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CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati women's basketball senior guard Bianca Quisenberry scored a game-high 20 points but it was not enough as the Bearcats suffered a 78-61 loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on senior night at Fifth Third Arena.
In the first matchup of the season between the Bearcats and Golden Hurricane, UC dropped its third-straight game to fall to 16-13 on the year and 7-9 in American Athletic Conference play. TU snapped a six-game losing skid with the victory and moved to 9-20 overall and 5-11 in conference action.
Junior forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC) joined Quisenberry (Springfield, Ohio/Tecumseh) in double figures with 17 points. Fellow UC senior Brandey Tarver (Chicago, Ill./Bogan Computer Technical) chipped in six points and four rebounds in her final game at Fifth Third Arena. Tulsa had four double-digit scorers, paced by Ashley Hughes' 18 points.
The Bearcats' third-quarter woes proved to be the difference in the game as they were outscored by the Golden Hurricane 31-17 in the period. TU fired at a 71.4 percent (10-of-14) clip from the field in the quarter. UC was only edged 47-44 in the other three periods.
The opening quarter was tightly contested with neither team holding a lead of more than four points as Tulsa took a 21-20 advantage into the second period. The Golden Hurricane gained some separation from the Bearcats midway through the quarter with a six-point, 33-27 lead with 3:59 to go before halftime. TU then took a 34-29 lead into the break.
Following a Quisenberry lay in with eight minutes to play in the third period to reduce UC's deficit to three points, Tulsa put together a 10-5 burst to pull ahead by 10. The Golden Hurricane surge continued as the visitors pulled ahead by 19 and took a 65-46 advantage into the final quarter. The closest the Bearcats would get to TU in the fourth period was 12 points as they could not muster enough offense to stage a comeback.
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UC will travel to Uncasville, Connecticut to participate in the 2017 Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, March 3-6, inside Mohegan Sun Arena at Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort. The Bearcats will first square off against the Houston Cougars on Friday at 6 p.m. in the first round of the tournament. The game will air live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. UC swept the two-game regular season series this year and has won the last 11 meetings with UH.