TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball dropped a 79-70 overtime decision to the visiting ECU Pirates on Saturday afternoon at Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center.
With the loss, UC's four-game winning streak was snapped as it fell to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in American Athletic Conference play. Meanwhile, ECU improved to 11-10 on the season, 3-5 in league action, and tied the season series between the two teams.
Looking to make it five wins in a row, the Bearcats played the Pirates to an even first half, 30-30. The Red & Black came out of the halftime break energized and took a game-high 10-point, 51-41, lead late in the third quarter.
The script flipped in the fourth as ECU surged ahead with a 7-2 run over the opening three minutes of the period to reduce UC's advantage to just one point, 57-56. After the Bearcats pulled ahead by five with five minutes to go, the Pirates responded with a 6-0 run to take a 62-61 lead with 3:52 remaining in regulation.
The final three minutes of the fourth quarter went back and forth with two ties and three lead changes. A junior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) fast-break lay-in put UC up 68-66 with one minute to play. The Pirates fired back with an Alex Frazier jumper with 15 seconds remaining to tie the game at 68. In the final possession of regulation, senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) fired from distance and had her game-winning 3-point attempt rim out to push the game into overtime.
In the extra period, ECU scored the opening six points over four minutes to put the home team in a hole. Ultimately, the Bearcats were outscored 11-2 in overtime as the visitors from North Carolina escaped with the victory.
Owens paced the Bearcats in scoring for the ninth time this season and the third game in a row with 15 points. The senior also grabbed a season-high tying seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds for her 11th double-figure scoring game of 2017-18. Still rounding back into form following her five-game absence due to injury, Goings came off the bench to score 10 points in just 18 minutes of play. In addition, senior forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC) stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal, while freshman forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) added nine points, five rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
UC scored 40 points in the paint and got 27 points from its bench. The Bearcats shot the ball at a 42-percent clip from the field and knocked down 13-of-16 from the free-throw line. The Red & Black also outrebounded ECU, 44-35, and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 10 points. UC was hurt, though, by a season-high 26 turnovers which the Pirates converted into 27 points. The Bearcats limited the visitors to 37-percent shooting for the game, but allowed 47-percent in the second half.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will conclude their brief, two-game homestand on Tuesday when they welcome UCF to Saint Ursula Academy for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Admission to the game will be free of charge as part of the season-long Experience UC initiative.
With the loss, UC's four-game winning streak was snapped as it fell to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in American Athletic Conference play. Meanwhile, ECU improved to 11-10 on the season, 3-5 in league action, and tied the season series between the two teams.
Looking to make it five wins in a row, the Bearcats played the Pirates to an even first half, 30-30. The Red & Black came out of the halftime break energized and took a game-high 10-point, 51-41, lead late in the third quarter.
The script flipped in the fourth as ECU surged ahead with a 7-2 run over the opening three minutes of the period to reduce UC's advantage to just one point, 57-56. After the Bearcats pulled ahead by five with five minutes to go, the Pirates responded with a 6-0 run to take a 62-61 lead with 3:52 remaining in regulation.
The final three minutes of the fourth quarter went back and forth with two ties and three lead changes. A junior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) fast-break lay-in put UC up 68-66 with one minute to play. The Pirates fired back with an Alex Frazier jumper with 15 seconds remaining to tie the game at 68. In the final possession of regulation, senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) fired from distance and had her game-winning 3-point attempt rim out to push the game into overtime.
In the extra period, ECU scored the opening six points over four minutes to put the home team in a hole. Ultimately, the Bearcats were outscored 11-2 in overtime as the visitors from North Carolina escaped with the victory.
Owens paced the Bearcats in scoring for the ninth time this season and the third game in a row with 15 points. The senior also grabbed a season-high tying seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds for her 11th double-figure scoring game of 2017-18. Still rounding back into form following her five-game absence due to injury, Goings came off the bench to score 10 points in just 18 minutes of play. In addition, senior forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC) stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal, while freshman forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) added nine points, five rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
UC scored 40 points in the paint and got 27 points from its bench. The Bearcats shot the ball at a 42-percent clip from the field and knocked down 13-of-16 from the free-throw line. The Red & Black also outrebounded ECU, 44-35, and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 10 points. UC was hurt, though, by a season-high 26 turnovers which the Pirates converted into 27 points. The Bearcats limited the visitors to 37-percent shooting for the game, but allowed 47-percent in the second half.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will conclude their brief, two-game homestand on Tuesday when they welcome UCF to Saint Ursula Academy for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Admission to the game will be free of charge as part of the season-long Experience UC initiative.