TicketsNov. 22, 2010
By Garrett Sabelhaus
GoBEARCATS.com
Last season the Xavier Musketeers won a lopsided decision against Cincinnati in the Skyline Chili Women's Crosstown Shootout.
The Musketeers were the ninth-ranked team in the country that season and it showed as Xavier held the Bearcats to just eight points in the final 15 minutes of the game on its way to a 69-38 win at the Cintas Center.
UC head coach Jamelle Elliott knows this season's Shootout will prove to be just as tough with the Muskies currently the fifth-ranked team in the country. She knows an upset of one of the best teams in the country would be ideal, but she is more interested in seeing how her team responds and plays against the Musketeers. XU plays a packed schedule with four games in seven days before meeting the Bearcats December 5th.
"An upset would be great but I'm more interested in seeing whether or not we can execute against those guys," Elliott said. "At the end of the day, I'm more into small victories at this point."
It's only recently the Musketeers have been one of the elite teams in women's basketball. Just two seasons ago the Bearcats knocked off the Musketeers who ended the season that year with an impressive 25-7 record and a No. 15 national ranking.
Three Xavier players, including two starters, played in the 2008 game as opposed to UC who only returns senior Shelly Bellman. Elliott, in her second season at UC says being so new to the rivalry makes it just another game in her mind.
"I'm not as into this rivalry yet as everybody else around me," Elliott said. "To me it's another important game to see if we can get better."
Despite three of the same players, Xavier is a much different team from two years ago and enters the December 5th Crosstown Shootout with four players averaging double-digit point totals including Ta'Shia Phillips who also averages 11.5 rebounds per game.
Elliott has her team off to a 3-0 start with three games to play before the Shootout including two on the road. She said the team isn't looking ahead to Xavier but she knows it will be exciting for her team to play in front of what should be a sold out crowd for the fifth consecutive season.
"It's going to be a great game," Elliott said. "It's one of many games in our season so I don't want to put all my eggs in this game. There are a lot of games to be played besides Xavier and UC."