TicketsNov. 9, 2009
CINCINNATI - Shareese Ulis (Toledo, Ohio/Waite/Trinity Valley C.C.) scored 20 points and added five assists in her Division I debut, leading the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team to a 72-36 exhibition win against Kentucky Wesleyan on Monday (Nov. 9) night in Fifth Third Arena.
Jamelle Elliott, stalking the sidelines for the first time as a head coach, was pleased with her team's effort.
"Overall, I am happy with the effort and pround of my players," said Elliott. "I told them that no matter the score, we were playing to get better. All the things we need to fix are fixable."
Ulis, a junior point guard who transferred from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, shot 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. She also grabbed three rebounds in a team-high 34 minutes of action.
The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 9-2 advantage thanks to a Ulis jumper, five straight points from Kahla Roudebush (Noblesville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), and a layup from sophomore Val Schuster (Wausau, Wisconsin/Wausau Newman Senior).
UC pushed its lead to 28-8 on a Ulis three with six minutes to play in the first half and closed out the period with seven straight points to take a 37-15 lead into halftime.
The lead grew to 30, 51-21, on a Daress McClung (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) layup at the 13:04 mark.
UC coasted downt the stretch and freshman Bryonna Snow (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) dropped in a layup for UC's biggest lead, 72-34, with 18 seconds to go. A pair of Kentucky Wesleyan free throws provided the final margin.
Nine Bearcats scored, with Ulis being joined in double figures by Roudebush (12) and Michelle Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) (10). Shanasa Sanders (Jacksonville, Fla./Ribault Senior) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to help UC to a 48-26 advantage on the glass.
Roudebush was honored prior to the game for becoming the 23rd player in UC history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The senior guard accomplished the feat in UC's final regular-season game of the 2008-09 season. Elliott presented Roudebush with a commemorative ball in a pre-game ceremony.
The Bearcats will open regular season play on Sunday, Nov. 15, welcoming Furman to Fifth Third Arena. Tipoff for Elliott's first official game as a head coach is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX or logging on to CATSTIX.com.