TicketsJan. 10, 2007
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Cincinnati could not overcome a season-high 25 turnovers in falling to Notre Dame, 81-70, in BIG EAST women's basketball action at the Joyce Center on Wednesday night. Senior Treasure Humphries led the Bearcats with 16 points and Shelly Bellman posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
UC fell to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in the BIG EAST with the loss, suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time this season. The Irish climbed to 11-4 and 2-0 in the league.
Bellman added seven assists to her double-double, posting a near triple-double for the second time in five games. Karen Twehues made four of UC's 10 three-pointers in scoring 14 points and Carla Jacobs added 13.
UC's 25 turnovers led to 31 UND points and the Bearcats were outscored at the free throw line 18 to 4. Tulyah Gaines led the Irish with 27 points, making 11-of-12 free throws. Charel Allen added 19.
"(Notre Dame's full-court pressure) affected us quite a bit," said head coach Laurie Pirtle. "We must have had five or six traveling calls in the first four or five minutes. I had a lot of trouble getting the kids to settle down and talk through what was going on. I think that was the story of the game. We just didn't adjust well enough to it and gave them too many good looks off of it."
The Bearcats return home -- where they are 8-0 and 1-0 in the BIG EAST -- to take on No. 24 DePaul at Fifth Third Arena on Sunday, Jan. 14. The BIG EAST game will be featured on ESPNU with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
After UC closed the margin to one, 37-36, less than a minute into the second half, the Irish scored 10 of the next 12 points to push the lead to 47-38 with 16:25 left.
The margin hovered around 10 until UND put together a 7-1 run, five coming from Gaines, to take a 71-55 lead with 5:03 left. The edge ballooned to 19 before three-pointers by Twehues and Bellman capped an 8-0 run with threes to close to 11 with just 1:08 left.
Cincinnati trailed just 37-34 at the half despite 17 turnovers in the first stanza. The Bearcats started off strong in the opening minutes. Humphries got UC kick started with a steal and a fast break lay up, then calmly sank a 3-pointer seconds later to give the Bearcats a 5-0 lead at the 19:06 mark.
UC averaged 17.9 turnovers a game coming into this contest. It nearly eclipsed that in the first half alone, allowing Notre Dame to take back the lead and go up by as much as nine points, 27-18, with 6:50 to play in the half.
Jacobs scored eight consecutive points to keep it close, and then the Bearcats used a 7-0 run late in the half to pull within one point. UC's defense provided a spark with three steals, one each by Twehues, Bellman and Michelle Jones. Jones' steal led to a quick score by Humphries cutting the Irish lead to 33-32.
When the Bearcats held on to the ball they were very proficient, shooting 54 percent. However, UC only attempted 24 field goals to the Irish's 36.
Notes:
- Treasure Humphries dished out two assists, extending her streak of games with at least one assist to 58.
- The loss marks the first time UC has lost back-to-back games this season.
- The Bearcats outrebounded the Irish , 33-32, as they have in 13 of 15 games this season.
- UC turned the ball over a season-high 25 times.