TicketsMarch 1, 2010
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Kahla Roudebush (Noblesville, Ind./Hamilton Souteastern) scored a game-high 22 points, but the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team dropped a 69-63 overtime decision at Marquette on Monday (March 1) in the Al McGuire Center.
Val Schuster (Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman Central), playing in her home state for the first time as a collegian, tied a career high with 11 points and grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Lauren Thomas-Johnson led the Golden Eagles (15-14, 6-10 BIG EAST) with 17 points. Paige Fiedorowicz posted 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bearcats (11-17, 4-12) opened a seven-point lead at 12-5 at the 14:18 mark of the first half. After a short 4-0 run for the Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 12-9, the Bearcats pushed the lead back to six at 17-11 on a Roudebush three with 7:21 to go.
A three-point play from Feidorowicz tied it at 22 at the 4:21 mark and Marquette closed the first half on a 13-6 run to take a 32-28 lead into the break.
Back-to-back threes by Tatiyiana McMorris and Jessica Pachko gave Marquette a six-point lead at 57-51 with 4:05 to play. Schuster hit a short jumper to get it to four and after Roudebush and Schuster split a pair of free throws each, the Bearcats trailed by just two with 28 seconds left and possession. Shareese Ulis (Toledo, Ohio/Trinity Valley C.C.), who struggled from the field all night, drove left and converted a layup with four ticks on the clock. An Angel Robinson jumper at the horn was off and the game headed to overtime.
Marquette scored the first four points of overtime before a Ulis jumper made it 61-59 with 2:08 to go. A steal by McMorris and layup for Thomas-Johnson at the other end gave MU a 63-59 lead with 1:26 to go.
Roudebush hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two, but the Golden Eagles were 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to put the game away and hand UC its fifth straight defeat.
Roudebush moved into 10th place on UC's all-time scoring list, passing Debbie Merrill. She now has 1,425 career points. She also moved into third place on the career three-point field goals and three-point attempts lists, with 194 and 515, respectively.
Carla Jacobs (Cleveland, Ohio/Regina) had 10 points and Michelle Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Bearcats earned the No. 14 seed in the BIG EAST Championship and will take on USF in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 5, at 8 p.m. in the XL Center. UC, picked to finish 16th in the league by the coaches, finished with one more conference win than in each of the last two seasons.