TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball gave the second-ranked UConn Huskies all it could handle Saturday in a 65-55 decision at Fifth Third Arena.
Following a 38-23 halftime deficit, the Bearcats (14-8, 6-3 AAC) outplayed the Huskies (19-2, 8-0 AAC) in the second half, outscoring them, 32-27. For the game, the Red & Black held the American Athletic Conference's highest-scoring team 17 points below its season-scoring average. The 10-point scoring margin is the closest UC has played the Huskies since 2007.
Senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) continued her stellar play with 14 points off the bench, including four made 3-pointers. Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) recorded 13 points, a game-high-tying five assists, and five rebounds. In addition, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) neared her first double-double of the season with a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.
Looking to extend their home unbeaten streak to 10 games, the Bearcats went back and forth with the Huskies over the opening five minutes of the contest. Edged just 7-5 at the first under-five-minute media timeout of the game, UC fell victim to a 17-7 UConn run over the duration of the first quarter to trail 24-12 going into the second. The home team battled back to pull within six, 27-21, with 6:37 to go before halftime, but saw UConn end the half on a 11-2 burst to go up 38-23 at the break.
The Red & Black came out of the locker room energized, outscoring the Huskies, 14-6, over the first 4:30 of the third quarter to get back into the game. Following UConn taking a 54-43 advantage into the final period, UC held an 8-5 edge during the opening five minutes of the quarter to trail just 59-51 with five minutes left to play. Armed with the momentum, the Bearcats tried to creep closer down the stretch, but just weren't quite able to get over the hump of eight points, resulting in a hard-fought, 65-55 loss.
Cincinnati held the normally hot-shooting Huskies to just 39.6-percent shooting from the field. On the offensive end, the Red & Black knocked down eight 3-pointers, scored 22 points in the paint, and got 21 points from its bench. UC also got out on the fast break for 11 points and dished out 13 assists.
// UP NEXT
UC will have more than a week off from competition before returning to action on Sunday, Feb. 10 when it welcomes Wichita State to Fifth Third Arena for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
// SINGLE-GAME TICKET INFO
Single-game tickets for the 2018-19 season are on sale now. General admission tickets are available at just $5, while Champions Club tickets are $7. Discounts for youth (ages 4-12) and seniors (ages 65+) include $3 general admission tickets and $5 Champions Club tickets. Tickets can be purchased by either calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging onto GoBEARCATS.com/Tickets, or by visiting the Fifth Third Arena ticket office on gameday.