Cincinnati Defeats Women's Basketball, 79-69

Juedes scores 19 in loss

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CINCINNATI, Ohio ? Marquette?s second-half comeback effort fell short as Cincinnati defeated the Golden Eagles, 79-69. Marquette (14-7, 5-3 C-USA) was down by as many as 14 points in the first half and rallied to tie the scored at 40 with 15:20 to play, but Cincinnati (7-14, 2-6) closed the game strong to pick up its second-straight conference win.

Marquette was led by Lesley Juedes, who scored 19 points ? 16 coming in the second half ? as she helped the Golden Eagles on their comeback run. Juedes hit two of her five three pointers in that four minute, 20 second span to begin the second half to help Marquette draw even. A three-pointer by Christina Quaye, who finished with 16 points, also contributed to the run.

?We dug ourselves a hole early in the first half, and we became tentative,? head coach Terri Mitchell said. ?If the same team that showed up in the second half shows up in the first half, it might have been a different game.?

Cincinnati?s perimeter shooting gave Marquette problems in the second half. Toni Slaughter hit a three-pointer to break the tie at 40, to spark an 8-0 run. She had four treys in the second half to lead all scorers with 22 points. Karen Twehues also had four three-pointers, scoring 14. Anne Stephens balanced the Bearcats outside scoring with inside play, scoring 14 off the bench.

After falling behind eight, Marquette immediately responded with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to three. With Marquette trailing 52-47, Slaughter hit another three pointer which gave Cincinnati a seven point lead and Marquette struggled to recover.

?We came out of the half with a lot of intensity, but once we got the game tied at 40, we got away from our game plan,? Mitchell added.

Both teams shot well for the game. Cincinnati hit 46.7 percent from the floor and was 9-of-17 from behind the arc. Marquette shot 46.0 percent and made 7-of-16 of its three pointers. Cincinnati out-rebounded Marquette, 31-24, with 13 of those coming on the offensive end.

?You can?t expect to win on the road and let the other team out-rebound you,? Mitchell said.

Marquette fell behind by 12 at halftime. Cincinnati gained the advantage by hitting 48.4 percent in the half, hitting 15-of-31 shots. Twehues led the UC effort with 11 points by the break, hitting all three of her three-point attempts.

Marquette had difficulties early, only scoring five points in the games? first eight minutes, but it held a 5-4 lead. A three-pointer by Juedes gave Marquette a 12-8 lead, but Cincinnati went on a 9-0 run led by Bellva May, who scored eight by the break. Marquette kept it close midway through the half. After a three-point play by Quaye, Marquette trailed 21-17 and had a chance to cut into the Bearcat lead. Danielle Kamm?s block of a May three-point attempt gave Marquette the ball, but the Golden Eagles were unable to cut into the deficit. Shortly after, a layup by Anne Stephens gave Cincinnati a 14-point lead, its largest of the game.

Cincinnati ended the half on an 11-6 run to claim its double-digit halftime lead. It was Marquette?s second largest halftime defict of the season.

The Golden Eagles conclude their two-game road trip with a visit to Louisville on Monday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. EST.
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