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Bearcats Welcome DePaul on Senior Night

Bearcats Welcome DePaul on Senior NightBearcats Welcome DePaul on Senior Night

March 2, 2009

Game Notes | | |

BEARCATS WELCOME DE PAUL FOR SENIOR NIGHT
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team welcomes DePaul to Fifth Third Arena for the 2008-09 regular season finale on Monday, March 2, at 7 p.m. Prior to the game, the Bearcats will honor seniors Angel Morgan and Jill Stephens. The Bearcats are looking to snap their 11-game losing skid, while DePaul is 3-3 in its last six games.

THE SERIES
Former Conference USA and Great Midwest rivals, Cincinnati and DePaul have met 32 times on the hardwood. DePaul holds a 20-12 advantage in the series, and has won four of the last five. Prior to that, the Bearcats had won eight of nine in the rivalry. DePaul won 15 of the first 18 meetings between the two.

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 315-149 overall record and a 111-93 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 16.3 per game. She has scored 20 or more 10 times this season and ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in scoring. She is four points shy of 1,000 for her career.
  • Senior forward Jill Stephens became the 22nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points when she scored her fourth point at USF. She became the first Bearcat to score 30 or more since the 2003-04 season when she totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds against Providence on Feb. 3.
  • 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 UC 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.
  • Senior guard Angel Morgan, who stands 5-8, leads the Bearcats and ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in rebounding at 7.6 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 25 at Cincinnati.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Trailing by as many as 25 points with 6:13 to play in the first half, the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team fought all the way back within two points, but it was not enough as Cincinnati fell to USF, 84-78, on Feb. 28 at the Sun Dome.
  • Despite the loss, it was a milestone day for senior Jill Stephens, who became the 22nd player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
  • After starting out 1-for-11 from the field, Cincinnati went 25-of-40 (67.5 percent) from the floor the rest of the way.
  • Junior Kahla Roudebush scored a game-high 22 points, her 10th 20-plus point effort of the season and her ninth consecutive double-figure scoring effort.
  • Shanasa Sanders scored 18 points and Angel Morgan finished with 12 points and seven assists.

2 x 1,000

  • Senior Jill Stephens and junior Kahla Roudebush are both looking to reach the 1,000 career points mark this season.
  • Stephens reached the 1,000-point plateau with her fourth point at USF on Feb. 28. She currently has 1,007 points and is tied with Treasure Humphries for 21st on the UC scoring list.
  • Roudebush is four points shy of 1,000 for his career, scoring 917 points over the last two seasons.

BEARCATS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

  • UC is 8-59 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.
  • UC is 1-5 against ranked opponents this season.

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 16.3 points per game and has knocked down 68 three-pointers, shooting at a 39 percent clip from behind the arc.
  • She leads the BIG EAST in minutes played, averaging 38.4 per contest and averages 39.5 minutes per game in conference play.
  • With six threes against Saint Francis (Pa.), Roudebush moved into fifth place in school history.
  • She knocked down a career-high seven triples at Georgetown, second in school history in a single game.
  • Her 1,074 minutes played this season ranks seventh in school single-season 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.
  • Roudebush is four points shy of 1,000 for her career (996).
  • She has 10 20-plus point games this season.
  • Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

SUPER STEPHENS

  • Senior Jill Stephens is averaging 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest this season.
  • She became the 22nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career at USF. She currently has 1,007 points.
  • The forward scored a career-high 30 points and added 10 rebounds against Providence, marking the first 30-point game for a UC player since the 2003-04 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, 49 percent from the three-point line and 85 percent from the free throw line, each of which would rank in the school's Top 10 single-season records list.
  • She leads the BIG EAST in free throw shooting (.851) and is eighth in field goal percentage (.530).

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 26 starts this season, she is averaging 6.2 points and 8.0 rebounds.
  • A 5-8 guard, she leads the team and ranks ninth in the BIG EAST with 7.6 rebounds 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. Her third double-double came at St. John's where she scored 10 points and added 10 caroms.
  • She has nine double-digit rebounding efforts this season.
  • Morgan was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending on Dec. 14.

TENACIOUS `D'

  • 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 39 percent shooting and 13.5 turnovers per game.

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 5.4 points per game in scoring differential.

FUNDAMENTALS

  • The Bearcats rank fifth in the nation in personal fouls, committing just 13.2 per contest.
  • UC is third in the BIG EAST and 27th in the nation in free throw shooting .744 as a team.
  • Jill Stephens leads the BIG EAST in free throw shooting, connecting at an .847 clip.

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 Shelly Bellman and Michelle Jones, who missed the 2007-08 season).

40 MINUTE WOMEN

  • UC starters have combined to post 30 40-plus minute games this season, led by Kahla Roudebush, who has played the full 40 13 times and played in 49 of a possible 50 minutes in a double overtime loss against Providence.
  • Freshman point guard Shanasa Sanders has been thrown into the fire, playing 40 or more minutes six times this season.