Michigan
7-4
Cincinnati
8-3
Wolverines Claw Bearcats for Second Straight Win
12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Score: Michigan 65, Cincinnati 50
Records: Michigan (7-4), Cincinnati (8-3)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Dec. 21 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 2 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior forward Melinda Queen(Oak Forest, Ill./Carl Sandburg) set a new career high with 16 points, including going 4-of-5 from behind the arc, to lead the University of Michigan women's basketball team to a 65-50 win over Cincinnati in its final non-conference game on Friday night (Dec. 19) at Crisler Arena.
For the third time this season, the Wolverines had three players in double figures, led by Queen's 16. Senior forward Stephany Skrba(Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School), who was in double figures for the second consecutive game, added 15, while freshman guard/forward Carmen Reynolds(Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) posted her first double-figures game with a career-high 11 points.
A three-pointer from Queen keyed an 8-4 Michigan run to open the second half, which saw the Wolverines take a 36-32 lead -- the first lead of more than three points by either team since Cincinnati had an eight-point advantage early in the first half.
Senior guard Jessica Minnfield(Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) turned things up on the offensive end in the second half, tallying seven points early in the stanza after missing on her first four attempts in the first half, while junior center Krista Phillips(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate) and Skrba provided a presence for the Wolverines in the paint, helping U-M grow its lead to 47-38 midway through the half. Cincinnati cut the lead to 47-43 behind buckets from Val Schuster and Angel Morgan, but Michigan countered with back-to-back buckets to keep the lead at eight points.
The Wolverines used their defensive pressure to force the Bearcats into several turnovers late in the game and were able to capitalize on the other end of the floor, pushing their lead to more than 10 en route to their seventh and final non-conference win of the season, and second straight.
Both teams opened the game cold from the floor, going a combined 0-of-9 in the game's first three minutes, but after a bucket from Cincinnati's Shelly Bellman, the Bearcat offense went on a 10-5 run to take an early 13-5 lead. Queen hit her fourth three-pointer of the season and, on the other end, came up with a huge defensive stop, while a three-pointer from senior forward Carly Benson(Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) cut the Cincinnati lead to 15-13 at the 11:59 mark.
After several minutes of solid defense from both teams, Michigan was able to take its first lead of the game with triple from Queen to go ahead, 18-15, but Cincinnati was able to use a short 5-3 run to cut the U-M lead to just one point with just over six minutes remaining in the first stanza. Reynolds hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game and, with several buckets from each team, the squads went into the break knotted at 28-28.
Skrba led all scorers with 11 points, while Cincinnati's Jill Stephens tallied a game-high seven rebounds at the intermission.
Michigan opens Big Ten action on Sunday (Dec. 21) against four-time Big Ten champion Ohio State at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Fans can catch the action live at 2 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and can also hear Matt Park and Nick Brandon on the call on WTKA AM 1050.
Contact: Jessica Poole (734) 763-443
