Per GoBearcats:
The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team fell to Temple 68-64 on Wednesday night at McGonigle Hall.
The Bearcats led by as many as 15 in the first half and held a 36-28 advantage at halftime, but shot 31.1% after the break as the host Owls rallied.
After Temple tied the game 53-53 with 7:33 left in the game, both teams traded baskets and exchanged leads down the stretch.
Two free throws by Jillian Hayes put the Bearcats in front 61-60 with 1:47 left, but Temple answered with a layup by Mia Davis to take a 62-61 lead.
Hayes’s elbow jumper with 1:17 left gave UC a 64-63 lead. Temple’s Jiselle Thomas made a layup with 1:00 to go to give the Owls the lead for good as UC missed three 3-point attempts in the final minute and Temple made four free throws.
Hayes led Cincinnati with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. She made 10-of-12 free throws. Graduate student Arame Niang added 12 points, while junior guard Caitlyn Wilson also scored 12 points on 4-of-7 from three.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wilson got things started with a 3-point basket for the first points of the game. The Owls and the Bearcats would trade points back and forth until freshman guard Braylyn Milton’s 3-pointer the Bearcats offense. Highlighted by a beautiful spin-move layup by freshman forward Clarissa Craig and Wilson’s second 3-pointer, UC would maintain the lead the rest of the quarter, 22-16.
UC would go on a 10-0 run early in the second quarter, with junior guard Akira Levy and Wilson hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Bearcats to their biggest lead of the game, 33-18. Temple would claw its way back, but UC would maintain the lead heading into the half up 36-28.
Graduate student Arame Niang recorded back-to-back layups for the Bearcats’ first points of the third quarter. The Owls would continue to chip away at the lead, closing the gap to 44-43. UC would go on a 7-0 run highlighted by Milton’s jumper and Wilson’s fourth 3 of the game to extend the lead to 51-43. However, the Owls finished the third quarter with five more points and UC led 51-48 entering the fourth quarter.
NEXT UP
Cincinnati women’s basketball will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Saturday, Jan. 29 when they welcome Tulsa to Fifth Third Arena for a 2 p.m. matchup. Tickets for the game start at $8 and you can call the Box Office at 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit the website here.
