Cincinnati- This afternoon the Bearcats welcomed East Carolina University to Fifth Third Arena as the Bearcats were looking to bounce back after falling to the Pirates 71-48 on January 16th. The Bearcats had many alumni and former players back on campus for today’s contest as they were celebrating the programs 50th season.
Starters for the Bearcats- Jillian Hayes, Akira Levy, Caitlyn Wilson, Jada Scott, Jadyn Scott
How it Happened- The Bearcats found themselves in an early hole as the Pirates came out from the jump, with an early press that gave the Bearcats a lot of trouble, creating eight turnovers in the first quarter where the Bearcats would trail 18-6 heading to the second quarter, shooting just 24% from the field in that span. Outside the turnovers the Bearcats were competing with the Pirates, 10 of those first 18 points came off those eight turnovers, just had to find a way to limit those turnovers early and find ways to get to the basket.
The Bearcats found a way to chip at the Pirates’ lead, as guard Caitlyn Wilson went on a 7-0 run after a huge 4-point play to give the Bearcats momentum as they looked to chip away at the Pirates early lead, where they cut the deficit to as much as 8 at one point. The Bearcats couldn’t find a way to rally back as the Pirates extended their led to 16 at the break, after the Bearcats allowed 20 points in the paint, and 17 off turnovers in the first half.
The Bearcats came out and locked in defensively to start the second half where they held the Pirates scoreless for almost 3 minutes as the Bearcats were causing problems by attacking the zone and getting to the basket but the Pirates weren’t going away easily as they held a 53-43 lead over the Bearcats heading into the 4th quarter, but the Bearcats were looking to get a late surge of momentum after a Jillian Hayes basket at the buzzer.
The fourth quarter was all Bearcats as they rallied back to cut the deficit to 4 after trailing by as much as 10 plus the whole game, after being locked in defensively. The Bearcats did see guard Braylyn Milton head to the locker room after getting landed on going for a loose ball, as they were checking the head area of Milton. The Bearcats cut the lead to 2 before the Pirates pushed the lead to 7 with 2 minutes remaining. The Pirates held on after the late surge to beat the Bearcats 68-57 despite the Bearcats looking to take their first lead of the game late in the 4th quarter.
The Bearcats were led behind Jillian Hayes who went 6-of-13 from the field, scoring a team high 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. Jadyn Scott and Arame Niang each finished with 11 points for the Bearcats. Overall, that early start in the first quarter with the 1-2-2 press forced a lot of turnovers the Bearcats couldn’t quite recover after settling in after the first quarter as they had to play catch up from there. We didn’t see Braylyn Milton return after looking to appear to suffer a head injury late in the contest, so something to keep an eye on heading into Memphis next week as well.
The Bearcats will return to action this Wednesday when they welcome in Memphis to Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats are now 10-15 on the season (3-10 AAC), but are looking to finish the season off in the win column before heading into the AAC Tournament.
