Bearcats Host Courtyard Marriott Florence Thanksgiving Classic

Nov. 28, 2008

Game Notes | Tournament Central | | |

BEARCATS OPEN COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT OF FLORENCE THANKSGIVING CLASSIC AGAINST MVSU
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team hosts the Courtyard by Marriott of Florence Thanksgiving Classic at Fifth Third Arena Nov. 28-30. UC opens play against Mississippi Valley State on Friday, Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. following Eastern Illinois vs. Savannah State, which tips off at 5 p.m. Saturday, the Bearcats take on Savannah State at 5 p.m. followed by MVSU vs. Eastern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. UC then takes on Eastern Illinois at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday following the matinee matchup between Savannah State and MVSU.

THE SERIES
The Bearcats have never faced the Devilettes of MVSU, nor its second opponent, Savannah State. UC is 3-2 all-time against Eastern Illinois, winning the last meeting between the schools, 82-48, on Dec. 3, 2005 in Fifth Third Arena.

THE COACH
J. Kelley Hall enters his second season at Cincinnati after being named the seventh head coach in school history on April 4, 2007. Hall previously held the top spot at Louisiana-Lafayette, earning Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors in 2004-05. He is the winningest coach in ULL history and led the 2006-07 team to the NCAA Tournament, the first in school history. Hall has held assistant positions at Alabama, Mississippi State, Auburn, Cal State Fullerton, and Louisville. He was the head coach at a pair of junior colleges early in his career, leading Gordon College in 1984-85 and spending seven seasons at Truett-McConnel College. He holds a 304-135 overall record and a 100-79 Division I head coaching ledger.

• The Bearcats welcome back two players who missed all of 2007-08 in juniors Shelly Bellman and Michelle Jones.
• UC returns four starters from last season and 78 percent of its minutes played, 81 percent of its scoring, and 86 percent of its rebounding.
• Junior guard Kahla Roudebush is the Bearcats' leading returning scorer. She averaged 16.5 points per outing in 2007-08 and finished in the Top 10 in the BIG EAST in scoring, three-point field goal percentage, and three-pointers per game. Roudebush scored a career-high 29 points against Kentucky.
• J. Kelley Hall won his 100th game as a Division I head coach when the Bearcats topped Toledo, 60-59, on Nov. 23. Hall won 86 games at the helm of Louisiana Lafayette and 14 at Cincinnati.
• Freshman point guard Shanasa Sanders will be relied upon heavily with the absence of junior Stephanie Stevens. Sanders has started each of the first three games of the season, averaging 28.0 minutes and 7.3 points.

LAST TIME OUT

• Two Kahla Roudebush free throws with 12 seconds left and the Bearcats down a point gave the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team a 60-59 win against Toledo.
• Jill Stephens scored a team-high 13 points and Tenishia Benson scored a season-high 10.
• UC has held each of its first three opponents to under 60 points. Angel Morgan made her first start of the season, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds.
• UC outrebounded its opponent for the first time this season, winning the battle of the boards, 38-31.

ROUDEBUSH PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF

• Junior sharpshooter Kahla Roudebush made her mark on the UC record books last season with her three-point shooting. She led the Bearcats in 2007-08, scoring 16.5 points per game and knocking down 66 triples.
• She leads the squad with a 15.3 points per game average after scoring 29 against Kentucky, including five treys.
• Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

TENACIOUS `D'

• The Bearcats have held their first three opponents to under 60 points, allowing an average of 58.7 points per game. UC's match-up zone defense, a staple for any J. Kelley Hall-coached team, has stifled opponents, holding them to 36 percent shooting and an average of nearly 19 turnovers per game.

GUESS WHO'S BACK

• Juniors Shelly Bellman and Michelle Jones, that's who.
• Bellman, a 5-10 guard/forward, missed the entire 2007-08 season after tearing her ACL in preseason practice. She averaged 10.6 points over 57 games during her freshman and sophomore campaigns and led the Bearcats in rebounding in both years, averaging over 6.0 board per contest.
• Jones, a 6-1 post, returns after missing the 2007-08 season. She is a 9.9 point-per-game scorer in her career and led the team in offensive rebounding in each of her first two seasons. In fact, Jones has more offensive rebounds than defensive boards in her career (174-164).

LITTLE BIT OF OLD, LITTLE BIT OF NEW

• The Bearcats return four starters from a season ago, but welcome five newcomers and two likely starters return from missing the 2007-08 season.
• J. Kelley Hall and his coaching staff have six players on the roster that they have coached and seven players that are new to the Hall style of basketball (five newcomers and Bellman and Jones, who missed the 2007-08 season).

SUPER STEPHENS

• Senior Jill Stephens is the top returning rebounder for the Bearcats, having grabbed 9.4 boards in 2007-08, which ranked third in the BIG EAST.
• Stephens led the league in minutes played, averaging 37.4 minutes per contest.
• She led the Bearcats in three-point shooting percentage, firing at a .422 clip last season.
• Stephens posted 10 double-doubles in 2007-08.
• She grabbed a career-high and Fifth Third Arena record 14 offensive rebounds against McNeese State last season.

TAKING THE LEAD

• UC has been a strong first-half team thus far, taking a lead into the locker room in each of its first three contests.

BEARCATS PICKED 15TH

• Cincinnati was picked by the league's coaches to finish 15th in the BIG EAST in 2007-08.
• Connecticut is the preseason favorite, followed by Rutgers and Louisville.