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Bearcats Wrap Up Non-Conference Slate Against Saint Francis

Bearcats Wrap Up Non-Conference Slate Against Saint FrancisBearcats Wrap Up Non-Conference Slate Against Saint Francis

Dec. 29, 2008

Game Notes | | |

BEARCATS RETURN FROM HOLIDAY BREAK, WELCOME ST. FRANCIS
After an eight-day holiday break, the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team returns to action in the final non-conference game of the season, welcoming Saint Francis (PA) to Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. The Bearcats will open BIG EAST play following the New Year's holiday against Villanova on Jan. 3 in Fifth Third Arena in a game to be broadcast on the BIG EAST Network.

THE SERIES
UC holds a 3-0 all-time mark against Saint Francis. The Bearcats topped the Red Flash in 2001-02 (76-49), 2005-06 (74-39), and 2006-07 (83-51) in non-conference action, all at Fifth Third Arena. UC has defeated St. Francis by and average of 31 points in its three wins.

THE COACH
J. Kelley Hall is in 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 311-137 overall record and a 107-81 Division I head coaching ledger.

  • The Bearcats held each of their first 10 opponents to under 60 points. Michigan scored 65, the first opponent to score more than 60 against UC since Syracuse scored 66 in a 66-56 win on Feb. 23, 2008, a span of 12 games.
  • With its 65-55 win against No. 21/23 Xavier on Dec. 7, UC knocked off a Top 25 opponent for the first time since a 62-44 win against No. 24/24 DePaul on Jan. 14, 2007.
  • 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, who led the Bearcats in scoring last season with 16.5 points per game, again tops the UC scorers, averaging 14.3 per game.
  • 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 has won 21 at Cincinnati.
  • Junior point guard Stephanie Stevens returned to the lineup against IUPUI after missing the first eight games of the campaign with an illness. Freshman Shanasa Sanders has started each of the first 12 games of the season, averaging over 29 minutes per game.

BEARCATS APPEAR IN POLLS

  • The Bearcats received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll two weeks ago after its victory against No. 21/23 Xavier.
  • The last time UC found itself in the Top 25 was in the AP and coaches polls on Dec. 9, 2002. The Bearcats were No. 25 in each poll.

LAST TIME OUT

  • The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team bounced back from a loss at Michigan with a 60-42 win against Davidson on Dec. 21 in Fifth Third Arena.
  • After allowing better than 60 points for the first time in 12 games at Michigan, the Bearcats clamped down defensively, holding Davidson to 42 points and 24.5% shooting, a season low for an opponent.
  • Kahla Roudebush scored 24 points - her second 20-plus point day of the season - and added eight rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes.
  • Jill Stephens scored 13 points and added five rebounds for UC.
  • UC has held 11 of 12 opponents to under 60 points this season.

SEND ME AN ANGEL

  • Senior guard Angel Morgan started the season as an energy player coming off the bench, but has won a starting spot.
  • In 10 starts this season, she is averaging 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds.
  • A 5-8 guard, she leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 per contest.
  • Morgan grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in UC's win against Mississippi Valley State and recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds against IUPUI.
  • She was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending on Dec. 14.

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 14.3 points per game average and scored a career-high 29 against Kentucky, including five treys.
  • She needs six three-pointers to move into fifth place in school history for career triples.
  • Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

TENACIOUS `D'

  • The Bearcats held their first 10 opponents to under 60 points, allowing an average of 51.5 points per game during that span.
  • Michigan became the first team to score more than 60 points against UC since Syracuse in a 66-56 win on Feb. 23, 2008, a span of 12 games.
  • 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 16.6 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 boards per contest. She is averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds this season.
  • Jones, a 6-1 post, returns after missing the 2007-08 season. She is a 9.4 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 (191-179).

LITTLE BIT OF OLD, LITTLE BIT OF NEW

  • The Bearcats return four starters from a season ago, but welcome five newcomers and two key players 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 eight of its first 12 contests.

BEARCATS PICKED 15TH IN BIG EAST

  • Cincinnati was picked by the league's coaches to finish 15th in the BIG EAST in 2007-08.
  • Preseason No. 1/1 Connecticut is the conference favorite, followed by Rutgers and Louisville.