In the final game of January, the University of Cincinnati (UC) women’s basketball team was defeated by Wichita State University 69-50. The loss drops the Bearcats to 7-13 on the season and 0-7 in the American Athletic Conference.
The Bearcats got off to a slow start on offense, not scoring for the first three minutes. A Malea Williams pass to Clarrisa Craig for a layup opened up the UC scoring. Craig finished with 11 points, but also recorded six rebounds, one block and one steal.
A free throw by Taziah Jenks with seven seconds left closed out the first quarter, giving Wichita State a 16–8 lead. The momentum continued to open up the second after Mya Jackson hit a triple just fifteen seconds into the go.
After a block by Craig, Jenks hit a three to cut the lead to two, and a layup by Craig on the next possession tied the game. UC outscored the Shockers in the second quarter, but still trailed 25-20 at the half.
Williams hit a three to open the half and cut the lead to two, but that would be the closest UC would get. Wichita State responded with a 7-0 run and held the Bearcats scoreless for three straight minutes to take a 46-31 lead at the end of three.
The Shockers opened the fourth quarter with a 9-4 run to put the game out of reach, winning the quarter 23-19.
In a game where the Bearcats have never led, their shooting problems were the biggest factor in the loss. As a team, UC shot 27.3% from beyond the arc and 53.5% from the free throw line compared to the Wichita State Shockers who shot 37.5% from deep and 77.8% on the line.
Despite coming off the bench, senior guard Jackson was UC’s leading scorer with 12 points.
For the Shockers, they were led by senior forward Jane Asinde and junior guard Ambah Kowcun. Asinde finished with a season-high 23 points, along with 14 rebounds, in 38 minutes of action. Kowcun finished second in points with 22, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.
The Bearcats have now lost eight straight and are yet to win a conference game. UC will be back on the field Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Tulsa.
