TicketsMarch 3, 2011
HARTFORD, Conn. - University of Cincinnati senior Shelly Bellman (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) has been named the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Sportsmanship Award recipient, the conference announced today (March 3). Freshmen Kayla Cook (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) and Jeanise Randolph (Calumet City, Ill./Thornton Fractional North) were named to the BIG EAST all-Freshman team.
Bellman, a sixth-year senior, missed two full seasons with knee injuries during her UC career. She was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and made the most of her final year, starting 23 games and averaging 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest.
A ferocious competitor, Bellman earned BIG EAST all-Freshman honors in her rookie campaign of 2005-06, scoring 10.9 points and grabbing over six rebounds per game. She followed that with a solid sophomore season before suffering her first knee injury prior to the start of her junior slate.
Following surgery and rehab, Bellman was back on the floor in 2008-09 and started the first 28 games before reinjuring her knee in the penultimate regular-season game. Three surgeries followed and Bellman missed the entire 2009-10 season, UC's first under head coach Jamelle Elliott.
Upon being awarded her sixth year of athletic eligibility, Bellman enrolled in graduate classes, determined to finish her collegiate playing career on a high note. On senior night against No. 20/22 Marquette, she did just that. Bellman scored 12 points with eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists just six days after injuring her shoulder in a loss to Syracuse. She hit the go-ahead three-pointer with just over a minute to play and sank a pair of free throws to clinch the 65-62 victory against the Golden Eagles.
Bellman ranks in the Top 10 in UC history in three-point field goals, three-point attempts, three-point percentage, and minutes played. She has started 100 games in her Bearcats career and averages 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds. Bellman is the first Bearcat to earn the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award.
Cook has started all 28 games as a true freshman for the Bearcats. She is the team's second-leading scorer at 8.2 points per game and averages 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Cook earned BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors on March 1 after averaging 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in three games last week. The guard shot 11-of-17 from the floor (.647) and 6-of-7 from three-point range (.857), while hitting on 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
She poured in a career-high 18 points on a perfect and career-best 4-of-4 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the free throw line at No. 8/7 Notre Dame on Feb. 26. She also added a career-best three steals against the Irish.
Randolph has shown steady improvement throughout her rookie campaign, starting the last 11 games and 13 overall. The 6-2 post is averaging 5.8 points and 5.5 rebounds, but has produced 6.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in conference play. She scored a career-best 20 points on a school-record 10-of-11 (.909) from the field on Feb. 15 at Villanova and is shooting a team-best .528 for the season.
Cook and Randolph become the first pair of Bearcats teammates to earn BIG EAST all-Freshman honors. They join Bellman (2005-06), Carla Jacobs (2006-07), and Shanasa Sanders (2008-09) as Bearcat honorees on the BIG EAST all-Freshman squad.
The Bearcats, seeded 15th, will open the 2011 BIG EAST Championship against 10th-seeded West Virginia on Friday, March 4, at 6 p.m. in the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.