Bowling Green State University
CINCINNATI
Host UC Stops Falcons, 88-57
December 21, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2002
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Five University of Cincinnati players scored in double figures as the host Bearcats posted an 88-57 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (Dec. 21). The contest, a first-round game in UC's Bearcat Invitational, was held at the Shoemaker Center.
With the win, Cincinnati (now 6-2 on the season) improved to 13-0 all-time in the Bearcat Invitational. Debbie Merrill led the way with 20 points, while Valerie King added 14.
The Falcons (4-4) got a team-high 14 points from Cincinnati native Lindsay Austin, while senior Kim Griech had 11. The Falcons will square off with Savannah State at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow in the consolation game. SSU was a 64-42 loser to Louisiana-Lafayette in the first game Saturday.
UC's K.B. Sharp had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Brittani Young added a season-best 10 and Anne Stephens chipped in with 10 off the bench.
The Bearcats sprinted out of the gates to a 10-0 lead behind the inside play of Merrill and Carolyn Alexander. Merrill started the game with three-straight baskets and Alexander added two more as Cincinnati took a sizable lead just three and a half minutes into the contest.
Griech almost singlehandedly kept the Falcons in the game for a while, scoring the Falcons' first five points. Merrill continued to dominate inside, though, adding another layup and a pair of free throws to five the Bearcats a 14-5 lead with just over five minutes expired.
The Bearcat lead was up to 14 on a pair of free throws each by Sharp and King and Merrill's fifth field goal of the half at 11:25. Griech countered with her second triple of the half on the ensuing Falcon possession to cut the BGSU deficit to 11.
The Bearcats ended the half on a 9-3 run to carry a 46-25 lead into the lockerroom. Cincinnati picked up where they left off in the second half, as they shot 53 percent in the final 20 minutes. King hit a pair of three's, her only two of the contest, in the early stages of the second half.
After a Merrill bucket made it 56-31, Austin scored Bowling Green's next seven points, beginning with a three-point play at the 15:32 mark. BGSU made one more run, scoring seven consecutive points to cut the deficit to 20 points, 67-47, with 7:16 remaining. Pam Brown led the charge, scoring five of the points for BGSU during that run.
But the Bearcats responded with a 16-4 run of their own over the next four minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 31, with 1:41 left. Young scored six of her 10 points during that stretch.
For the game, the Bearcats outshot the Falcons, .478 to .389. They also held a close advantage in the rebounding department, 38-30. The Brown and Orange battled the Bearcats to a 15-15 draw on the boards in the final 20 minutes.
Sophomore Tene Lewis had seven points, a career-high six assists and two rebounds in 22 minutes of action, while Brown also had seven points off the bench. The teams each got 26 points from bench players.
UC forced the Falcons into 22 turnovers while committing just nine. Not surprisingly, the Bearcats held a significant edge at the free-throw line, going 18-of-23 to the Falcons' 9-of-11 from the stripe. Cincinnati also held a dominant 21-0 advantage in second-chance points.
As mentioned, the Falcons will take on Savannah State in Sunday's first game. UC will face UL Lafayette in the championship contest at 4:00 p.m.
NOTE: Cincinnati's web site, www.ucbearcats.com, contributed to this report.
