WBB Fades Late, Falls to St. Francis, 77-73

The Cincinnati Bearcats women’s basketball team dropped a frustrating one this evening. They fell 77-73 to the St. Francis Red Flash in a wild, back-and-forth game that included 14 lead changes.

After trailing 38-35 at the half, Cincinnati raced to a 63-54 lead after three quarters. UC built its lead to as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but faded late as two of its frontcourt stalwarts, Shanice Johnson and Angel Rizor, dealt with foul trouble. Both players eventually fouled out.

The Bearcats and the Red Flash fought to a near draw on the boards with Cincinnati out-rebounding St. Francis 42-41. Both teams turned the ball over with impunity. Both clubs shot at approximately 40 percent from the floor. The difference tonight may have been outside shooting. While St. Francis shot a less-than-impressive 9 for 32 from three, the Bearcats shot just 17 percent from outside, going 4 for 24 from outside.

As expected, St. Francis’ pair of returning All-Northeast Conference first teamers, junior point guard Jessica Kovatch and senior forward Ace Harrison, took the lion’s share of shots and scored the vast majority of their points. Kovatch, who scored 33, and Harrison, who scored 24, combined for 57 of the Red Flash’s 77 points.

Ana Owens led the Bearcats in scoring with 19 points, including 3 of 6 shooting from outside the arc. Shanice Johnson posted 15 points and 6 rebounds while Angel Rizor had her best offensive performance of the young season, pumping in 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting.

While St. Francis improved to 3-2 with the win, Cincinnati fell to 4-3. The Bearcats close out their seven game homestand this Thursday night at 7 PM against Southeast Missouri State at St. Ursula Academy. If you can’t make it to St. Ursula, head over to GoBearcats.com to watch the game.