TicketsFeb. 14, 2008
Story lines
After a bye week, Cincinnati plays at Villanova University on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. in a BIG EAST tilt. On Saturday, Feb. 9, the Bearcats wore pink uniforms and defeated USF, 74-67. The pink uniforms were worn to show Cincinnati's support of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Think Pink initiative to raise awareness for breast cancer. Ironically, UC's game at Villanova is its Think Pink day. Therefore, the Bearcats will wear their pink uniforms against the Wildcats.
UC snapped an eight game losing streak when they defeated the Bulls. Villanova (14-10/ 4-7) is playing its second straight home game after a 72-59 victory over Providence on Tuesday.
Two UC players are averaging double figures, led by redshirt-sophomore Kahla Roudebush's 16.4 points a game. Junior forward Jill Stephens averages a team-high 9.6 rebounds a game and has collected eight double-doubles this year, the most a UC player has grabbed in a season since Debbie Merrill tallied 11 double-doubles during the 2002-03 season.
The game at Villanova will feature two teams that will launch shots from downtown. The Wildcats lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (38.6) and have connected on 78 more treys than any other team in the league (248). Cincinnati has matched the school record for 3-pointers in a game (13, vs. McNeese State) this season and is currently ranked fourth in school history with 168 treys as a team.
LAST TIME OUT:
Kahla Roudebush scored a career-high 25 points and Natasha Graboski pitched in a career-high 17 points leading UC to a 74-67 win over USF at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday. The Bearcats snapped an eight-game losing streak with the victory.
The Bearcats sported pink uniforms on what was dubbed as UC's Think Pink day, to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer. Graboski won the tip and Cincinnati opened the game with an explosive 13-0 run that included connecting on its first five shot attempts. It was the best start for UC since a 16-0 start against Presbyterian College on Nov. 26, 2007.
USF pulled within seven, 31-24, at the 5:18 point, and the two teams closed out the half scoring nine each so that the scoreboard read 40-33 going into the locker room.
Roudebush finished the half with 13 points and five rebounds while Graboski was two points shy of her career high, scoring 12 points in the first stanza. The Bearcats shot 53.3% from the floor in the first half and outrebounded the Bulls, 19-13.
Jill Stephens put UC up, 66-60, when she landed a 3-pointer with 4:22 to go. Roudebush followed Stephens' trey up with a 3-pointer of her own, giving her a new career-high in points and giving UC a seven point edge and enough momentum for the Bearcats to earn the victory.
UC shot 18-for-19 at the free throw line for the fourth-best free throw percentage in school history in a game (94.7%) as Stephens, Roudebush, Carla Jacobs and Tenishia Benson were each perfect from the line. Stephens finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds.
ABOUT VILLANOVA: Villanova University looks to win three in a row when it plays UC, coming off a 72-59 win at the Pavilion on Tuesday and winning at St. John's, 69-66, last Saturday. The Wildcats are 14-10 overall and 4-7 in the BIG EAST, with two victories over Providence and wins against Georgetown and St. John's. Junior forward Laura Kurz leads the team in points (15.0) and rebounds (6.2) per game. Senior forward Stacie Witman and junior forward Lisa Karcic average in double figures (14.8 and 12.3, respectively) and have combined for 119 treys on the year. The Wildcats are led by head coach Harry Perretta, who is in his 30th season and is 550-323 overall. Villanova leads the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (38.6) and has connected on an amazing 248 triples this season (10.3 a game, tops in the BIG EAST). The Wildcats have the lowest turnover average in the league (11.3) and the lowest rebounding average, 29.5.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Cincinnati is 7-53 overall against ranked teams. Notre Dame, ranked No. 20/20, was the fourth ranked opponent the Bearcats faced this season (DePaul, No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll on Jan. 26, No. 1/1 Connecticut on Jan. 19 and No. 5/5 Rutgers on Jan. 22). Prior to the loss at UConn, the highest ranked team UC played (since 1990) was No. 3 Georgia on Dec. 13, 1990. The Bearcats lost, 99-38. Cincinnati's last win against a ranked team came on Jan. 14, 2007 when it defeated No. 24/24 DePaul, 62-44 at home. The last road win UC has earned against a ranked team came on Jan. 31, 1999 when the Bearcats defeated No. 18 Tulane, 70-51.
ON TV: The Bearcats played their sixth game on television and their second straight TV game when they took the court against USF. Cincinnati is 3-3 when playing on television, with wins against Valaparaiso (W, 96-69), at Xavier (W, 61-55) and USF (W, 74-67), and losing at Louisville (L, 69-37), at UConn (L, 86-49) and at Marquette (L, 72-65).
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 made her return to the hardwood against Wright State but missed the first seven games.
ACADEMICALLY: Junior forward Jill Stephens was selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) to the 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV women's basketball second team. Stephens earned a 4.0 grade point average last quarter and holds a 3.95 overall GPA as a Communication Sciences and Disorders major. She is the first UC women's basketball player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors since 1998, when Stephanie Geter and Jolinda Lewis were named to the first team.
POSTGRADUATE: Jill Stephens was selected as a 2007-08 BIG EAST/Aéropostale Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete award winner, providing her $2,000 toward graduate studies. A winner was selected from each of the 16 BIG EAST institutions with an overall winner earning a $4,000 scholarship. The selections were made by the BIG EAST's Academic Affairs Committee, who named Syracuse track & field All-American Jillian Drouin as the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
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 HONORS: Redshirt-sophomore Kahla Roudebush was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after her performance during the week of January 7th. The sharp-shooter averaged 21 points a game, grabbed an average of 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and connected on 7-for 16 from downtown in the games against Georgetown (W, 69-49) and Pittsburgh (L, 86-61).
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).
STREAKIN': Kahla Roudebush connected on 17 consecutive free throws starting against Central Michigan and not missing until the second half of the Georgetown game. She has made 53 of her last 69 (76.8 percent) attempts at the charity stripe (since Xavier game on Dec. 1, 2007).
SUPER STEPHENS: Junior forward Jill Stephens has recorded eight double-doubles this season and currently leads the team with 9.6 rebounds a game. Her 22 rebounds against McNeese State is tied for the seventh best rebounding performance in the country (in games through Feb. 10th).
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 against Wright State and had a balanced game against Central Michigan, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year. Benson dropped in 10 points against Georgetown, shooting 5-for-6 at the charity stripe. At UConn, Benson scored seven points and handed out three assists and she pulled down five boards against Rutgers.
FROM DOWNTOWN: The Bearcats have landed 168 three pointers this year and average 7.3 treys a game -- third best in the BIG EAST. With five regular season games left in 2007-08, this year's team is now ranked fourth in the school record book for 3-pointers made in a season and needs to only connect on 10 triples to set a new school record in that category.
EXTREME STAMINA: Jill Stephens played her fourth consecutive 40-minute game at Seton Hall and her 10th overall 40-minute game against USF. Kahla Roudebush played her third consecutive 40-minute game at Tennessee Tech and fifth 40-minute game against Georgetown. Carla Jacobs played her second consecutive full game at Tennessee Tech and her fifth full game against USF. Both Tenishia Benson and Natasha Graboski have played 40 minute games for UC as well this season. In the BIG EAST statistics, four of UC's starters are ranked in the Top 30 in minutes played, with Stephens logging the most minutes a game in the league (37.9) and Roudebush playing the third most (35.3).
HELPING HAND: Cincinnati handed out a season-high 21 assists in the victory over Youngstown State. UC's 21 helpers were the most since the last game of the 2006-07 season against Pittsburgh (March 3, 2007).
WINDOW WIPERS: The Bearcats focus heavily on rebounding and are outrebounding opponents, 894-839. 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. The Bearcats have won nine of the 12 games that they have outrebounded their opponents.
FINE AT THE LINE: The Bearcats have connected on 272-of-367 attempts for a .741 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. Against USF, Cincinnati was 18-for-19 from the line (tied for fourth, 94.7%) with four of the fiver players who went to the line shooting perfect. UC's current percentage of 74.1 from the charity stripe would tie second in the school record book if the season were to end today.
PF PER GAME: Cincinnati's personal fouls per game average is 13.4. In games through Feb. 10th, UC had the sixth best personal fouls per game average in the nation (13.4 pfpg). At Tennessee Tech, UC had a season-high 19 fouls and at Marquette they matched that total, but somone has fouled out only seven times this season. UC has committed only 309 fouls so far as a team. Through the first 23 games last season, UC had 404 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 538-473 overall in their 37th season of play.
STANDING GROUND: In two consecutive games, redshirt-sophomore guard Kahla Roudebush took four charges, three coming at Tennessee Tech and one at Seton Hall. She stood ground three times against USF.
LAST TIME AGAINST VILLANOVA (2-20-07): UC defeated Villanova at Fifth Third Arena, 60-50. The Wildcats made it interesting in the final minute, cutting a 15-point lead to eight, 58-50, with 1:36 to play but Karen Twehues scored the final points of the game on free throws to ice it. Twehues finished with a game-high 15 points. Michelle Jones added 14 points, including six of six from the free throw line and also gathered six rebounds.
Rebounding was the story of the game for the Bearcats. Shelly Bellman and Treasure Humphries both had career days on the boards. Bellman equaled her career high with 14 caroms and Humphries established a new career-high with 11 rebounds, just the second time in her career she has boarded in double figures. The two combined for 25 rebounds, Villanova's team total. The final tally was, UC 46, VU 25. Bellman also added six assists, tying teammate Carla Jacobs for game-high honors.
Villanova attempted 33 3-point field goals, the most against the Bearcats this season. The two teams combined for 50 attempts from behind the arc.
SWATTING GUARD: Sophomore point guard Carla Jacobs is second on the team with 11 blocks. Jacobs's 11 blocks is more than a UC player tallied during the 2006-07 season. The 5-7 floor general is second behind center Natasha Graboski, who has swatted 16 shots this season -- the most a UC player has blocked in a season since Anne Stephens' 22 during the 2005-06 season.
10 TREYS: Cincinnati has knocked down 10 or more three-pointers in a game six times this season, winning each time they have connected in double-digits from downtown. The Bearcats hit a season-high 13 triples against McNeese State, the most UC has made in a game since the second game of the season last year against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (13) on Nov. 14, 2006.
BENCH PRODUCTIVITY: Against Georgetown, Cincinnati had zero points from bench players. UC has had less than five points from bench players five times this year (Xavier, Wright State, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Marquette), winning three of the five games. At No. 25 DePaul, UC had a whopping 37 points from bench players with Stephanie Stevens scoring a career and game-high 16 points and Kristi Brogan chipping in 10. Only three starters scored against the Blue Demons, combining for a total of 14 points.
PROTECTING THE BALL: After averaging 20.5 turnovers a game in the two exhibition games, UC has done a much better job protecting the ball in regular season play, committing 16.9 turnovers a game. At Marquette, UC had its most turnovers in a game this season, committing 27 turnovers.
TRIPLE TIME: Redshirt sophomore Kahla Roudebush is currently in 10th place in the school record book for 3-pointers made in a career (61). If she can make 10 more three pointers she will move into sixth place, surpassing Merelenea Dozier, who landed 70 career treys from 2000-03. The school record for 3-point field goals made in a career is 338, set by Valerie King who played from 2001-04. Her season total of 52 is five shy of ranking 10th in the school record book for triples made in a season.
HOT IN A HALF: UC shot over 50 percent (53.3) from the floor in the first half in the victory over USF. In the first half the Bearcats shot over 60 percent (66.7) in the loss at Marquette. UC had hot shooting in one half six times this year, winning against Valparaiso (57.6 in the second half), defeating Duquesne in overtime (50.0 in the second half), winning against Wright State (66.7 in the first half), and defeating Tennessee Tech on the road (50.0 in the first, 61.1 in the second half).
CITY STREAK: Cincinnati has landed a basket from downtown in 36 consecutive games. The last time UC finished a game without connecting on a 3-pointer was against No. 24 DePaul on Jan. 14, 2007 at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats launched nine triples that game, but did not hit. They did, however; win the game. UC has made 146 three pointers as a team this season.
STARTING STEVENS: Sophomore guard Stephanie Stevens earned her first career start against Louisville on Jan. 30, 2008 after recording a career-high in points (16) at No. 25 DePaul. She finished the game against Louisville with seven points and four assists.
PLAYMAKER: Sophomore guard Carla Jacobs has recorded an assist in all but one game she has played at UC. Jacobs had an assist in every game last year and pushed her streak of handing out an assist in a game to 32 games before playing only 26 minutes against McNeese State in the fourth game of the 2007-08 season and going without a helper. She has since dished out an assist in every game, starting a new streak that now stands at 19 games.