undefeated Louisville. She was right. Cincinnati owned a 42-32 lead at halftime, but shot just 20 percent in the second half â�" scoring only 20 points â�" allowing the Cardinals to rally for the 67-62 BIG EAST win in the conference opener for both teams. In their previous game it was a different story, the Bearcats came out flat against Alabama State, but countered with a 62-point second half performance for a 92-53 win. The Bearcats were on the verge of a signature BIG EAST win, but the Cardinals slipped through with a 67-62 win at Freedom Hall on Thursday. Cincinnati led for all but two minutes of the contest, but the Cardinals (10-0, 1-0 BIG EAST) came up with the plays it needed to pull off the comeback.
w The 20 points were UC's lowest point production in a half this season.
w The Bearcats were out rebounded for the first time in 2006. The Cards held a 53-44 edge.
w December 14 marked the earliest date UC had ever opened conference play.
w This was the first contest UC has lost this season after leading at the half.
w UC held Louisville without a 3-point field goal in the first half. The Cards, who were averaging 6.0 per game, hit 3-of-8 in the second half.
w For the ninth consecutive game at least three UC players scored in double digits: Shelly Bellman (16), Treasure Humphries (13-all in the first half) and Michelle Jones (10).
w The Bearcats had a season-high 9 shots blocked by Louisville.
w Louisville coach Tom Collen won his 200th career game with the victory.
BEARCATS DATA
w The Bearcats have won the battle of the boards in eight of their nine games this season. Only Louisville has beaten UC with a 53-44 margin. Cincinnati owns a +10.6 rebounding margin this season. The UC single-season record is a +6.7 margin.
w Senior Treasure Humphries has had at least three assists in eight of the Bearcats' nine games. She leads the team with 4.8 per game. She needed just one assist to reach the 200-plateau and dished out five against the Cardinals for 204 career assists. The Bearcats are averaging 18.44 assists per game, leading the BIG EAST in that category and ranking 10th in the NCAA.
w Humphries has scored in double figures in five games this season and 36 in her career.
w Humphries, who led the team in steals both her freshman and junior seasons, is pacing the team in thefts with 19. She has had at least two steals in eight of nine games this season.
w Sophomore Shelly Bellman is the team's leading scorer (15.4) and rebounder (7.4). She has grabbed at least 5 rebounds in every game this season. She averaged 19.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg and was named to the all-tournament team of the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational (12/1-2/06), hosted by Northwestern.
w Bellman has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and in 23 of 38 career games. Bellman has three career double-doubles, including two this season: 14 points and 11 rebounds against St. Francis (11/22/06) and 13 points and 13 rebounds against Murray State (11/28/06).
w Sophomore Michelle Jones is shooting a team-high 52 percent from the field. She has converted on 33-of-63 attempts.
w Sophomore Angel Morgan is second on the team in average minutes played with 29.0. She played the entire 40 minutes and scored a career-high 18 points, vaulting UC to a 74-57 win over Murray State (11/28/06). The win gave head Coach Laurie Pirtle her 300th at Cincinnati.
w Senior Karen Twehues is third all-time at UC in career 3-point field goals with151. She has made 16 this season. She leads the Bearcats in 3-point field goal percentage at 38 percent.
w The Bearcats have had at least three players score in double figures in every game this season, including five in Cincinnati's 83-51 win over St. Francis (Pa.) (11/22/06).
w Junior Emy Ogide is averaging 7.9 points a game this season, well above her career average coming into the season of 2.2 points. She had a career game in UC's 65-60 win over Dayton (11/16/06). The 6-2 junior forward came off the bench to score a game- and career-high 18 points, doubling her previous best of 9 points set last year against Georgetown on Feb. 21, 2006.
w UC broke a team record for 3-point field goals in a game in an 89-65 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 14. UC finished with 13 treys, including 10 in the first half.
w The Bearcats extended their home-opener winning streak to 11 with the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
w Cincinnati has held six of its eight opponents to less than 65 points and is averaging 63.0 points allowed this season. The Bearcats held St. Francis (Pa.) to 51 points, a season low.
w The Bearcats had their earliest season opener in school history, playing at Youngstown State on Nov. 10.
w With the start against YSU, Carla Jacobs became one of nine true freshmen Division I point guards in the nation who started in their teams' women's basketball season openers. Jacobs is second on the team in steals (17) and assists (35).
LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats will host Tennessee Tech at Fifth Third Arena on Thursday, Dec. 21. The 7 p.m. game is UC's last at home until the Bearcats resume BIG EAST play on Jan. 3 against Georgetown at 7 p.m. They will play at Arkansas on Dec. 28.