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Bearcats Welcome No. 1/1 Connecticut To Fifth Third Arena

Bearcats Welcome No. 1/1 Connecticut To Fifth Third ArenaBearcats Welcome No. 1/1 Connecticut To Fifth Third Arena

Jan. 23, 2009

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BEARCATS WELCOME TOP-RANKED CONNECTICUT
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team will play host to the No. 1/1 Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats are looking to rebound from a 66-50 loss at No. 7/10 Louisville on Tuesday and are in the middle of a three-game stretch against teams ranked in the Top 10.

THE SERIES
The Bearcats and Huskies will meet for the fourth time on the hardwood, with Connecticut holding a 3-0 lead in the series. The last time UConn invaded Fifth Third Arena, the Bearcats gave the No. 6/5 Huskies all they could handle before eventually falling, 70-60, on Jan. 30, 2007. UConn most recently topped UC, 86-49, in Hartford last season.

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 315-139 overall record and a 111-83 Division I head coaching ledger.

  • Junior guard Kahla Roudebush, who led the Bearcats in scoring last season with 16.5 points per game, again tops the UC scorers, averaging 16.8 per game. She has scored 20 or more six times and has averaged 22.0 points over her last seven games.
  • Shanasa Sanders was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after scoring a career-high 25 points and grabbing a career-best nine rebounds in UC's 72-62 win against Seton Hall on Jan. 17.
  • UC surpassed its victory total from last season (13 to 12) with the win against Seton Hall. The Bearcats earned their third BIG EAST win in their fourth conference game this season. It took them 16 games to pick up three BIG EAST wins in 2007-08.
  • 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.
  • UC is 0-1 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams (UConn in 2007-08).
  • UC ranks 26th in the nation in scoring defense (as of NCAA Statistics Reports through 1/18/09). The Bearcats are third in the nation in personal fouls committed per game and also rank seventh in turnovers per contest.
  • 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 25 at Cincinnati.

BEARCATS APPEAR IN POLLS

  • The Bearcats received votes in the Dec. 8 Associated Press Top 25 poll 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

  • Angel McCoughtry scored 23 points and added nine rebounds and eight steals to lead No. 7/10 Louisville to a 66-50 win over Cincinnati on Jan. 20 in Freedom Hall.
  • Kahla Roudebush scored 18 points and was joined in double figures by Michelle Jones (12 points) and Jill Stephens (11).
  • The Bearcats scored just 16 points in the first half, shooting 29 percent and turning the ball over 17 times.
  • UC shot 54 percent in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals, 34-26.
  • Angel Morgan led the Bearcats with eight rebounds and added three steals.

BEARCATS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

  • UC is 8-55 all-time against ranked teams.
  • The Bearcats are 0-1 all-time against No. 1 teams. UC lost at No. 1/1 UConn on Jan. 19, 2008.
  • The Bearcats knocked off No. 21/23 Xavier, 65-55, on Dec. 7, 2008.
  • UC is in the middle of a three-game stretch against Top 10 teams (U of L, UConn, Notre Dame).

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 16 starts this season, she is averaging 6.3 points and 7.9 rebounds.
  • A 5-8 guard, she leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 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 scored 10 points and added 13 rebounds for her second double-double against Syracuse.
  • She has five double-digit rebounding efforts this season.
  • Morgan 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 again leads the Bearcats in scoring at 16.8 points per game and has knocked down 38 three-pointers, shooting at a 36 percent clip from behind the arc.
  • With six threes against Saint Francis (Pa.), Roudebush moved into fifth place in school history.
  • Roudebush has scored 22.0 points per game over her last seven, shooting 50 percent from the floor, 46 percent from behind the arc, and 94 percent from the free throw line during that span.
  • She was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending on Jan. 4.
  • She has six 20-plus point games this season, including five of her last seven.
  • Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

SUPER STEPHENS

  • Senior Jill Stephens is averaging 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest this season.
  • Stephens posted her first double-double of the season on Jan. 7 at West Virginia, dropping in 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She had 10 double-doubles last season.
  • Stephens is shooting 54 percent from the floor, 48 percent from the three-point line and leads the team at 84 percent from the free throw line.

TENACIOUS `D'

  • UC ranks 26th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 55.3 points per game.
  • The Bearcats held their first 10 opponents to under 60 points, allowing 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 15 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 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds this season.
  • Jones, a 6-1 post, returns after missing the 2007-08 season. She is a 9.2 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 (202-186).

LITTLE BIT OF OLD, LITTLE BIT OF NEW

  • The Bearcats return two 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).

TAKING THE LEAD

  • UC has been a strong first-half team thus far, taking a lead into the locker room in 11 of its first 18 contests.