TicketsFeb. 17, 2007
, - The University of Cincinnati overcame a 16-point deficit and held a five-point lead with under five minutes to play, but could not hold on, suffering a 72-66 loss to Saturday at Carnesseca Arena.
The Bearcats were down by as much as 16 with 14:21 to play in the game. After experiencing what seemed like a cap over the basket in the first 30 minutes of the contest, UC displayed an offensive explosion and went on a 15-0 run to take a five-point lead, 64-59, when Shelly Bellman completed the three-point play, with 4:55 to go in the game. Karen Twehues tied the game, 59-59, with two free throws at the 5:54 mark. The senior also hit back-to-back treys in UC's run. Emy Ogide gave the Bearcats their first lead of the contest, 61-59, by sinking both of her free throws with 5:25 to play. The Red Storm squashed UC's momentum and closed out the game with a 13-2 run. missed five of its final six shots and committed thee turnovers in that span.
"You have to give a lot of credit to the kids for fighting back," said UC head coach Laurie Pirtle. "But you have to finish what you start. You have to complete a master piece once it's started."
UC faced a double-digit deficit, 37-25, heading into the locker room at the half. The Bearcats missed their first nine field goal attempts to start the contest. On UC's first possession of the game, the Bearcats missed four consecutive shots and Jill Stephens pulled in three straight offensive rebounds. Carla Jacobs' free throw at the 17:57 mark tied the game, 1-1. Bellman sank 's first field goal of the half with 15:46 left to play. The Red Storm used a 14-1 run to pull away, 19-4, midway through the first period. Twehues knocked down a triple with 3.5 seconds until the buzzer sounded for the halftime score. The Bearcats shot 19 percent, going eight of 41 from the field in the opening half.
"We cannot start a game like that," said Pirtle. "We would not be in that situation if we started off better."
Bellman scored a team-high 16 points to go along with her game-high eight rebounds for the Bearcats. Twehues added 11 points and six rebounds. Jacobs and Ogide each contributed nine points. SJU's Kia Wright led all scorers with 22.
UC took 23 more shots than the Red Storm - 73 to 50 - but shot just 32 percent, its second lowest performance this season. The Bearcats took a season-high 31 3-point field goals. The 73 field goals attempted tied for second most this season.
The Bearcats outrebounded SJU, 50-42, marking the 21st time in 25 games UC has out battled its opponent on the boards. The 50 rebounds is the third best performance by the Bearcats this year.
The Bearcats are back home to host Villanova in a BIG EAST battle on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Fifth Third Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff.