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Bearcats Look For Second Straight League Win at Rutgers

Bearcats Look For Second Straight League Win at RutgersBearcats Look For Second Straight League Win at Rutgers

Jan. 15, 2010

Game Notes | Listen Live | |

THE GAME
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team, coming off its first BIG EAST win of the season, will travel to Piscataway, N.J., to take on Rutgers on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Bearcats defeated St. John's, 70-60, on Sunday to snap a 14-game BIG EAST regular-season losing streak. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

THE SERIES
Rutgers 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 71-52 decision at Rutgers on Feb. 24.

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).

  • UC won its first BIG EAST game of the season against St. John's on Jan. 10. The win snapped a 14-game BIG EAST regular-season losing streak that dated back to Jan. 17, 2009.
  • Senior guard Kahla Roudebush is moving up on the UC career scoring and three-point charts. She is now 12th in scoring (1,232) and fourth in threes made (172).
  • Senior forward Michelle Jones is also approaching and passing milestones this season. She reached the 500 rebound plateau against Valparaiso and is two points shy of 900 for her career.
  • UC has outrebounded opponents, 34.7-32.7, 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

  • 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 Jan. 10 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, 1-2 in conference play.
  • Kahla Roudebush 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.
  • Shareese Ulis and Carla Jacobs each scored 10 points and Ulis added a career-high seven rebounds and five assists.
  • 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.

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 12th on the school's scoring list, five points behind Regina Williams for 11th.
  • She has scored in double figures in 58 of her last 73 games and has 20 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 34.8 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 57.2 points per game, which ranks seventh in the BIG EAST and 44th in the nation.
  • 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 .362 (21-of-58) from three-point range and .821 (46-of-56) from the free throw stripe.
  • Jacobs is third on the team with 35 assists and averages 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
  • She ranks in the Top 10 in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (5th, .821) and minutes played (10th, 33.1).
  • Shooting .906 (29-of-32) from the charity stripe over the last six 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 just two points shy of 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 9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds per game, while shooting at a .538 clip from the floor.
  • Jones ranks fifth in UC history, shooting .503 from the floor during her career.
  • She is ninth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage, shooting .538, and also ranks seventh in minutes at 34.1.

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 0.9 blocks per contest.
  • She averages 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds and has accumulated 14 blocks, 20 steals, and 23 assists, while shooting .439 (36-of-82) from the floor.

REBOUNDS A KEY

  • UC is 5-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
  • Conversely, the Bearcats are just 3-4 when being outrebounded by opponents.
  • UC is averaging 34.7 boards per game and holding opponents to just 32.7 per game, a 2.0 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 had 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.