TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati women’s basketball team opened its season with a 66-58 victory over East Texas A&M on Wednesday night in Fifth Third Arena.
Caliyah DeVillasee gave Cincinnati the lead with a fastbreak layup at the 8:08 mark of the first quarter, and the Bearcats never looked back, leading the rest of the way to secure the season-opening win.
Jade Jones, Sahnya Jah, Amber Bullard and Naomi Benson made their Cincinnati debuts, while Jaidyn Gunter and Marta Fernandez had their first collegiate appearances.
DeVillasee led the Bearcats with 16 points (6-12 FG), with 10 coming in the first half. Jah also reached double figures with 12 points.
Bullard nearly notched a double-double, finishing with nine points on 4-for-4 shooting to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
Cincinnati shot 41.7% from the field and was +12 in points in the paint (46-32). The Bearcats held the Lions to 37.5% shooting from the floor.
The Bearcats used a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 lead. Jah added four points late in the first quarter as Cincinnati closed the period with a 15-9 advantage.
Cincinnati extended its lead to 21-13 early in the second quarter before the Lions used a 7-0 run to pull within one. The Bearcats regained momentum down the stretch to take a 28-22 lead into the break.
Back-to-back layups from Fernandez and Crawford pushed Cincinnati’s lead to nine early in the third quarter (36-27). The Lions responded with seven straight points. A three-point play from Jaidyn Gunter, the first points of her career, gave UC a slim 45-43 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lions made a late push to pull within four, but the Bearcats responded with six consecutive points, including four from Dee Alexander, to push their lead back to double digits. The Bearcats held on to secure the 66-58 win.
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Cincinnati hosts Penn State at 2 p.m. on Saturday inside Fifth Third Arena.