TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team battled back late but ultimately fell to undefeated No. 17 Texas Tech, 71-60, on Saturday afternoon inside Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats (6-11, 1-4 Big 12) held the Lady Raiders (18-0, 5-0 Big 12) to just eight points in the opening quarter and cut the deficit to four in the fourth, but back-to-back threes from Texas Tech pulled them away for the win.
Four Bearcats reached double figures in scoring. Caliyah DeVillasee led the way with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Mya Perry added 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. She has scored in double figures in all 17 games this season.
Kylie Torrence contributed 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Reagan Jackson also finished with 10 points.
Cincinnati shot 43% from the floor and made four three-pointers (30.8%), while Texas Tech hit 41% from the field, including 10 threes. Turnovers proved costly for the Bearcats, as 22 miscues led to 22 points for the Lady Raiders.
Despite being outrebounded by three in the first quarter, Cincinnati took control of the boards the rest of the way, finishing with a 36-27 rebounding advantage and converting that into 11 second-chance points.
The Bearcats forced eight turnovers and held Texas Tech to 2-of-10 shooting in the opening 10 minutes. Torrence sparked the start with four early points, while Cincinnati closed the quarter on a 5-0 run, capped by a buzzer-beating three from DeVillasee, to take an 11-8 lead after one.
Texas Tech took control in the second, shooting 61.1% from the floor and 6-of-7 from three-point range. The Red Raiders used a 12-0 run midway through the quarter to turn a one-point game into a double-digit deficit, pushing their lead to as many as 18 before halftime.
The Bearcats responded out of halftime on the defensive end, limiting Texas Tech to just seven points in the third quarter. Cincinnati slowly chipped away at the margin behind a pair of 6-0 runs. They won the quarter 14-7 to cut the deficit to 47-37 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Cincinnati opened the quarter on a 9-2 run to pull within four with less than five minutes remaining. The stretch featured six straight points from Jackson. Texas Tech responded with back-to-back triples to pull away for the 71-60 victory.