wrong. Six Bearcat victories in a row. An 18-6 overall UC margin in this series is even more overwhelming that the UC men's historical advantage over your team. I liked XU's women's team last year. A great run in the NCAA's and a wonderful win over Tennessee. This, however, will be a big Bearcat year. -- Xavier Women's Basketball Message Board

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Date Posted: 00:24:32 12/03/01 Mon
Author: vabearcat
Author Host/IP: spider-tj023.proxy.aol.com / 152.163.213.183
Subject: wrong. Six Bearcat victories in a row. An 18-6 overall UC margin in this series is even more overwhelming that the UC men's historical advantage over your team. I liked XU's women's team last year. A great run in the NCAA's and a wonderful win over Tennessee. This, however, will be a big Bearcat year.
In reply to: X-band '01 's message, "Hometown Shootout Preview" on 03:13:27 12/02/01 Sun

>Skyline Chili Hometown Shootout (UC leads series
>17-6)
>CINCINNATI
> >SRC="http://espn.go.com/i/ncaa/clubhouses/logos/2132.gi
>f">
>
> rel=nofollow target=_blank >HREF="http://www.ucbearcats.com/releases/attachments/20
>01112914425812913747151-1.pdf"TARGET="blank">UC
>Pregame Notes
> rel=nofollow target=_blank >HREF="http://www.ucbearcats.com/sports/wbball/release.a
>sp?RELEASE_ID=538"TARGET="Blank">Last game: UC 76, St.
>Francis PA 49
>
>XAVIER
> >SRC="http://espn.go.com/i/ncaa/clubhouses/logos/2752">
>
> rel=nofollow target=_blank >HREF="http://innersync.securelevel.com/xavier/athletics
>/game_note_pdfs/06_Cincinnati.pdf"TARGET="blank">Xavier
> Pregame Notes
> rel=nofollow target=_blank >HREF="http://innersync.securelevel.com/xavier/athletics
>/weekly_notes/read_news.cfm?news_id=683"TARGET="Blank">
>Last game: Vanderbilt 78, Xavier 56
>
>Game time: 2:00 PM
>Radio: WVXU-FM (91.7)
>TV: WSTR-TV (WB64)
>
>And, without further ado, here are the matchups for
>today's 24th meeting between both schools:
>
>POINT GUARD
>K.B. (Kristen) Sharp will start at the point for the
>Bearcats. The junior PG has averaged 6.3 PPG and 6.8
>APG in 4 games so far this season. She has only
>committed 7 turnovers so far this season, and recently
>had a UC record 13 assists in a win over Robert
>Morris. She is a good defender and can play against
>either of Xavier's starting guards.
>
>Amy Waugh mans the point for Xavier. Since she
>reclaimed her role as the starting PG, Waugh has
>averaged 11.8 PPG and 7.6 APG in 5 games this season.
>She is a smart floor leader, and will play as minutes
>as necessary during the game. She has played all 40
>minutes in 3 games so far this season, and even played
>nearly 50 minutes in Xavier's double-OT loss to UC two
>years ago. As long as she can limit turnovers, she'll
>be fine.
>
>Advantage: XU
>
>SHOOTING GUARD
>Valerie King wasted no time last year in establishing
>a starting role and a berth on C-USA's All-Rookie team
>last season. She was a preseason 1st-team All-CUSA
>pick this year, and for good reason. She has thus far
>averaged 15.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG in this young season.
>She torched the Muskies in last year's meeting with 26
>points, including a 4-6 mark behind the arc last year.
>She's slightly more turnover-prone than her backcourt
>mate, but is UC's deadliest shooter. Her defense is
>still a work-in-progress.
>
>Reetta Piipari is Xavier's answer at the SG slot, and
>has thus far averaged 12.8 PPG and 5.2 APG this
>season. Like King, Piipari is also an excellent
>shooter from the court, but she is extremely prone to
>turnovers against pressure defense, and UC will be
>playing her closely, especially in situations where
>she runs the point. So far, her outside shooting has
>been stellar - she has shot at a 12-for-26 clip so far
>this season.
>
>Advantage: UC
>
>SMALL FORWARD
>Brittani Young is another sophomore for UC that saw
>action in all of UC's games last season, and broke
>into the starting lineup for UC's last 10 games last
>season and has started ever since. Her offensive
>numbers aren't gaudy (1.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG), but she is
>another defensive stopper in the mold of UC. Her
>minutes have fluctuated with the quality of opponent -
>she saw a lot of action against Dayton and Middle
>Tennessee State, but was used sparingly against Robert
>Morris and St. Francis. Her duty will be to keep
>Shavon Bell in check.
>
>Bell, Xavier's lone senior, will match up against
>Young for most of the game. After being a key bench
>contributor last season, she has improved her
>offensive numbers considerably this season (11.8 PPG,
>4.4 RPG). She has also improved her shooting range,
>and having as many offensive weapons as possible will
>be critical for Xavier's success. Bell is a gnat on
>defense - she has the speed to go into transition on
>steals and loose balls.
>
>Advantage: XU
>
>POWER FORWARD
>In what should be a matchup of highly-touted freshmen,
>Debbie Merrill will play the 4 spot to start the game;
>she will also move over to center in other game
>situations. Merrill is off to a fast start this
>season, averaging 16.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG in her first
>season in a UC uniform. Merrill was the 5th-highest
>recruited center in the country last season, and she
>will be a serious two-way threat in this contest as
>well.
>
>Alexis Henderson moved into Xavier's starting lineup
>during the holiday tournament at Maine. Although she
>is Xavier's only starter not to average double figures
>in points per game, her averages of 6.6 PPG and 4.2
>RPG are tops among XU's freshmen this year. She'll be
>at a size disadvantage against Merrill, but her
>defense of her will be critical to Xavier's success.
>
>Advantage: UC
>
>CENTER
>Tammy Douglass is UC's leading rebounder (8.3 RPG) and
>3rd-highest scorer (14.3 PPG) so far this season. She
>is the lone senior on UC's starting 5, and returns
>after having started each and every game last season.
>She will start most of the game in the post, but she
>could switch defensive assignments with Merrill if the
>need arises.
>
>Kate Kreager is now showing more signs of potential
>when she was highly recruited by Xavier. As a
>sophomore, Kreager is leading the Muskies in scoring
>and rebounding (16.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG). Clearly she is
>slowly mastering her finishing moves in the paint,
>although her defensive intensity will have to step up
>if she is to keep the UC posts in check for this game.
>
>Advantage: XU
>
>BENCH
>Laura Wilder is UC's first player off the bench, and
>will play mostly to spell Young relief on the wing.
>She was UC's leading rebounder the past two seasons,
>although she has been playing with a broken hand so
>far this season. Merelenea Dozier is a 3-point
>specialist who can give spot minutes to give UC
>scoring punch when needed. Carolyn Alexander and
>Leslie Knoch are other players who can spell spot duty
>as well.
>
>Xavier's bench isn't as deep - Ashleigh Cuncic (an
>outside-shooting specialist) is one of two other
>players to have seen action in every game thus far.
>Aida Sarajilia can spell relief for either Henderson
>or Kreager for defensive purposes, and can also give
>starter's minutes should either player get into foul
>trouble.
>
>Advantage: UC
>
>On paper, the two teams look fairly evenly matched,
>although UC has had the early 4-0 mark due to their
>defensive pressure. This is due to Coach Laurie
>Pirtle's (11-6 vs. XU) system that she learned as a
>player at Ohio State and also utilized as head coach
>at Capital University in Columbus before coming to the
>Queen City. Xavier, on the other hand, is coming off
>of 3 consecutive losses, mainly because of a
>combination of outstanding defense by their opponents
>and a high mark of turnovers by Xavier thus far this
>season.
>
>Since the Muskies are unlikely to win the battle of
>the boards against UC, it is critical that they have a
>good shooting performance and a low turnover output.
>They'll need the A-games of Waugh, Piipari, and
>Kreager for this one. For UC, they need to establish
>their inside game early and often. King and Merrill
>will be the X-factors for UC in this game.
>
>But, Xavier has a 22-game home winning streak in their
>favor, and have not lost at home since moving into the
>Cintas Center. A pro-Xavier crowd and big-game
>experience will be the deciding factor in this one.
>Look for Xavier to break their 5-game losing streak
>against the team from Clifton this season.
>
>Prediction: Xavier 65,
>Cincinnati 62

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Replies:

While disappointed that Pirtle continues to have Xavier's number (she's now 12-6 against Xavier), I can certainly see the Bearcats making the NCAAs this year if they continue to play aggressive defense and if Merrill becomes a consistent threat for the Cats. As I said over on the UC board, they'll have to go through Louisville, Tulane, and Marquette to win C-USA. The A-10, however, is having a horrible non-con season as a whole this year. (NT) -- X-band '01, 03:35:20 12/03/01 Mon