TicketsJan. 10, 2010
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team topped St. John's, 70-60, to earn its first BIG EAST win of the season on Sunday (Jan. 10) afternoon in Fifth Third Arena. The win snapped a 14-game regular season BIG EAST losing streak for the Bearcats and pushed their record to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Kahla Roudebush (Noblesville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) scored a season-high 25 points to lead the Bearcats. She moved past Joy Roberts for 12th place on the school's all-time scoring list and has 1,232 career points. Roudebush stuffed the stat sheet, shooting 9-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three-point range, and grabbing three rebounds with a career-high seven assists, two blocks, and three steals.
UC led by as much as 14 in a first half in which it shot 57.7 percent from the floor. The Bearcats took a 10-point lead into the half despite 11 turnovers and 48 percent shooting by St. John's (13-3, 1-2 BIG EAST).
"The key to our first-half success was our execution of the game plan," said head coach Jamelle Elliott, who won her first BIG EAST game. "We really executed well. They weren't shooting the ball well from the outside, so we tried to make them shoot from out there. Although they did make some shots, we forced them into a lot of shots that they weren't used to taking. Our defensive execution of the game plan and our execution of offense were the keys to the win. We only had three turnovers in the second half, so we really cut down on those from the first half. The game was definitely won in the first half."
The Bearcats went cold from the floor for a stretch in the second half, allowing the Red Storm to cut the lead all the way down to two, 51-49, with 4:11 to play. A three from Daress McClung (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) pushed the lead to five, but a Kelly McManmon three on the next possession cut the lead back to two.
A steal and fastbreak layup and three-point play by Carla Jacobs (Cleveland, Ohio/Regina) gave UC a 59-52 lead with 2:31 to go. The teams traded threes for the next two possessions and the Bearcats knocked down 8-of-10 free throws to close out the win.
Shareese Ulis (Toledo, Ohio/Trinity Valley C.C.) and Jacobs each scored 10 points and Ulis added a career-high seven rebounds and five assists.
Val Schuster (Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman Central) scored nine points and added six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
The Bearcats hadn't won a BIG EAST game since defeating Seton Hall, 72-62, on Jan. 17, 2009 in Fifth Third Arena. UC won for the first time against St. John's, snapping a four-game losing skid against the Red Storm.
The Bearcats shot 50% from the floor, a season high, and scored 70 points for the first time since the season-opening 85-46 win against Furman on Nov. 15.
UC will travel to Piscataway, N.J., to take on Rutgers on Saturday, Jan. 16. Tipoff from the RAC is set for 2 p.m.