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UC Welcomes Valparaiso To Fifth Third Arena

UC Welcomes Valparaiso To Fifth Third ArenaUC Welcomes Valparaiso To Fifth Third Arena

Nov. 15, 2007

Story lines

• The University of Cincinnati will look to bounce back from a season-opening loss to the University of Michigan when they take on Valparaiso at Fifth Third Arena in a 4 p.m. contest on Nov. 16. The matchup is UC's first televised game of the 2007-08 season and marks the first time the Bearcats have played the Crusaders.

• UC is led by an entirely new coaching staff, directed by J. Kelley Hall. Hall comes to Cincinnati from Louisiana-Lafayette where he won two Sun Belt Conference West Division titles and led the team to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament (2006-07). Hall's overall record as a head coach is 290-119 and he has compiled an 86-63 overall record as an NCAA Division I head coach.

• The Crusaders are playing their third of six road games to start the 2007-08 season. Valpo is 0-2 after falling at Bowling Green on Nov. 9, 81-56, and losing at 20th-ranked Purdue on Nov. 12, 65-62. Junior forward Aimee Litka is the team's top scorer with a 12.0 ppg average while Litka and sophomore forward Whitney Farris each average 5.0 rebounds a game for the Crusaders.

• The Bearcats remain at Fifth Third Arena for the third of five straight regular season home games, taking on the Duquesne Dukes on Monday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

• Cincinnati played its 2007-08 regular season opener against Michigan and lost a hard-fought battle, 55-46. The Bearcats outrebounded UM, 39-30, and committed 4.5 less turnovers than they averaged in exhibition games (16 for the game), but poor shooting (34.5%) and 11 three pointers by the Wolverines was too much for UC to overcome.

• Freshman guard Tenishia Benson had an outstanding debut for the Bearcats, finishing the game as UC's leading scorer with 11 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Benson started the second half after junior guard Angel Morgan went down with an injury in the first half.

• UC's front court of Jill Stephens and Natasha Graboski went the distance against the Wolverines, playing the full 40 minutes. Both post players grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and Stephens dropped 10 points for the game.

• Kahla Roudebush and Angel Morgan combined for UC's first 11 points of the game. Roudebush finished the game with nine points while Morgan finished with four points in 10 minutes.

ABOUT THE CRUSADERS: Valparaiso (0-2) is in its first season as a member of the Horizon League and was picked to finish fifth in the 2007-08 league's preseason poll. The Crusaders are led by Keith Freeman, who has compiled a 229-154 overall record in his 14th season at Valpo. Freeman guided his squad to a 20-win season last year (20-11) and has made two NCAA Tournament appearances as the head coach of the Crusaders (2003 and 2004). Valpo graduated four seniors from last season's team but returns two starters from a squad that finished as the Mid-Continent Conference runner-up. After two games this season, the Crusaders are averaging 59 points a game, led by Aimee Litka's 12.0 average. Launa Hochstetler adds 10 points a game for Valpo while Litka and Whitney Farris' 5.0 rebounds per game contributes to the team's 31.5 rebounds a game average. In two games, Valpo has 50 turnovers and has knocked down 18 treys at an amazing 52.9%.

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 Valparaiso, and junior guard Angel Morgan is listed as probable after an injury Tuesday's game against Michigan. Sophomore center Natasha Graboski missed the first exhibition game nursing an injury, but rejoined the team in the second exhibition and in the regular season opener. Sophomore guard Carla Jacobs, a member of the BIG EAST all-freshman team in 2007, saw limited action in the first exhibition game but has started her last two games (second exhibition and the season opener).

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 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).

GAMEDAY HOOPLA: Tonight's game is Family Friday/Father-Daughter night. Hot dogs, soda, and popcorn will be available for $1 each and fans who show their ticket to the men's game (7 p.m. vs. Coastal Carolina) will be admitted for free to the women's game.

NEXT UP: The Bearcats will host Duquesne on Monday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. The game is the second straight matchup for the Bearcats against an opponent they have never played and the third of five consecutive games at Fifth Third Arena.