UC Women's Hoops Fall To Arkansas in NCAA First Round

Debbie Merrill

Arkansas used an 18-4 run in the second half to overcome a four-point halftime deficit, pulling away down the stretch for a 71-57 win over Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.

CINCINNATI, Ohio---Arkansas used an 18-4 run in the second half to overcome a four-point halftime deficit, pulling away down the stretch for a 71-57 win over Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.

The Lady Razorbacks shut down the usually potent Bearcat offense in the second half, holding them to 28 percent shooting and limiting them to an eight minute stretch with just one field goal midway through the half.

Dana Cherry led four Arkansas players in double figures with 18 points. Lady Razorback leading scorer Shameka Christon overcame first half foul trouble that forced her scoreless to finish with 13 points. India Lewis and Ruby Vaden each added 10 in the victory for Arkansas.

Cincinnati was led by senior Carolyn Alexander with a game-high 19 points in her final game as a Bearcat. Debbie Merrill added 16 and a game-best 12 rebounds, while Valerie King tossed in 13.

The win improves Arkansas to 22-10 on the year and advances them to the second round, where they will face second-seeded Texas on Tuesday evening at 7:10 p.m. The Bearcats finish the season 23-8.

Cincinnati took a 32-28 lead into the halftime break, but quickly saw the lead evaporate in the early stages of the second half. After the two teams traded baskets to start the stanza, Arkansas scored four straight points to tie the game for the first time since the 16:23 mark of the first half.

The Bearcats countered with a three-point play by Alexander at 17:41, but then the Cincinnati scoring drought kicked in. Arkansas went on a 15-4 scoring run over the next eight and half minutes that turned a three-point deficit into an eight-point advantage. Cherry got especially hot during the spurt, scoring six of the 15 points. The Bearcats shooting woes consisted of just a Merrill bucket at 14:00 and an Alexander lay-in at 9:17 during the span.

Cincinnati finally got on track offensively, cutting the deficit to eight on two Merrill free throws with 3:54 to play. But the Bearcats could get no closer as Alexander’s three-pointer with 1:20 left was the last Cincinnati score of the game. In the final minute of play, Arkansas hit six straight free throws to seal the win.

The first half belonged to the Bearcats as they scored the first four points of the game and never trailed in the first 20 minutes. Merrill started the scoring with a lay-up 2:20 in and Alexander added two free throws 39 seconds later. But Arkansas responded with a pair of scores that tied the contest for the first time.

King and Merrill carried the Bearcats through the next eight minutes of play as the Cincinnati lead grew to 22-13, the largest of the half, with 8:31to play. King scored all eight of her first half points, including a pair of threes during the run, while Merrill totaled six of her eight during the stretch.

Arkansas charged back again with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes that cut the Bearcat lead to one at 24-23. Cherry and Rochelle Vaughn each carded a pair of scores during the run for the Lady Razorbacks.

The Bearcats closed out the half scoring eight of the final 13 points, including a trio of scores by Sharp to take a 32-28 lead into the locker room.

Cincinnati held the edge statistically in the first 20 minutes, shooting .480 to Arkansas’ .387. The Bearcats held a narrow edge in rebounds by a 17-16 count.


Heather Schreiber scored 17 points to help second-seeded Texas beat Hampton 90-46 Sunday in the first round of the West Regional for its 14th straight victory.

Annissa Hastings added 16 points, and Tai Dillard had 12 -- all in the first half -- for the Longhorns (26-5).

Hampton, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion and No. 15 seed, had won six straight games but was no match for the taller and quicker Longhorns.

The Lady Pirates (23-9) were already behind 22-10 when Texas went on an 11-0 run, bracketed by four free throws by Nicole Brathwaite.

Schreiber hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer, and Dillard made two free throws and a breakaway basket after a steal during that span. Hampton, meanwhile, went more than seven minutes without a field goal.

LaShondra Dixon had 15 points for Hampton, and Bianca Johnson 12.