Tonight, The Bearcats Woman’s Basketball team traveled to Houston, Texas, where they took on the Houston Cougars. The Bearcats are coming in at 7-9 overall, (0-4 AAC), while the Cougars are 7-9 overall, (2-3 AAC). The Bearcats would be looking to get their first conference win of the season, would they be able to get it done here tonight in Houston.
The starters for the Bearcats during tonight’s contest were Akira Levy, Jillian Hayes, Caitlyn Wilson, Braylyn Milton and Jadyn Scott. While for the Cougars, Kamryn Jones, Tatyana Hill, Julia Blackshell-Fair, Laila Blair and Britney Onyeje.
The Bearcats came out hot from the jump, as they quickly jumped out to a 11-2 lead after a 9-point run, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout with 7:22 left in the first quarter. The Bearcats were finding their spots early, as they seemed to have everything go in their favor, as they shot 67% from the field, 75% from 3, while shooting 75% from the free throw line. The Bearcats had nine assists in the first quarter compared to the Cougars three. The Bearcats had eight different players score in the first quarter as the Bearcats were really sharing the ball, doing a fantastic job getting everyone involved early. Jadyn Scott led the Bearcats with six points after the first quarter, where the Bearcats led the Cougars 26-11.
However, the Bearcats would once lead by as many as 20 points, before the Cougars rallied back after a 9-0 run of their own, forced Bearcats coach Michelle Clark-Heard to call a timeout. The Cougars were locked in defensively as they held the Bearcats scoreless the final 6:20 of the 2nd quarter, as they were chipping away at the Bearcats huge lead. The Bearcats were led by Jillian Hayes, Caitlyn Wilson each with eight points, followed by Jadyn Scott with seven, heading into the break.
The Bearcats came out just like they did to start the game as they quickly opened up a 11-0 run, after Houston held them scoreless to end the first half. The Cougars were looking to make a comeback after dominating the second quarter, but the Bearcats had other answers to that. The Bearcats held the Cougars to just one field goal within the first 7 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as they were locked in defensively all night.
The Bearcats were looking to contain the Cougars from a late push, as they were looking to secure their conference win of the season. However, the Cougars responded with a 7-0 run forcing the Bearcats to call a timeout as they looked to hold on to their 14-point lead down the stretch as they lead 61-47. The Bearcats would hold down and would get their first win within the AAC as they now will bounce back to 8-9 on the season after defeating the Houston Cougars, 71-56.
The Bearcats dominated the Cougars from the jump after an early 9-0 run to give them a 11-2 lead that really set the tone for this game early. The Bearcats did a tremendous job sharing the ball around as they had nine different players score a basket tonight. The Bearcats were led by Caitlyn Wilson who finished with a game high 17 points, 12 of those from 3. Jillian Hayes also showed why she is in the running for the AAC Player of the Year as she finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jadyn Scott had her best game of the season as she played a huge impact in tonight’s victory as she finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Akira Levy finished with 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists, as the junior didn’t knock down her first field goal until she hit a 3 at the buzzer heading to the 4th quarter, as her playmaking ability really shined in Houston tonight, and many were taking notice of just that.
The Bearcats now sit at 8-9 on the season, (1-4 AAC). The Bearcats will be back in action this Saturday when they return to Fifth Third Arena when they welcome in UCF at 2 pm as they look to make it two games in a row and get back to .500% on the season.
