Bearcats Welcome Wright State on Saturday

Dec. 17, 2010

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THE GAME
The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team will look to snap a three-game losing skid against regional rival Wright State on Saturday, Dec. 18, in Fifth Third Arena.

THE SERIES
Cincinnati leads the all-time series against its regional rival, 16-3, and has won the last five meetings. Last season, the Bearcats topped the Raiders, 51-45, on Dec. 29, in Fifth Third Arena.

THE COACH
Jamelle Elliott enters her second 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).

• Saturday's game will be a homecoming for three members of the Wright State coaching staff. Former UC assistant coach Mike Bradbury returns as the Raiders head coach and WSU assistants Valerie King and Katrina Merriweather were both four-year letterwinners for the Bearcats.
• King was inducted into the James P. Kelly Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 27, 2010. She is the program's second-leading all-time scorer and holds eight school records.
• Cincinnati started the season 5-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season before falling at Dayton on Dec. 2.
• The Bearcats have outrebounded their first eight opponents by a +4.5 rebound per game margin.
• Head coach Jamelle Elliott, the only BIG EAST head women's basketball coach to also play in the league, enters her second season on the Bearcats bench.
• Elliott spent 12 seasons as an assistant at Connecticut following a four-year playing career for the Huskies, where she won a combined six national championships as a player and coach.
• Senior guard Shareese Ulis is UC's leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points per game.
• Former BIG EAST all-Rookie Team member Shelly Bellman, who missed the 2009-10 season due to injury, has been granted a sixth year of eligibility.
• UC welcomes six newcomers, inlcuding ESPN Top 100 recruit Kayla Cook and Michigan transfer Dayeesha Hollins. Hollins will sit out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer guidelines.
• Vanderbilt transfer Chanel Chisholm is eligible this season after she sat out the 2009-10 season due to transfer guidelines.