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The Lady Bearcats played their best game of the season Saturday afternoon, walking away from the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., with their first Big East win of the season following an impressive 55-54 victory against The Lady Orange.

Senior guard Bjonee Reaves knocked down a tough jumper with five seconds remaining in the game to seal the deal for the University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team.

The Cats were finally able to find scoring threats to contribute alongside Dayeesha Hollins and also received a major contribution off the bench — both of which were issues that have plagued the Cats since the beginning of Big East play.

For the first time since prior to conference play, four different Bearcats poured in double-figure
performances.

Kayla Cook paced the Cats with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. 

Hollins and Reaves followed up their stellar performances earlier this week at Villanova, chipping in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Coming off the bench, Jeanise Randolph recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and was UC’s only answer in the battle of the boards, filling the void that was left when Hollins fouled out late in the game.

The Bearcats led by as many as 10 points — 36-26 — three minutes in to the second half, but Syracuse refused to go away and tied the game 43-43 with 8:12 to go.

With 3:50 remaining, Hollins fouled out; and UC was forced to finish out the game without its team leader.

Iasia Hemingway tied the game once again for the Orange, making the score 50-50, with under three minutes remaining; and at the 2:24 mark, she hit another shot to put Syracuse ahead by a basket.

Cook took the ball back down the court for the Cats and sunk a 3-pointer from downtown, but Elashier Hall’s jumper gave the Orange a one-point advantage, 54-53, with 1:13 remaining in the game, setting the stage for Reaves’ game-winning buzzer beater.

Hemingway led Syracuse with 12 points, while Kayla Alexander netted 11 points.

“I can’t say enough about my team,” said Bearcats’ head Coach Jamelle Elliott. “I just told them in the locker room, there are a lot of teams in the country who get on a losing streak; and their attitude changes, and they feel sorry for themselves.”

Elliott said she never felt that way with the Cats, however.

“I knew that one of these games, we were going to come out on top if we stayed together, and today it was a prime example of that,” Elliott said. “Everyone stepped up and gave us a chance to win.”

The Bearcats finish up their road trip at Marquette on Wednesday. Tip Off is set for 8 p.m.