WBB Preview: UC vs. Tulane

On Saturday at 2 p.m. the 14-6 Cincinnati Bearcats women’s basketball team will hos the Tulane Green Wave at Fifth Third Arena. The contest between UC and the 13-7 Green Wave will be the first of their two conference meetings this season. In this first one, the Bearcats will look to bounce back from an eye opening 66-44 defeat at the hands of UCF, which snapped Cincinnati’s five game winning streak.

The mysterious absence of UC’s low-post powerhouse Shanice Johnson from the lineup against UCF contributed significantly to the drubbing the team took last Tuesday. Whether or not Johnson plays on Saturday, the Bearcats must bring their typical toughness and energy to Fifth Third Arena if they hope to beat Tulane. The Green Wave are an experienced adversary, one that has posted a 4-2 conference mark against a stiff slate of opponents.

Tulane is coming off a 70-65 win against Tulsa in which the Green Wave’s leading scorers, junior guard Kolby Morgan and senior guard Leslie Vorpahl, each scored more than 20 points. This was the third time this season that the pair has each scored at least 20 points in one game. Vorpahl and Morgan combine for one of the top backcourt tandems in the conference. The pair excels at both ends of the floor. In addition to her offensive prowess, Vorpahl is one of the AAC’s top rebounding guards. Meanwhile, the sharpshooting Morgan is among the conference’s leaders in steals. Tulane’s sizeable front court, led by 6’2 sophomore Harlyn Wyatt, presents a clear mismatch for the undersized Bearcats, particularly if Johnson is unavailable on Saturday.

Please come out to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday to support Cincinnati women’s basketball. If you can’t make it in the flesh, the game is available online at the American Athletic Conference’s Digital Network.