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PHILADELPHIA, PA. - The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team dropped a road contest to the No. 20 Temple Owls, 88-64, Saturday inside McGonigle Hall.
UC's overall record fell to 16-12 and 7-8 in American Athletic Conference play, while Temple improved to 22-6 on the season and 12-3 in league action.
The Bearcats played the Owls even for much of the but dug themselves a hole with a cold-shooting first quarter. After 10 minutes, UC had missed its first 12 shots and trailed 23-2, a deficit it chipped away at throughout the game, but could not overcome.
Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC), playing in her hometown, poured in a team-high 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists, had two steals and blocked a shot. Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) came off the bench to score 13 points along with two assists, a and a steal.
Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) added eight points and three assists. Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) did all of her in the final 10 minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing four steals.
Tanaya Atkinson made 12-of-18 shots to tally a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds. Alliya Butts added 23 while Feyonda Fitzgerald scored 18 and dished out 11 assists.
UC started the second quarter on a 10-4 run thanks to triples by Rodgers and Johnson and layups from Miller and Owens. The Owls came right back with a 9-2 run of its own to push the margin to 36-14 with 4:03 left in the half. UC battled and kept the deficit at 22 heading into the locker room.
A 5-0 run to start the second half with a layup and triple from Johnson pulled the Owls' lead back to 17 at 47-30. Temple answered again with a quick run of its own to push the lead back to 22, 54-32 with 7:35 to go in the quarter. UC would chip away, getting the deficit down to 17 at 59-42 with 3:25 left in the third, but a three-minute-plus field-goal drought had the Bearcats trailing by 21 with 10 minutes to go.
UC made 50 percent of its shots in the final quarter, but Temple made almost 70 percent of their attempts, denying the Bearcats a chance at a comeback. Goings led the valiant effort, knocking down nine points in the fourth, making four of her six shots and grabbing all four of her steals.
// UP NEXT
UC closes the regular season against Tulsa on inside Fifth Third Arena on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. ET in this season's lone meeting between the Bearcats and Golden Hurricane. UC's two seniors, Bianca Quisenberry (Springfield, Ohio/Tecumseh) and Brandey Tarver (Chicago, Ill./Bogan Computer Technical), will be honored in a pregame ceremony. The game will air live on BearcatsTV on GoBEARCATS.com.
// EXPERIENCE UC
Again, this season, the Bearcats will be participating in the University's "Experience UC" initiative which offers complimentary, free of charge admission to home games. The initiative is geared toward inviting the community to campus to see firsthand the great things about and surrounding the University. Groups interested in attending games in 2015-16 should contact Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Branding Luke Willman (513-556-1081; luke.willman@uc.edu) for more information.
// MOBILE APP: CINCINNATI GAMEDAY
Improved for the 2016 season, the Cincinnati Gameday app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices offers fans a wide variety of information on the Bearcats — home and away. The free app is available in the App Store and Google Play. The app offers live scores & stats, social interaction, and maps, among other features, to enhance the Cincinnati gameday experience.