Marquette University
Cincinnati
Women's Basketball Slays Bearcats
1/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2000
MILWAUKEE - The Marquette women?s basketball team closed the first half with a 19-4 run and held off an early second-half charge in downing Cincinnati 79-62 this afternoon in the Milwaukee Arena. Kristi Johnson matched her career-high of 20 points by going 6-8 from three-point land and Lisa Oldenburg had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Golden Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bearcats. With the win, Marquette improved to 11-3 and remained undefeated in Conference USA play at 3-0. Cincinnati, which was led by Madinah Slaise?s 22 points, fell to 7-6, 1-2.
?We know that every time we play Cincinnati its going to be a tough, defensive battle,? Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. ?They came out aggressive, but I thought we matched that aggressiveness and handled their pressure well, unlike last year when we let them hurry us. We slowed the game down today and ran our game plan.?
Unlike recent outings, Marquette opened strong out of the gates and took a 9-2 lead on the first of Johnson?s threes. Cincinnati battled back by relying on Slaise and out-battling the Golden Eagles on the boards. An All-C-USA candidate, the 5-10 Slaise tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the opening frame. She hit two free throws at the 7:24 mark to give Cincinnati its largest lead of the day, 21-18. The Bearcats held a 19-6 advantage on the boards at that point, with Marquette?s leading rebounder, Abbie Willenborg, on the bench with a pair of fouls.
However, the Golden Eagles would take over the game over the next few minutes, closing the half with that 19-4 run by using the three-pointer and getting some inspired play off the bench. Heidi Bowman drained a trey and Johnson hit two more to build a 10-point lead (31-21) and Marquette got successive baskets from reserves Rashida Gales, Kristen Seffern and Sarah Zawodny to take a 37-25 lead into the intermission.
Behind Slaise, Cincinnati mounted a run in the opening minutes of the second half. While Marquette tried to re-establish its inside game, looking inside to Oldenburg, Willenborg and Zawodny, Slaise scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and her three at the 9:39 mark cut the MU lead to six. Marquette clamped down on the Bearcats for the remainder of the game, however, allowing Slaise only one more basket and holding Cincinnati to 37% shooting on the game. While Cincinnati won the rebounding battle, no other Bearcat had more than nine points. Marquette committed only 12 turnovers and dished out a season-high 25 assists.
?We did have a much better rebounding effort in the second half,? Mitchell said. ?And sometimes you have to give up something to accomplish something else. I?m not happy with the rebounding numbers, but our defense was outstanding. We kept switching things up, giving them different looks and slowing them down.?
There was no slowing down Oldenburg and Johnson, though. Johnson also had five assists, and she hit three more threes after the break for a career-high six, opening up the middle for Oldenburg. The 6-2 senior went 8 14 from the field and tallied 13 points in the second 20 minutes. Her eight assists were a career-high.
?Kristi has incredible range,? Mitchell said. ?And we came into this game telling her that she was going to put it up. She was feeling a little down after the past two games (0-12 from three-point range), so hopefully she can build on this. She?s a great shooter and we know that she?s going to hit them. That opens up the middle for us.?
Willenborg, back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench because of a sore ankle Friday, scored 14 points, while Zawodny tallied eight. Kiesha Oliver came off the bench for the second straight game and had nine points.
Laura Wilder had nine points and a game-high 11 boards for Cincinnati.
The Golden Eagles head south for their first C-USA road game of the season next Fri., Jan. 14, when they take on Saint Louis at 7 p.m. (CT).
MARQUETTE 79, CINCINNATI 62
CINCINNATI (7-6, 1-2) Holley 2-6 1-2 5, Wilder 4-9 0-0 9, Slaise 7-18 7-8 22, Roberson 3-8 0-0 7, Perry 4-11 0-0 9, Groeber 1-2 1-4 3, Merriweather 0-0 2-2 2, Sharp 1-3 0-0 3, Flournoy 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 23-62 11-16 62.
MARQUETTE (11-3, 3-0) Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Oldenburg 8-14 1-3 17, Willenborg 5-8 4-6 14, Johnson 6-8 2-2 20, Bowman 1-8 2-2 5, Gales 1-2 0-0 2, Oliver 2-7 4-4 9, Seffern 1-2 0-0 2, Zawodny 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 29-57 13-17 79.
Halftime_Marquette 37, Cincinnati 25. 3-point goals_Cincinnati 5-21 (Wilder 1-3, Slaise 1-8, Roberson 1-4, Perry 1-3, Sharp 1-3), Marquette 8-16 (Williams 0-1, Oldenburg 0-1, Johnson 6-8, Bowman 1-3, Gales 0-1, Oliver 1-2). Rebounds_Cincinnati 40 (Wilder 11), Marquette 32 (Oldenburg 8). Assists_Cincinnati 13 (Slaise 3, Roberson 3), Marquette 25 (Oldenburg 8). Turnovers_Cincinnati 18, Marquette 12. Fouled out_Cincinnati (Roberson). Total fouls_Cincinnati 20, Marquette 17. Att_1,043.
