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If you weren't there ...
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The University of South Florida women's basketball team got 14 poiunts from KaNeisha Saunders, however Cincinnati handed the Bulls a 63-51 loss in the BIG EAST Tournament first round at trhe XL Center.
USF shot 44.7 percent (21-47) from th field on the night while the Bearcats were 20-50 (40.0 percent) from the floor in the win.
Cincinnati, however, hit 41.7 percent (5-12) from behind the three-point arc - while the Bulls were just 26.7 percent (4-15) - and took advantage of 20 USF turnovers that led to 21 points.
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2 |
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Cincinnati
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36 |
27 |
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63 |
| USF |
26 |
25 |
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51 |
| Scoring Leaders |
| Player |
FG-A
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3FG-A
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FT-A
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TP
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| Cincinnati - Roudebush |
7-13 |
3-3 |
2-3 |
19 |
| USF - Saunders |
6-11 |
2-4 |
0-1 |
14 |
| Rebounding Leaders |
| Player |
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| Cincinnati- Sanders |
2 |
7 |
9 |
| USF - Lawson |
1 |
5 |
6 |
| Misc. Leaders |
| Player |
Steals
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Assists
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Blocks
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| Cincinnati-Ulis |
2 |
3 |
0 |
| USF - Saunders |
2 |
6 |
1 |
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HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of South Florida women's basketball team dropped a 63-51 decision to Cincinnati in the first round of the BIG EAST Conference Women's Basketball Tournament tonight at the XL Center.
KaNeisha Saunders led the way for the way for USF with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes.
The Bearcats (12-17) took control of the game early in the first half and never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game. Cincinnati would take the lead for good, 9-6, on a three-point shot by Kahla Roudebush, 3:05 into the game.
Roudebush would then get the lead to five, 11-6, on another jumper with 15:44 left in the half.
The Bulls would cut the lead to one, 11-10, on a lay-up by Melissa Dalembert - off a steal by Allyson Speed - with 14:47 left before the break. That would be as close as USF would get the rest of the night.
The Bulls would hang around keeping the lead to between four and six points until Speed would hit her first three-point shot of the game with 3:26 left in the half to cut the lead to three points, 29-26.
Cincinnati, however, would close the first half on a 7-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game to that point, 36-26, on a three-point play by Shareese Ulis with two second left in the first stanza.
KaNeisha Saunders would come out hot in the second half and single handily cut the lead to five points, 36-31, after hitting a jumper 45 seconds into the half, and then a trey with 17:02 left in the game.
The Bearcats, however, would regroup and push the lead back to double figures, 47-36 on the second of two made free throws by Roudebush with 12:33 left in the contest.
USF would make one final push to get back into the game, cutting the Cincinnati edge to six points, 51-45, on a rebound put-back by Tahira Johnson with 7:12 left.
The Bearcats would outscore the Bulls, putting the game out of reach the rest of the way, and extending their lead to as many as 16 points, twice in the final 3:22, en route to the win.
USF will now wait to see if it receives a bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, to extend its postseason tournament streak to seven consecutive years. WNIT pairings will be announced on Monday, March 15 following the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.
Post Game Quotes
Head Coach Jose Fernandez
Opening Statement:
"You have to hand it to Jamelle (Elliott) and her ball club. I thought that she had them very well prepared and they came in and played with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. I give them all the credit in the world. They beat us to every loose ball and they killed us on the glass. It seems like one team wanted their play to continue here in the BIG EAST Tournament. We didn't play with a lot of passion tonight. I was very, very disappointed in that. Out of the last seven games, this is the first time that really we got beat to the punch, as you would say, in all aspects. A lot of it was effort."
Did being worn down at the end of the game contribute to it slipping away?
"I wouldn't say that. It's the point of the season where we are down to eight guys. We have had some adversities this year, some off the court issues and some injuries. In the first half we were down ten at half, and I think that a lot of that was based on offensive rebounds, and giving up dribble penetration. We knew we were prepared to come in here and it was going to be a road game. Jamelle (Elliott) deserves to have the crowd and the people and fans of Connecticut behind her for everything she did here in the city, and for Geno (Auriemma), and the program. We knew that was going to happen. First half, first twenty minutes we weren't winded and we were down ten at the half, because of all those little things we didn't do well."
