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Bearcats Look to Continue Winning Ways Against Valparaiso

Bearcats Look to Continue Winning Ways Against ValparaisoBearcats Look to Continue Winning Ways Against Valparaiso

Dec. 21, 2009

Game Notes | Listen Live | |

THE GAME
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team will take on Valparaiso on Monday, Dec. 21, in Fifth Third Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in the Bearcats' final game before the holiday break.

THE SERIES
Cincinnati leads the series with Valparaiso, 1-0. UC topped the Crusaders, 96-69, on Nov. 16, 2007. Kahla Roudebush posted a double-double with a then-career high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Carla Jacobs scored 15 points and dished out seven assists in the win.

THE COACH
Jamelle Elliott enters her first season as a head coach, taking over the Cincinnati program after 12 years as an assistant coach at Connecticut, her alma mater. She was a six-time national champion with the Huskies, including helping UConn to its first championship as a student-athlete in 1995. One of the most accomplished players in the distinguished history of the Connecticut program, Elliott finished her career ranked No. 2 among UConn's all-time rebounding leaders (1,054), No. 5 in BIG EAST career rebounding (558), and No. 11 in UConn career scoring (1,387).

  • Senior guard Kahla Roudebush is moving up on the UC career scoring and three-pointer charts. She is now 17th in scoring (1,142) and fourth in threes made (160).
  • Senior forward Michelle Jones is approaching a pair of milestones. She is just three rebounds shy of 500 for her career and has 851 career points.
  • The Bearcats have outrebounded opponents, 37.1-32.8 this season.
  • The Bearcats allowed just 13 points in the second half against Dartmouth, the fewest an opponent has scored in a half since Savannah State tallied 13 in the first on Nov. 29, 2008.
  • UC forced 24 turnovers against Dartmouth, the most since causing 24 at Georgetown on Jan. 23, 2007.
  • The Bearcats were runners up at the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout, falling to host Alaska Anchorage in the final.
  • Kahla Roudebush and Carla Jacobs were named to the Great Alaska Shootout all-tournament team.
  • Against Furman, UC posted 47 points in the first half, its highest scoring first half since since pouring in 51 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 14, 2006.
  • All 10 Bearcats scored against Furman. Junior college transfer Shareese Ulis and freshmen Elese Daniel, Daress McClung, and Bryonna Snow each saw their first Division I collegiate action.
  • UC's 39 point margin of victory against Furman was the largest since a 39 point win vs. McNeese St. on Nov. 21, 2007.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Shareese Ulis led four players in double figures with 13 points and the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team defeated Eastern Kentucky, 62-49, on Dec. 18 in Fifth Third Arena.
  • The Bearcats (5-5) snapped a three-game losing skid, winning for the first time since Nov. 29 against Dartmouth.
  • Carla Jacobs scored 12 points and Kahla Roudebush and Shanasa Sanders tallied 11 apiece for the victors.
  • Rouedebush scored in double figures for the first time in five games. She hadn't had a scoring slump of that length since her true freshman campaign of 2005-06. She hit her first shot of the day - a three-pointer - and finished with six rebounds, a pair of assists and two steals.
  • After turning the ball over 69 times in the last three games, Cincinnati committed just 13 turnovers, while causing 22.
  • The UC defense held its fourth opponent under 50 points and held its sixth opponent under 40 percent from the floor.
  • Daress McClung recorded a career-high five steals to go along with five points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists.

BIG EAST HONORS

  • Senior Kahla Roudebush was named to the preseason all-BIG EAST team prior to the season.
  • Following the 2008-09 season, Roudebush earned second-team all-BIG EAST honors and Shanasa Sanders was named to the league's all-Freshman team. Jill Stephens was named the BIG EAST Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2008-09.

ROUDEBUSH CRASHING RECORD BOOKS

  • Senior sharpshooter Kahla Roudebush has made her mark on the UC record books during her career with her scoring and three-point shooting.
  • Roudebush is third in school history in career three-point precentage, fourth in three-pointers, and fifth in three-point attempts.
  • She also ranks in the Top 10 in career free throw percentage.
  • Roudebush became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points and is currently 17th on the school's scoring list.
  • She has scored in double figures in 53 of her last 68 games. She was held under 10 points in back-to-back games (at Indiana, vs. Detroit) for the first time in 62 games, spanning three seasons.
  • Roudebush has put her name in the single season record books in each of the last two seasons. She is in the Top 10 in minutes played (1,095, 2008-09), three-point field goals (70, 2008-09; 66, 2007-08), three-point field goal attempts (177, 2008-09), three-point field goal percentage (.398, 2007-08; .395, 2008-09).
  • Last season, Roudebush averaged 38.5 minutes per contest, which led the BIG EAST and ranked No. 8 in the nation. She averages 33 minutes this year.
  • Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

DEFENSE A STRENGTH

  • The Bearcats are allowing opponents just 55.7 points per game. UC is holding opponents to a .381 shooting clip from the floor and is +4.3 in rebounding.
  • The Bearcats have held four opponents under 50 points and Xavier's 69 points are the most that UC has allowed this season.

MINUTE EATERS

A STRONG START

  • UC's win against Furman was its biggest win since early in the 2007-08 season, a 39-point victory against McNeese State.
  • The 85 points marked the most in a season opener since the 2006-07 season when the Bearcats topped Youngstown State 85-78.
  • The Bearcats got contributions from all 10 players in uniform and recorded assists on 20 of 29 made baskets (69%).

A STRONG START, PART II

  • Four newcomers saw action in the season opener, led by junior college transfer Shareese Ulis, who earned the start at point guard.
  • Ulis shot 6-of-12 from the floor and knocked down 3-of-6 threes for 17 points. She also added three assists.
  • True freshman Daress McClung grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. She also blocked four shots and scored six points.

HERE'S LOOKING AT ULIS

  • Junior college transfer Shareese Ulis has proven to be a big addition for the Bearcats as she leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game.
  • Ulis scored 17 in the season opener against Furman and followed with a game-high 20 at Indiana.
  • Ulis is shooting .439 from the floor, .326 from behind the three-point line, and .792 from the free throw stripe.
  • She is tied for the team lead in assists with 30.

MICHELLE IN THE POST

  • The Bearcats lone experienced post player, Michelle Jones looks to thrive under the tutelage of Elliott, who coached seven all-Americans while an assistant at Connecticut.
  • Jones posted her fifth career double-double and her first since Jan. 17, 2007, with 17 points and 12 rebounds against Butler.
  • Jones scored 13 points in the season opener against Furman, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds, four on the offensive end.
  • Jones took over the late stages of the game against Detroit and totaled 14 points and eight rebounds, her third straight double-figure scoring output.
  • She is averaging 9.2 points, 7.0 rebounds per game, while shooting at a .535 clip from the floor.
  • She is three rebounds shy of 500 career boards and is nearing 900 career points.

FRESH(MAN) CONTRIBUTIONS

  • Freshman Daress McClung earned her first career start against Kentucky on Dec. 4, scoring nine points with seven rebounds.
  • She grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the opener against Furman, scored 12 points with eight rebounds at Indiana, and tallied five points and seven boards vs. Detroit.
  • She blocked a shot in each of UC's first four games.
  • She has accumulated nine blocks, 14 steals, and 17 assists, while shooting .467 (28-of-60) from the floor.

REBOUNDS A KEY

  • UC is 4-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
  • Conversely, the Bearcats are 1-2 when being outrebounded by opponents.
  • UC is averaging 37.1 boards per game and holding opponents to just 32.8 per game, a 4.3 per game margin.
  • The Bearcats owned the glass at the Great Alaska Shootout, winning the rebounding battle by a combined 81-61 count.

LITTLE BIT OF OLD, LITTLE BIT OF NEW

  • The Bearcats return just two starters from a season ago, but welcome back Carla Jacobs, a starter in her freshman and sophomore seasons before missing the 2008-09 campaign.
  • Five newcomers join the Bearcats this season. Vanderbilt transfer Chanel Chisholm will sit out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer guidelines. Junior college transfer Shareese Ulis is joined by freshmen Elese Daniel, Daress McClung, and Bryonna Snow to form Jamelle Elliott's first class.