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Bearcats Return to Fifth Third Arena to Host St. John's

Bearcats Return to Fifth Third Arena to Host St. John'sBearcats Return to Fifth Third Arena to Host St. John's

Jan. 9, 2010

Game Notes | Listen Live |

THE GAME
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team will return home and look to snap a two-game losing streak since the start of BIG EAST play against St. John's on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats fell to No. 1/1 Connecticut, 83-51, on Jan. 7 in Jamelle Elliott's return to Storrs and dropped the BIG EAST opener to Louisville, 63-49, on Jan. 2. Connecticut and Louisville squared off in the 2009 national championship game, with UConn winning its sixth national title.

THE SERIES
St. John's has won each of the first four meetings between the squads since Cincinnati joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2005. Last season, the Bearcats dropped a 60-53 decision at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8.

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).

  • Jamelle Elliott made her return to Storrs, Conn., on Jan. 7, leading the Bearcats against her former team, No. 1/1 Connecticut. UC fell, 83-51, to the top-ranked Huskies.
  • Senior guard Kahla Roudebush is moving up on the UC career scoring and three-point charts. She is now 13th in scoring (1,207) and fourth in threes made (170).
  • Senior forward Michelle Jones is also approaching and passing milestones this season. She reached the 500 career rebound plateau against Valparaiso and has 891 career points.
  • UC has outrebounded opponents, 35.1-32.6, this season.
  • Cincinnati scored 26 points in the first half against No. 1/1 UConn, the fifth-most allowed by the Huskies this season. UC scored just seven points in the first half against UConn last year.
  • UC shot 24-of-27 from the free throw line against Valparaiso, the most made free throws since knocking down 24-of-35 against USF on Jan. 15, 2006.
  • 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.
  • 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.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Maya Moore scored 25 points to lead No. 1/1 Connecticut to an 83-51 win over Cincinnati in a homecoming for Bearcats coach Jamelle Elliott, a former star player and assistant coach at UConn.
  • Shareese Ulis scored 19 points and had a career-high seven steals for the Bearcats (7-7, 0-2 BIG EAST).
  • Tina Charles added 17 points and had six of the Huskies' season-high 11 blocked shots as UConn (14-0, 3-0) extended its winning streak to 53 games.
  • Elliott, who finished her playing career in 1996 with 1,387 points and 1,054 rebounds, received a standing ovation from the UConn crown the moment she walked on the court and again as she was introduced.
  • The Bearcats forced 17 UConn turnovers.

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 second in school history in career three-point percentage, 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 13th on the school's scoring list, eight points behind Joy Roberts for 12th.
  • She has scored in double figures in 57 of her last 72 games and has 19 career 20-point 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 34.4 minutes this year.
  • Roudebush missed the bulk of the 2006-07 season after shoulder and knee injuries.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS

  • UC is 8-61 all-time against ranked teams.
  • The Bearcats are 0-3 all-time against No. 1 teams. UC lost at No. 1/1 UConn on Jan. 7, 2010 and 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. 6, 2008.
  • The Bearcats are 0-2 against ranked opponents this season, falling to No. 9/10 Xavier, 69-38, on Dec. 7 and at No. 1/1 UConn on Jan. 7.

DEFENSE A STRENGTH

  • The Bearcats are allowing opponents just 57.0 points per game, which ranks fifth in the BIG EAST and 26th in the nation.
  • UC is +2.6 in rebounding.
  • The Bearcats have held six opponents to 50 points or less and No. 1/1 UConn's 83 points are the most that UC has allowed this season - 14 more than the next most (69 at No. 9/10 Xavier).

MINUTE EATERS

JACOBS LADDER

  • Junior Carla Jacobs has been a consistent offensive threat for the Bearcats all season.
  • She is averaging 10.9 points per game while shooting .382 (21-of-55) from three-point range and .824 (42-of-51) from the free throw stripe.
  • Jacobs is third on the team with 33 assists and averages 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
  • She ranks in the Top 10 in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (6th, .824), three-point percentage (14th, .382), and minutes played (8th, 33.0).
  • She is averaging 11.6 points, 5.8 rebs, 3.0 assists, 2.2 steals per game while shooting .368 (7-of-19) from three and .926 (25-of-27) from the charity stripe over the last five games.

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 passed the 500 career rebound plateau against Valparaiso and is nearing 900 career points.
  • Jones posted her fifth career double-double and her first since Jan. 17, 2007, with 17 points and 12 rebounds against Butler.
  • She is averaging 9.4 points, 6.9 rebounds per game, while shooting at a .545 clip from the floor.
  • Jones ranks fifth in UC history, shooting .504 from the floor during her career.
  • She is eighth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage, shooting .545, and also ranks seventh in minutes at 34.4.

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 and scored 12 points with eight rebounds at Indiana.
  • She blocked a shot in each of UC's first four games and is averaging 1.0 blocks per contest.
  • She averages 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds and has accumulated 14 blocks, 18 steals, and 22 assists, while shooting .436 (34-of-78) from the floor.

REBOUNDS A KEY

  • UC is 5-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
  • Conversely, the Bearcats are just 2-4 when being outrebounded by opponents.
  • UC is averaging 35.1 boards per game and holding opponents to just 32.6 per game, a 2.6 per game margin.
  • The Bearcats owned the glass at the Great Alaska Shootout, winning the rebounding battle by a combined 81-61 count.

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.