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UC Returns to Fifth Third Arena to Take On Providence

UC Returns to Fifth Third Arena to Take On ProvidenceUC Returns to Fifth Third Arena to Take On Providence

Feb. 2, 2009

Game Notes | | |

BEARCATS RETURN TO FIFTH THIRD ARENA TO TAKE ON PROVIDENCE
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team returns to Fifth Third Arena for a BIG EAST tilt against Providence on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. The Bearcats have dropped three straight after starting 3-1 in BIG EAST play, but the losses have each come againt opponents ranked no lower than No. 17 in the national polls. Providence is coming off an 81-49 loss against Louisville on Jan. 31 and enters the game with a 2-6 mark in league play.

THE SERIES
UC and Providence will tangle for the fourth time on the hardwood. The Bearcats hold a 2-1 edge in the series, including a 66-59 win in Providence on March 3, 2008, the final game of the 2007-08 season. Providence won the first meeting on Jan. 7, 2006, 58-57, in Providence. UC topped the Friars, 74-61, in Fifth Third Arena on Feb. 6, 2007.

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 315-141 overall record and a 111-85 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 16.1 per game. She has scored 20 or more six times this season.
  • 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 ranks 37th in the nation in scoring defense (as of NCAA Statistics Reports through 1/25/09). The Bearcats are third in the nation in personal fouls committed per game and also rank 12th 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.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Notre Dame turned 26 UC turnovers into 26 points and the No. 17/13 Irish earned a 66-50 win over the Bearcats on Jan. 31 in the Joyce Center.
  • Kahla Roudebush led the UC attack with 13 points and added six rebounds and a career-high six assists.
  • Angel Morgan scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
  • Lindsey Schrader led the Irish with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
  • The Irish had 21 steals, led by Ashley Barlow's eight.
  • UC scored 26 points in the first half, eclipsing their first-half totals for the Louisville (16) and Connecticut (7) games combined (23).

BEARCATS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

  • UC is 8-57 all-time against ranked teams.
  • The Bearcats are 0-2 all-time against No. 1 teams. UC lost at No. 1/1 UConn on Jan. 19, 2008 and at home against the No. 1/1 Huskies on Jan. 24, 2009.
  • The Bearcats knocked off No. 21/23 Xavier, 65-55, on Dec. 7, 2008.
  • The Bearcats are 1-3 against ranked opponents 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 18 starts this season, she is averaging 6.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.
  • A 5-8 guard, she leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 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 six 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 16.1 points per game and has knocked down 42 three-pointers, shooting at a 36 percent clip from behind the arc.
  • She leads the BIG EAST in minutes played, averaging 37.7 per contest.
  • With six threes against Saint Francis (Pa.), Roudebush moved into fifth place in school history.
  • Roudebush has scored in double figures in all but four games this season.
  • 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 nine.
  • Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

SUPER STEPHENS

  • Senior Jill Stephens is averaging 10.2 points and 4.9 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 53 percent from the floor, 47 percent from the three-point line and 83 percent from the free throw line.

TENACIOUS `D'

  • UC ranks 37th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 55.8 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.
  • The Bearcats allowed 66 points, 65 points, and 66 points, respectively, against No. 7/11 Louisville, No. 1/1 Connecticut - a season-low for the Huskies and 23 points under their season average, and No. 17/13 Notre Dame.
  • UC's match-up zone defense, a staple for any J. Kelley Hall-coached team, has stifled opponents, holding them to 37 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 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds this season.
  • Jones, a 6-1 post, returns after missing the 2007-08 season. She is a 9.0 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 (203-193).

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).

IMPROVEMENT IN YEAR TWO

  • The Bearcats are a much-improved team in J. Kelley Hall's second season on the bench, and the proof is clear.
  • Against common opponents, the Bearcats have fared much better this season, making up an average of over 12 points per game in scoring differential.