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Hoosiers Visit Fifth Third Arena

Hoosiers Visit Fifth Third ArenaHoosiers Visit Fifth Third Arena

Dec. 19, 2007

Story Lines

• The University of Cincinnati takes on Indiana in its final home game of 2007 in a 7 p.m. matchup at Fifth Third Arena on Thursday, Dec. 20. The Bearcats are riding a four-game win streak and have won seven consecutive home games, most recently defeating Central Michigan, 82-69, on Monday, Dec. 17.

• Four UC players are averaging double figures, led by junior forward Jill Stephens' 16.4 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. Stephens became the first Cincinnati women's basketball player to be named the BIG EAST Player of the Week after averaging 23.0 points and 11.5 rebounds a game for the week ending Dec. 17.

• Cincinnati played two entirely different halves but still came out with a victory on Monday night, giving up a season-low 18 points in the first half against Central Michigan and then allowing 51 points in the second half. The Bearcats had a rarity with three players notching double-doubles in the win and Carla Jacobs notched a career-high with 20 points.

• Through the third week of statistical National Rankings by the NCAA (Dec. 16, 2007), the Bearcats were ranked in the Top-10 in four categories. UC ranked second in the country in personal fouls per game (12.7), 10th in free throw percentage as a team (77.8%), 10th in three-point field goals per game (7.8), and Jill Stephens ranks seventh in the country with her rebounding average (11.3 at that time).

• The Bearcats will take a break for the Holidays and then hit the road for their final game of 2007 on Saturday, Dec. 29. UC will travel to Cookeville, Tenn. to take on Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. at the Eblen Center.

LAST TIME OUT:

• Three Cincinnati players recorded double-doubles and Carla Jacobs scored a career-high 20 points to lead Cincinnati to an 82-69 win over visiting Central Michigan.

• Kahla Roudebush scored 19 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds while Tenishia Benson scored 19 points and matched a career-high with 10 rebounds and Jill Stephens scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Bearcats. UC, which outrebounded Central Michigan 49-30, has now won seven consecutive games at Fifth Third Arena.

• Central Michigan opened the game with a full court press and kept the game close until the 14:44 mark when UC went on a 22-6 run. Roudebush scored 10 straight points to give UC a 35-15 lead with 2:11 left in the first stanza and UC took a 41-18 lead into the locker room. UC held Central Michigan to 18 points in the first half, a season-low for a Bearcat opponent.

• The Bearcats struggled to contain the Chippewas in the second half. After only allowing Central Michigan 18 points in the first half, the Chippewas poured in 51 second half points, the most UC has given up since Xavier scored 55 in the second half on Jan. 17, 2007. UC's first half lead was enough of a cushion to maintain the victory, 82-69.

ABOUT INDIANA: The Hoosiers stopped a four-game losing streak with Sunday's win against Bowling Green and are currently 5-5 overall. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack is in her second season at Indiana and has a 24-19 overall record with the Hooisers. She is 78-82 in six seasons as a head coach. Jamie Braun leads the Hoosiers in scoring with 14.2 points a game and Whitney Thomas pulls down a team-high 8.3 rebounds a game. IU and UC have had one common opponent this year, with both teams losing at Dayton (UC lost 69-53, IU lost 67-59).

TIP IT GOOD: Natasha Graboski, a 6-3 sophomore center, has won six of the last nine jumpball tips and won the overtime tip in the Duquesne game. Graboski is one of the team's tougher players, fouling out of the Duquesne, Presbyterian and Xavier games and recording a team-high 32 fouls this season. The center has the third-highest assists on the team with 19.

BIG FIRST IN THE BIG EAST: Junior forward Jill Stephens earned the BIG EAST Player of the Week award for the week ending Dec. 17. Stephens is the first UC player to be named the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Player of the Week since the Bearcats joined the league in 2005-06. Stephens led Cincinnati in scoring and rebounding in home victories over Wright State (73-66) on Dec. 11 and Youngstown State (79-56) on Dec. 15. Stephens played the entire game against Wright State, the fourth time she has been called on to do so this season, and scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. She scored a game-high 27 points and notched her fourth double-double of the season with 14 rebounds against Youngstown State. She finished the game with career highs in points (27), field goals (11), field goal attempts (19), 3-point field goals made and attempted (5-of-6) and assists (4).

BIG EAST HONOR ROLL: Junior forward Jill Stephens was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending Nov. 26, as announced by the league office. Stephens started both the McNeese State and Duquesne games, averaging 14.0 ppg, 17.0 rpg, and shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Stephens pulled down 22 rebounds -- 14 of them offensive -- in the McNeese State game, earning third place in the UC record books for total rebounds in a game and tying a Fifth Third Arena record with 14 offensive boards. She recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Duquesne. Freshman guard Tenishia Benson was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending Nov. 18, as announced by the league office. Benson earned her first start against Valparaiso and showed no rookie jitters. She finished the game with a game-high 25 points and was perfect from the free throw line (11-11). Additionally, Benson started the second half against Michigan and finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds. The last UC freshman to lead the team in scoring in her first collegiate start was Shelly Bellman (15 points in 74-39 victory over St. Francis on Nov. 19, 2005).

SUPER STEPHENS: Junior forward Jill Stephens was ranked seventh in the country with 11.3 rebounds a game through Dec. 16, 2007. She currently has the top individual rebounding performance in the BIG EAST after grabbing 22 rebounds against McNeese State. Stephens has recorded five double-doubles this season and currently leads the team in scoring with a 16.4 points per game average. Her 22 rebounds against McNeese State is the second best rebounding performance in the country (tied with Courtney Paris of Oklahoma).

BENSON BRINGS IT: Freshman guard Tenishia Benson has made significant contributions for UC, earning her first start against Valparaiso and scoring a game-high 25 points. She snapped Valerie King's streak of 21 free throws made in 2002-03 by landing her first 27 attempts over the first six games of the season. Benson finished the McNeese State game with her first double-double of the year, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and at Dayton she recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She scored 11 points, seven in the last two minutes, in the win at Xavier. Benson scored 15 points and started a new streak at the free throw line, connecting on 5-of-5 against Wright State. Against Central Michigan Benson put together a balanced game, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year.

FROM DOWNTOWN: The Bearcats have landed 81 three pointers this year and average 8.1 treys a game. With 18 regular season games left in 2007-08, if UC maintains its current average per game it will finish easily within the top-5 in the school record book. The Bearcats' three pointer average per game is the10th highest in the nation (games through Dec. 16).

HELPING HAND: Cincinnati handed out a season-high 21 assists in the victory over Youngstown State. UC owns a 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and its 21 helpers was the most since the last game of the 2006-07 season against Pittsburgh (March 3, 2007). The Bearcats had only 11 turnovers for the game against the Chippewas, the lowest since recording seven against Syracuse on Feb. 26, 2007.

WINDOW WIPERS: The Bearcats will focus heavily on rebounding this year and are off to a good start, outrebounding opponents, 454-330. UC grabbed 60 rebounds against McNeese State, the third highest rebounding performance in school history, and followed it up with a 54-rebound game against Presbyterian. In games through Dec. 16, UC's 11.7 rebounding average was 11th in the nation.

FINE AT THE LINE: The Bearcats have connected on 134-of-175 attempts for a .776 percentage at the charity stripe. Freshman Tenishia Benson was an outstanding 11-for-11 from the line in the win over Valparaiso and followed up that performance by going 9-for-9 against Duquesne. The Bearcats did not miss at the line against McNeese State, going 10-for-10 as a team and tying the school record of 100% from the free throw line. The 2003-04 team was perfect from the line twice in 2003, landing 11-for-11 against Indiana State and going 14-for-14 against Loyola Marymount. UC hit 15-of-18 at the line against YSU, shooting 83.3% as a team.

PF PER GAME: Cincinnati's personal fouls per game average is 12.6. In games through Dec. 16, UC had the second best personal fouls per game average in the nation. The Bearcats have only had someone foul out of a game four times this season and have committed only 126 fouls so far as a team. Through the first 10 games last season, UC had 178 fouls as a team.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cincinnati's 73-66 victory over Wright State was the 1000th game played in women's basketball history at UC. The Bearcats are now 536-466 overall in their 37th season of play.

PROTECTING THE BALL: After averaging 20.5 turnovers a game in the first two exhibition games, UC has done a much better job protecting the ball over the last 10 games, committing only 13.9 turnovers a game.