LAST TIME OUT:

• Kahla Roudebush scored a team-high 17 points but UC gave up 28 points off of turnovers, losing at No. 22/24 Syracuse, 66-56, in a BIG EAST contest on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

• Cincinnati burst out to a 10-3 lead in the first five minutes as Jill Stephens and Roudebush each hit from downtown. Syracuse added pressure with a full-court press briefly, but Roudebush was on fire, connecting on three straight 3-pointers to help the Bearcats maintain a nine-point advantage, 23-14, with 10:45 to play in the first half. Roudebush made her first four attempts from long range. Syracuse capatilized on UC's turnovers and tied the game at 31 with 2:50 to go. A free throw by Erica Morrow gave the Orange their first lead of the half, 32-31 with 1:09 remaining, but Stephens put UC up with an old-fashioned 3-point play, giving the Bearcats a 34-31 advantage going into the locker room.

• Syracuse opened the half with a 6-2 run before UC called a timeout, down 38-36 with 17:44 remaining. UC scored its first basket from the floor at the 13:03 mark of the second half and got back-to-back baskets and a free throw by Carla Jacobs to put UC within four, 47-43, with 11:26 to play. Cincinnati got within one possesion with a layup by Roudebush, 47-45, but a free throw by Goodwin and a 3-pointer by Morrow put the Orange up, 51-47, with 8:25 remaining. Two free throws by Jacobs got the Bearcats back within two, but another 3-pointer by Morrow at the 6:20 mark of the final stanza sparked a 12-0 run that gave the Orange enough of a cushion for the win.

• Stephens finished the game with 10 points and 14 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the season, while Jacobs and Tenishia Benson each added 11 points for Cincinnati.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S: St. John's returns all five starters from the 2006-07 season and is coming off a 73-45 wallop of Seton Hall on Tuesday night. The Red Storm are 14-13 overall and 5-9 in BIG EAST action. St. John's is led in scoring by junior guard Monique McLean, who averages 14.7 points a game, and led in rebounding by sophomore forward Joy McCorvey, who pulls down 5.9 rebounds a game. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico is in her sixth season at St. John's and has an 82-89 overall record.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Cincinnati is 7-55 overall against ranked teams. No. 22/24 Syracuse was the sixth ranked opponent UC faced this season (No. 13/13 West Virginia, No. 20/20 Notre Dame, DePaul, No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 1/1 Connecticut, and No. 5/5 Rutgers). Prior to the loss at UConn, the highest ranked team UC played (since 1990) was No. 3 Georgia on Dec. 13, 1990. The Bearcats lost, 99-38. Cincinnati's last win against a ranked team came on Jan. 14, 2007 when it defeated No. 24/24 DePaul, 62-44 at home. The last road win UC has earned against a ranked team came on Jan. 31, 1999 when the Bearcats defeated No. 18 Tulane, 70-51.

ON TV: The Bearcats played their sixth game on television and their second straight TV game when they took the court against USF. Cincinnati is 3-3 when playing on television, with wins against Valparaiso (W, 96-69), at Xavier (W, 61-55) and USF (W, 74-67), and losing at Louisville (L, 69-37), at UConn (L, 86-49) and at Marquette (L, 72-65).

BEARCATS BITS: The 2007-08 Bearcats return nine letterwinners and three starters from last season's squad that finished 15-14 overall and 6-10 in the BIG EAST Conference. Of the letterwinners returning for the Bearcats, junior guard/forward Shelly Bellman, one of UC's top returning players with a 10.4 points per game average last year, is out for the 2007-08 season with a leg injury. Senior forward Emy Ogide made her return to the hardwood against Wright State but missed the first seven games.

ACADEMICALLY: Junior forward Jill Stephens was selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) to the 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV women's basketball second team. Stephens earned a 4.0 grade point average last quarter and holds a 3.95 overall GPA as a Communication Sciences and Disorders major. She is the first UC women's basketball player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors since 1998, when Stephanie Geter and Jolinda Lewis were named to the first team.

POSTGRADUATE: Jill Stephens was selected as a 2007-08 BIG EAST/Aéropostale Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete award winner, providing her $2,000 toward graduate studies. A winner was selected from each of the 16 BIG EAST institutions with an overall winner earning a $4,000 scholarship. The selections were made by the BIG EAST's Academic Affairs Committee, who named Syracuse track & field All-American Jillian Drouin as the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

BIG FIRST IN THE BIG EAST: Junior forward Jill Stephens earned the BIG EAST Player of the Week award for the week ending Dec. 17. Stephens is the first UC player to be named the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Player of the Week since the Bearcats joined the league in 2005-06. Stephens led Cincinnati in scoring and rebounding in home victories over Wright State (73-66) on Dec. 11 and Youngstown State (79-56) on Dec. 15. Stephens played the entire game against Wright State, the fourth time she has been called on to do so this season, and scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. She scored a game-high 27 points and notched her fourth double-double of the season with 14 rebounds against Youngstown State. She finished the game with career highs in points (27), field goals (11), field goal attempts (19), 3-point field goals made and attempted (5-of-6) and assists (4).

BIG EAST HONORS: Redshirt-sophomore Kahla Roudebush was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after her performance during the week of January 7th. The sharp-shooter averaged 21 points a game, grabbed an average of 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and connected on 7-for 16 from downtown in the games against Georgetown (W, 69-49) and Pittsburgh (L, 86-61).

BIG EAST HONOR ROLL: Junior forward Jill Stephens was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending Nov. 26, as announced by the league office. Stephens started both the McNeese State and Duquesne games, averaging 14.0 ppg, 17.0 rpg, and shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Stephens pulled down 22 rebounds -- 14 of them offensive -- in the McNeese State game, earning third place in the UC record books for total rebounds in a game and tying a Fifth Third Arena record with 14 offensive boards. She recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Duquesne. Freshman guard Tenishia Benson was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending Nov. 18, as announced by the league office. Benson earned her first start against Valparaiso and showed no rookie jitters. She finished the game with a game-high 25 points and was perfect from the free throw line (11-11). Additionally, Benson started the second half against Michigan and finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds. The last UC freshman to lead the team in scoring in her first collegiate start was Shelly Bellman (15 points in 74-39 victory over St. Francis on Nov. 19, 2005).

STREAKIN': Kahla Roudebush connected on 17 consecutive free throws starting against Central Michigan and not missing until the second half of the Georgetown game. She has made 56 of her last 75 (74.6 percent) attempts at the charity stripe (since Xavier game on Dec. 1, 2007).

SUPER STEPHENS: Junior forward Jill Stephens has recorded nine double-doubles this season and currently leads the team with 9.4 rebounds a game. Her 22 rebounds against McNeese State is tied for the seventh best rebounding performance in the country (in games through Feb. 24th).

BENSON BRINGS IT: Freshman guard Tenishia Benson has made significant contributions for UC, earning her first start against Valparaiso and scoring a game-high 25 points. She snapped Valerie King's streak of 21 free throws made in 2002-03 by landing her first 27 attempts over the first six games of the season. Benson finished the McNeese State game with her first double-double of the year, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and at Dayton she recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She scored 11 points, seven in the last two minutes, in the win at Xavier. Benson scored 15 points against Wright State and had a balanced game against Central Michigan, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the year. Benson dropped in 10 points against Georgetown, shooting 5-for-6 at the charity stripe. At UConn, Benson scored seven points and handed out three assists and she pulled down five boards against Rutgers. Against WVU, Benson broke out of a scoring slump and poured in 10 points, her most productive output in 11 games. She followed up that performance with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals at No. 22/24 Syracuse.

EXTREME STAMINA: Jill Stephens played her fourth-consecutive 40-minute game at Seton Hall and her 11th overall 40-minute game against USF. Kahla Roudebush played her third consecutive 40-minute game at Tennessee Tech and sixth 40-minute game at No. 22/24 Syracuse. Carla Jacobs played her second consecutive full game at Tennessee Tech and her fifth full game against USF. Both Tenishia Benson and Natasha Graboski have played 40 minute games for UC as well this season. In the BIG EAST statistics, four of UC's starters are ranked in the Top 30 in minutes played, with Stephens logging the most minutes a game in the league (37.31) and Roudebush playing the fourth most (35.38).

HELPING HAND: Cincinnati handed out a season-high 21 assists in the victory over Youngstown State. UC's 21 helpers were the most since the last game of the 2006-07 season against Pittsburgh (March 3, 2007).

WINDOW WIPERS: The Bearcats focus heavily on rebounding and are outrebounding opponents, 981-936. UC grabbed 60 rebounds against McNeese State, the third highest rebounding performance in school history, and followed it up with a 54-rebound game against Presbyterian. The Bearcats have won 10 of the 14 games that they have outrebounded their opponents.

FINE AT THE LINE: The Bearcats have connected on 298-of-409 attempts for a .729 percentage at the charity stripe. Freshman Tenishia Benson was an outstanding 11-for-11 from the line in the win over Valparaiso and followed up that performance by going 9-for-9 against Duquesne. The Bearcats did not miss at the line against McNeese State, going 10-for-10 as a team and tying the school record of 100 percent from the free throw line. The 2003-04 team was perfect from the line twice in 2003, landing 11-for-11 against Indiana State and going 14-for-14 against Loyola Marymount. Against USF, Cincinnati was 18-for-19 from the line (tied for fourth, 94.7%) with four of the five players who went to the line shooting perfect. UC's current percentage of 72.9 from the charity stripe would tie for third in the school record book if the season were to end today.

PF PER GAME: Cincinnati's personal fouls per game average is 13.4. In games through Feb. 24, UC had the fifth best personal fouls per game average in the nation (13.4 pfpg). At Tennessee Tech, UC had a season-high 19 fouls and at Marquette they matched that total, but somone has fouled out only seven times this season. UC has committed only 348 fouls so far as a team. Through the first 26 games last season, UC had 454 fouls as a team.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cincinnati's 73-66 victory over Wright State was the 1000th game played in women's basketball history at UC. The Bearcats are now 539-479 overall in their 37th season of play.

STANDING GROUND: In two consecutive games, redshirt-sophomore guard Kahla Roudebush took four charges, three coming at Tennessee Tech and one at Seton Hall. She stood ground three times against USF. Natasha Graboski took two charges at Villanova and repeated that performance against WVU, standing ground twice. Both Graboski and Roudebush took a charge at No. 22/24 Syracuse.

LAST TIME AGAINST ST. JOHN'S (2-17-07): QUEENS, N.Y. - Cincinnati overcame a 16-point deficit and held a five-point lead with under five minutes to play, but could not hold on, suffering a 72-66 loss at St. John's. After experiencing what seemed like a cap over the basket in the first 30 minutes of the contest, UC displayed an offensive explosion and went on a 15-0 run to take a five-point lead, 64-59, when Shelly Bellman completed the three-point play, with 4:55 to go in the game. The Red Storm squashed UC's momentum and closed out the game with a 13-2 run. Cincinnati missed five of its final six shots and committed three turnovers in that span.

UC faced a double-digit deficit, 37-25, heading into the locker room at the half. The Bearcats missed their first nine field goal attempts to start the contest. Bellman sank Cincinnati's first field goal of the half with 15:46 left to play. The Red Storm used a 14-1 run to pull away midway through the first period. Bellman scored a team-high 16 points to go along with her game-high eight rebounds for the Bearcats. Twehues added 11 points and six rebounds. Jacobs and Ogide each contributed nine points. UC took 23 more shots than the Red Storm - 73 to St. John's 50 - but shot just 32 percent. The Bearcats outrebounded SJU, 50-42, marking the 21st time in 25 games UC has out battled its opponent on the boards. The 50 rebounds was the third best performance by the Bearcats that year.

SWATTING GUARD: Sophomore point guard Carla Jacobs is second on the team with 11 blocks. Jacobs's 11 blocks is more than a UC player tallied during the 2006-07 season. The 5-7 floor general is second behind center Natasha Graboski, who has swatted 17 shots this season -- the most a UC player has blocked in a season since Anne Stephens' 22 during the 2005-06 season.

10 TREYS: Cincinnati has knocked down 10 or more three-pointers in a game seven times this season, winning all but one time they have connected in double-digits from downtown. The Bearcats hit a season-high - and school record - 13 triples against McNeese State and matched that in an 82-63 loss to No. 13/13 West Virginia. The school record (13) was set in the second game of the season last year against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 14, 2006.

BENCH PRODUCTIVITY: Against Georgetown, Cincinnati had zero points from bench players. UC has had less than five points from bench players six times this year (Xavier, Wright State, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Marquette, Syracuse), winning three of the six games. At No. 25 DePaul, UC had a whopping 37 points from bench players with Stephanie Stevens scoring a career and game-high 16 points and Kristi Brogan chipping in 10. Only three starters scored against the Blue Demons, combining for a total of 14 points.

PROTECTING THE BALL: After averaging 20.5 turnovers a game in the two exhibition games, UC has done a much better job protecting the ball in regular season play, committing 17.2 turnovers a game. At Marquette, UC had its most turnovers in a game this season, committing 27 turnovers.

TRIPLE TIME: Redshirt sophomore Kahla Roudebush is currently in sixth place in the school record book for 3-pointers made in a career (72). The school record for 3-point field goals made in a career is 338, set by Valerie King who played from 2001-04. Roudebush's season total of 63 is seventh in the school record book for triples made in a season.

HOT IN A HALF: UC shot over 50 percent (53.3) from the floor in the first half in the victory over USF. In the first half the Bearcats shot over 60 percent (66.7) in the loss at Marquette. UC had hot shooting in one half seven times this year, winning against Valparaiso (57.6 in the second half), defeating Duquesne in overtime (50.0 in the second half), winning against Wright State (66.7 in the first half), defeating Tennessee Tech on the road (50.0 in the first, 61.1 in the second half) and in the loss at Villanova (52.2 in the second half).

CITY STREAK: Cincinnati has landed a basket from downtown in 39 consecutive games. The last time UC finished a game without connecting on a 3-pointer was against No. 24 DePaul on Jan. 14, 2007 at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats launched nine triples that game, but did not hit. They did, however win the game. UC has made 189 three pointers as a team this season.

STARTING STEVENS: Sophomore guard Stephanie Stevens earned her first career start against Louisville on Jan. 30, 2008 after recording a career-high in points (16) at No. 25 DePaul. She finished the game against Louisville with seven points and four assists.

PLAYMAKER: Sophomore guard Carla Jacobs has recorded an assist in all but one game she has played at UC. Jacobs had an assist in every game last year and pushed her streak of handing out an assist in a game to 32 games before playing only 26 minutes against McNeese State in the fourth game of the 2007-08 season and going without a helper. She has since dished out an assist in every game, starting a new streak that now stands at 22 games.