TicketsNAPLES, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team opened the Florida Gulf Classic with a 72-49 win over Alabama A&M on Friday in Naples, Fla.
Mya Perry and Caliyah DeVillasee powered the Bearcats with a combined 47 points. Perry recorded her third 20-point outing of the season, finishing with a team-high 25 points while going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
DeVillasee added a season-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 7-of-8 at the line. She also pulled down a career-best seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Both Perry and DeVillasee have scored in double figures in every game this season.
Reagan Jackson rounded out Cincinnati’s double-figure scorers with 13 points. The Bearcats shot 47 percent from the field and knocked down 22 free throws (.815).
Defensively, Cincinnati held Alabama A&M to 34 percent shooting and just three made three-pointers (.250), while winning the battle on the glass, 43-26.
The Bearcats opened the game with seven straight points and led 14-9 at the first quarter media timeout. Alabama A&M closed the gap with a 6-0 run to make it 16-13 after one.
Perry halted the run with her second three-pointer early in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs briefly took the lead following another 6-0 spurt. Jackson answered with a three of her own, sparking Cincinnati’s 12-2 run to close the half. Perry and DeVillasee combined for 17 points in the second quarter and 29 in the opening half.
Cincinnati scored 19 points in the third quarter, including 13 from the free throw line, while holding Alabama A&M to just nine. The Bearcats never allowed the Bulldogs closer than 16 the rest of the way, cruising to a 72-49 victory.
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Cincinnati wraps up the Florida Gulf Classic on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. matchup against New Mexico on the Women’s Sports Network.