TicketsFeb. 14, 2011
By Garrett Sabelhaus
GoBEARCATS.com
When UC's comeback bid came up short on Saturday, head coach Jamelle Elliott hoped it would serve as a valuable experience for her players, especially the freshmen.
The Bearcats dug themselves a huge hole going into halftime, down 17 points against Seton Hall.
The Pirates stretched the lead to as much as 24 early in the second half but UC climbed all the way back and cut the deficit to three with 2:20 left on a Kayla Cook 3-pointer.
UC had a chance to tie it but a Shelly Bellman three-point attempt was off the mark and clutch free throws by Seton Hall helped the Pirates seal their first BIG EAST victory of the season.
It was too little too late for the Bearcats who were in a load of trouble after a dismal first half.
"I don't care who you are, it's hard to come back from that," Elliott said. "At the end of the day, I have to figure out a way for my team to be ready when it tips so we can give ourselves the best possible chance to win."
The second-year coach was happy with the way her team fought back into the game but said if her team played the first half like it did the second it would have been a different game.
Still, Elliott knows her team is young and can only hope the experience will pay off.
"We play three freshmen 30 minutes a game," Elliott said. "I don't know if there's a BIG EAST team in the conference right now that's doing that."
Well, not quite 30 but she's close. She does play three freshmen at least 20 minutes per game including Cook whose 32.6 minutes per game is the seventh most minutes out of anyone in the conference.
She is correct when saying no other team in the BIG EAST plays as many freshmen that many minutes.
Connecticut is closest playing Preseason Freshman of the Year Bria Hartley 31 minutes per game and reigning Freshman of the Week Stefanie Dolson (who Elliott recruited to Connecticut) 21 per contest. Seton Hall is the only other BIG EAST team to play two freshmen over 20 minutes per game.
Nine other conference opponents don't play any freshmen more than 20 minutes per game including Pittsburgh who has seven freshmen on its roster and South Florida which plays three freshmen.
The other four teams - Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame and Villanova - all play one freshman over 20 minutes.
But none compare to the three that the Bearcats play which include Cook, Tiffany Turner and Jeanise Randolph.
Elliott doesn't want that to be an excuse, though, saying her team isn't yet good enough to overcome such a deep first-half hole.
"We're not that experienced of a team, we're not that athletic of a team, we're not that big of a team to start games like this," Elliott said. "At halftime, I said some things that I don't want to have to say every game to make them have to play like that. I want us to start games like that."
Randolph was exempt from the slow start. The freshman from Illinois scored four first-half points on 2-of-3 shooting and finished the game with nine on 4-of-5 shooting. She also had eight rebounds - six offensive - two steals and two blocks.
Despite the youth, Randolph is steadily gaining confidence with help from teammates and her coaches.
"I'm getting better day-by-day and game-by-game," she said. "I just have to keep working hard and my team is encouraging me every single day to get better."
The freshmen aren't just on-looking bystanders either.
Randolph leads the team with 18 blocks while averaging nearly five points a game and just over five rebounds per in eight starts. Her 52.5 shooting percentage also leads the team.
Turner averages 5.7 points per game and leads the team with seven rebounds per game on average.
Cook's 7.7 points per game average is tied for third on the team and she and senior guard Shareese Ulis are the only two players to start every game.
Hopefully, Elliott can count on all of her freshmen to continue to improve with age. They've definitely logged enough minutes.