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UC Opens Regular Season With Michigan

UC Opens Regular Season With MichiganUC Opens Regular Season With Michigan

Nov. 12, 2007

Story lines

• The University of Cincinnati officially begins its 37th season of women's basketball by hosting the University of Michigan at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats have won their last two season openers and are 16-20 overall in the first game of the season.

• UC finished exhibition play 1-1 overall, defeating Northern Kentucky, 69-67 on Nov. 1, and falling to the Ohio Legends, 70-54, on Nov. 7.

• UC is led by an entirely new coaching staff, directed by J. Kelley Hall. Hall comes to Cincinnati from Louisiana-Lafayette where he compiled an 86-62 overall record in five seasons. In his short time with the Ragin' Cajuns, Hall won two Sun Belt Conference West Division titles and led the team to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament (2006-07).

• The Wolverines are 1-0 this year after defeating Akron, 67-55, on Saturday, Nov. 10. UM also won its exhibition game against Lake Superior State, 80-51. Tonight's game marks the first time the Wolverines have played at Fifth Third Arena since the 1998 season.

• The Bearcats play Friday, Nov. 16 against Valparaiso at 4 p.m. The Crusaders will visit Fifth Third Arena and serve as UC's first televised opponent. The Bearcats play Valpo, Louisville (Jan. 15) and USF (Feb. 9) on television this season.

LAST TIME OUT:

• Cincinnati took on the Ohio Legends, a team comprised of former collegiate players from Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Arkansas, and Kentucky, in its second exhibition game of the season. UC lost to the squad that also defeated Eastern Michigan, Xavier, Dayton and Kentucky in exhibition, 70-54.

• Three Bearcats reached double-figure point totals, led by Jill Stephens' and Kahla Roudebush's 12 points. Junior guard Angel Morgan chipped in 10 points.

• UC committed 11 turnovers in the first half and 13 in the second half, giving up 29 points off of turnovers. Stephens and sophomore center Natasha Graboski each pulled down a team-high six rebounds for the game but the Bearcats were outrebounded 33-28.

VS. NORTHERN KY: Cincinnati took on area Division II power Northern Kentucky in its first exhibition game at Fifth Third Arena and won, 69-67. Two Bearcats reached double-figure point totals, led by Jill Stephens' and Kahla Roudebush's 16 points.

J. Kelley Hall: J. Kelley Hall was named the head coach of the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team on April 4, 2007. Hall's career coaching highlights include guiding his teams to six NCAA Tournaments and coaching six all-Americans, 10 all-Southeastern Conference student-athletes and one NCAA scoring champion. He has a 290-118 overall record as a head coach with a winning percentage of .711. As the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, Hall compiled an 86-62 overall record and led the Ragin' Cajuns to their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.

ABOUT THE WOLVERINES: Michigan is playing it's second regular season game of 2007-08 after defeating Akron on Saturday, 67-55. An experienced team, UM returns 13 of 14 letterwinners, and was picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten standings by both the conference coaches and a panel of media members. The Wolverines were led by senior center Ta'Shia Walker in the victory over Akron. Walker scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Junior forward Stephany Skrba scored nine points and pulled down 10 rebounds while sophomore center Krista Phillips also scored nine points. Junior guard Jessica Minnfield had four points and four assists in 40 minutes for the Wolverines. UM is coached by Kevin Borseth, who is in his first season with the Wolverines and owns a 217-62 NCAA Division I overall record.

BEARCATS BITS: The 2007-08 Bearcats return nine letterwinners and three starters from last season's squad that finished 15-14 overall and 6-10 in the BIG EAST Conference. Of the letterwinners returning for the Bearcats, junior guard/forward Shelly Bellman, one of UC's top returning players with a 10.4 points per game average last year, is out for the 2007-08 season with a leg injury. Senior forward Emy Ogide and freshman guard Asia Jenkins also will not suit up for the Bearcats against the Wolverines. Sophomore center Natasha Graboski missed the first exhibition game nursing an injury, but rejoined the team against the Legends. Graboski, a 6-3 presence in the paint, averaged 1.7 points a game as a freshman and scored seven points in the exhibition game. Sophomore guard Carla Jacobs, a member of the all freshman BIG EAST team in 2007, saw limited action in the first exhibition game but started against the Legends and dished out five assists. Freshman guard Tenishia Benson scored eight points against Northern Kentucky and scored three points in 20 minutes of action against the Legends. Junior guard Angel Morgan played 32 minutes and tossed in seven points for the Bearcats against Northern Kentucky and had a solid game against the Legends, scoring 10 points, grabbing three rebounds, dishing out three assists and finishing with two steals.

REFOCUS: Fifth-year senior forward Renee Hein, who was a member of UC's track and field team the first four years of her career, has decided has decided to leave the women's basketball team to focus on her dream of competing in high jump at the 2008 Olympics. In UC's two exhibition games, Hein averaged 10 minutes, four points and 1.5 rebounds a game.

NUMBER 45: After two seasons wearing jersey number 40, junior forward Jill Stephens has switched to number 45 for the 2007-08 season. Stephens is now wearing the same jersey number that her sister Anne wore during her career as a Bearcat (2003-06).

LOOKING AHEAD: The Bearcats will host Valparaiso on Friday, Nov. 16 in a 4:00 p.m. contest that will be televised on Fox 19 WXIX. On Monday, Nov. 19 UC will welcome the Duquesne Dukes to Fifth Third Arena for a 7 p.m. game. It is the first time UC has played Duquesne.