TicketsFeb. 18, 2008
Story lines
Cincinnati returns to Fifth Third Arena to take on its fifth ranked opponent of the 2007-08 season when it plays BIG EAST foe, No. 11/11 West Virginia University, on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
The Bearcats are coming off a 69-50 loss at Villanova on Saturday, Feb. 16. Villanova connected on 14 three-pointers - a season-high for a UC opponent - and Cincinnati grabbed a season-low 23 rebounds. The last time UC pulled down less than 25 rebounds in a game happened on Feb. 3, 2007 in a 85-43 loss at Rutgers.
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 9.3 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.
Cincinnati is 7-53 overall against ranked teams and earned its last victory over a ranked team on Jan. 14, 2007 when it defeated No. 24/24 DePaul, 62-44 at home. The last road win UC garnered against a ranked team came on Jan. 31, 1999 when the Bearcats defeated No. 18 Tulane, 70-51.
LAST TIME OUT:
Kahla Roudebush scored a team-high 15 points but UC could not stop the three-point shot, losing at Villanova, 69-50, in a BIG EAST contest. Villanova hit 14 three pointers as a team, nine of which came in the second half, and outrebounded the Bearcats, 31-23.
UC went into the locker room at the half down seven, 29-22, despite giving up 11 points off of nine turnovers in the first stanza. Roudebush and Emy Ogide scored seven points for UC in the first half. UC attempted six 3-pointers in the first half and was successful once, only the fifth time this season that UC has made only one trey in the first half.
Natasha Graboski took her second charge of the game that resulted in a 3-point play on the offensive end of the court. Jill Stephens scored a basket, and a free throw, to pull UC to within three, 39-36, with 14:25 to go. The Wildcats went on an 18-5 run that put them up, 57-41, with 8:49 to go. Villanova began using most of the shot clock to eat away at the game clock and closed the game on a 19-9 for a final score of 69-50.
The Bearcats wore pink uniforms for the second straight game on Villanova's Think Pink day, part of the WBCA's initiative to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer. Ogide scored a season-high 11 points for UC and Stephens finished the game with 10 points. No UC player grabbed more than five rebounds, with Roudebush leading the way with four boards.
ABOUT WVU: West Virginia University returns all five starters from 2007 and has now posted four 20-win seasons in the last five years. The Mountaineers are led in scoring and rebounding by senior center Olayinka Sanni. Sanni averages 16.8 points a game and pulls down 7.6 rebounds a game. She has scored in double-figures in 21 of 24 games this season. Senior guard LaQuita Owens also averages double-figures in scoring with 13.7 points a game. WVU is just the 12th team in NCAA history to have four 1,000 point scorers on the same team (senior guard Meg Bulger, Sanni, senior forward Chakhia Cole and Owens). WVU's No. 11 ranking in the AP Poll ties the 1992 team for the highest-ever in school history. The Cincinnati contest marks head coach Mike Carey's 600th career coached game. He is in his 20th season as a head coach (415-184 overall record) and his seventh at WVU (127-82 record).
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 9.3 rebounds a game. Her 22 rebounds against McNeese State is tied for the seventh best rebounding performance in the country (in games through Feb. 14th).
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 170 three pointers this year and average 7.08 treys a game -- third best in the BIG EAST. With four 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 eight 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, three of UC's starters are ranked in the Top 30 in minutes played, with Stephens logging the most minutes a game in the league (37.5) and Roudebush playing the third most (35.5).
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, 917-870. 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 276-of-375 attempts for a .736 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 73.6 from the charity stripe would rank third 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. 14th, 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 321 fouls so far as a team. Through the first 24 games last season, UC had 419 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 539-477 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. Natasha Graboski took two charges at Villanova.
LAST TIME AGAINST WVU (2-24-07): UC could not overcome a 10-point halftime deficit, falling to West Virginia, 61-49, at WVU Coliseum. Cincinnati cut the lead to eight in the first minute of the second stanza on a couple of Karen Twehues free throws, but that's as close the Bearcats would get. Olayinka Sanni was too much for UC, pouring in a game-high 22 points for the Mountaineers. Karen Twehues led the Bearcats with 17 points, the second consecutive game the senior led the Bearcats in that category. Michelle Jones had a game-high 11 rebounds, helping UC outrebound WVU, 41-31.
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 16.8 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 (62). If she can make nine 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 53 is four 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 seven 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), defeating Tennessee Tech on the road (50.0 in the first, 61.1 in the second half) and in the loss at Villanova (52.2 in the second half).
CITY STREAK: Cincinnati has landed a basket from downtown in 37 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 20 games.