Lady Cats drop sixth-straight game
Despite playing better than in their previous five games, The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team could not manage to get past the Villanova Wildcats, losing by a final score of 62-53 Tuesdasy in Villanova, Penn.
By | Published: 01/25/12 9:03pm | Updated: 01/25/12 9:03pm | No comments
by Sam Greene |
Senior guard Bjonee Reaves dribbles around a defender during the first half of a game between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of South Florida Bulls at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2011. (The News Record/Sam Greene)
Despite playing better than in their previous five games, The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team could not manage to get past the Villanova Wildcats, losing by a final score of
62-53 Tuesdasy in Villanova, Penn.
The game marked the sixth-straight loss for the Cats, bringing their Big East record to 0-7.
For the first time since the beginning of Big East play, UC freshman guard Dayeesha Hollins received some offensive help from her teammates, and was outscored by Cincinnati senior guard Bjonee Reaves, who netted 20 points — all of which came in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Reaves performance was exactly what head coach Jamelle Elliott had been calling for leading up to the game, but unfortunately for the Bearcats, her efforts combined with 17 points from Hollins were not enough to overcome Cincinnati’s poor first half showing that lead to a 15-point deficit at halftime.
A strong second half effort put UC within five points with less than five minutes remaining in the game, but in the final minutes, Villanova made the shots needed to win the game and send UC packing.
Despite the loss, the Bearcats weren’t outplayed by Villanova, as UC won the battle down low, outscoring the Wildcats 22-18 in the paint. Cincinnati also put up a fight in the battle of the boards, with 26 rebounds compared to Villanova’s 27.
The effort was there for the Bearcats, and, offensively, they put themselves in a position to defeat the Wildcats. In the end, however, the Wildcat’s superior shooting and strong bench won the game.
Cincinnati shot 43 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the 3-point line, compared to the Wildcats’ 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent from 3-point land. Nova also shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Perhaps the most decisive factor was the impressive effort put in by the Villanova reserves, who outscored the UC bench 20-5. In a game decided by less than 10 points, the Cats could not find a player off the bench to count on, which cost them gravely down the stretch.
Nonetheless, the game was UC’s best Big East performance to date this season, especially offensively.
Cincinnati will continue conference road play at 4 p.m. Saturday, when they take on the Syracuse Orange in Syracuse, N.Y.
