Feb. 9, 2010
CINCINNATI (AP)--Kahla Roudebush (Noblesville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) scored 17 points for the Bearcats, but the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team dropped a 66-50 decision against No. 4/3 Notre Dame on Tuesday (Feb. 9) night in Fifth Third Arena.
Lindsay Schrader scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half Tuesday, and Notre Dame intensified its full-court pressure, building a 20-point lead and holding on for a 66-50 win over Cincinnati.
The Irish (22-1, 9-1 Big East) have won seven straight since their loss to No. 1 Connecticut on Jan. 16, a streak set up by offensive balance and unrelenting defensive pressure. Schrader led the way against Cincinnati (10-12, 3-7), shaking off a 1-for-7 shooting performance in a first half that lacked energy.
The senior guard got the Irish revved by making three consecutive baskets early in the second half, pushing the lead to 20. When Cincinnati got the lead down to nine, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw called a timeout and called a play designed to get the ball inside to Schrader.
She caught the pass, made a layup, was fouled and completed a three-point play that ended Cincinnati's comeback.
Becca Bruszewski added 14 points and eight rebounds, helping the Irish get through a night when they started very slowly.
Roudebush had 17 points and four rebounds for Cincinnati, which is 0-4 against ranked teams this season. Shareese Ulis scored 13, and hit 2-of-2 from three-point land. She is 7 for her last 8 from three-point range over the last two games.
The Bearcats couldn't take advantage of Notre Dame's ragged first half. The Irish led only 19-16 with 7:35 left in the half. That's when Notre Dame's pressure and dominance inside let the Irish take control.
The Bearcats went 1 of 8 with four turnovers the rest of the half, allowing Notre Dame to pull ahead 32-18. The Irish had 12 offensive rebounds in the half, setting up 14 points.
Junior guard Brittany Mallory had a career-high eight rebounds in the first half alone. In one sequence during the late first-half run, the Irish got four offensive rebounds on one possession and finally scored on Devereaux Peters' putback.
Notre Dame opened the second half with an 8-2 run that featured three straight baskets by Schrader and pushed the lead to 40-20.
The Irish force an average of 24 turnovers per game with their trapping, full-court pressure. It got the Bearcats' offense out of sync and forced sloppy moments that left coach Jamelle Elliott pointing at her head.
Cincinnati finished with 23 turnovers, setting up 21 Irish points.
"The thing throughout the game that upset me the most was the unforced turnovers," Elliott said. "They're going to make you turn the ball over X-number of times in a game. One of the things we tried to do in preparation for this game was to stay solid and not have unforced turnovers. We'd throw the ball away, make passes we knew wouldn't be completed."