If defense wins championships, then rebounding wins games. Tuesday night the Cincinnati women’s basketball team (17-8, 7-7 BE) rebounded its way to a 63-47 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas (10-15, 3-11 BE) here at McDonough Arena.
“They shot not a great percentage, so we got quite a few defensive rebounds,” Cincinnati Head Coach Laurie Pirtle said. “We’re known as a pretty good offensive rebounding team. I really believe rebounding is the thing that wins games.”
Cincinnati out-rebounded Georgetown 42-28 in the contest. Twenty of their 42 rebounds came off the offensive glass. The Bearcats made sure that they took advantage of these opportunities, scoring 25 second-chance points. In comparison, the Hoyas scored only six.
Although Cincinnati owned the boards all game, the score remained fairly close in the first half. At the 11-minute mark, the Hoyas trailed 17-14.
The Bearcats, however, went on a 9-0 run to stretch their lead to 26-14. Senior center Anne Stephens’ six straight points started the run, which was capped off by a three-pointer from junior guard Karen Twehues. Stephens finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Twehues’ three-pointer was one of the five she hit from downtown, coming off the bench on her way to a season-high 19 points.
The Hoyas were able to cut the deficit to six and head into the locker room down 32-26. They were paced by sophomore forward Kieraah Marlow’s nine first-half points and two treys from sophomore guard Kristin Heidloff.
Heidloff entered the game leading the Big East, and 13th in the nation, in assist-to-turnover ratio. She added to that number Tuesday night, tallying seven assists and only two turnovers.
Georgetown was able to do a good job of controlling Cincinnati’s primary offensive weapons. The top three Bearcat scorers combined for a total of 12 points. Junior guard Treasure Humphries, in particular, was held to four points, well below her team-leading 13.2 points a game.
“She was real aggressive, but she didn’t have her best day,” Pirtle said of Humphries. “I was able to get her from being aggressive her way, where she was taking maybe misguided shots, to talking to her and saying, ‘I want you to keep that aggressive within what we do.’”
Humphries did find ways to help her team. The five-foot-six-inch Canton, Ohio native grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists.
In the second half, the Bearcats bench continued to carry them as they gradually expanded their lead. Cincinnati received 36 total points from the bench, led by Twehues.
The Hoya players tried to mount a comeback but lacked the depth to match the Bearcats’ intensity. Senior guard Bethany LeSueur and freshman forward Katrina Wheeler joined Marlow in scoring in double figures. Wheeler and Marlow also combined for six blocks. “They’ve got five players who can flat out play,” Pirtle said of the Hoyas.
The Bearcats were able to secure the win and clinch a spot in the Big East Championship. “That secures a spot for us, so we’re excited to be a part of that in our first year in such a great league,” Pirtle said.
The Hoyas on the other hand are currently on a three-game losing streak while losing nine of their last 11 games. Georgetown desperately needs a win to keep their tournament hopes alive, traveling to Villanova (15-9, 6-7 BE) on Saturday, Feb. 25.
