With her 12 points versus Cincinnati, Alicia Abernathy is 24 away from becoming Charlotte's 11th player with 1,000 career points. |
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49ers Tame Bearcats For Ninth-Straight Victory, 67-62
Feb. 7, 2003
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers women's basketball team battled for 40 minutes to defeat Cincinnati, 67-62, Friday night at Halton Arena. It is the ninth win in a row for the 49ers, who remain the only undefeated team in Conference USA at 7-0.
"This is a big win for Charlotte," head coach Katie Meier said afterward. "The kids were excited in the lockerrom, but seemed to be keeping it in perspective. They understand that tonight won't mean much unless we keep it up.
"Tonight we won because we kept our focus. That was the difference in the game. The game had two very physical teams with a lot of stoppages in play, but our players kept their focus. That's why we won."
Peaches Harris led Charlotte (15-5, 7-0 C-USA) with a game-high 18 points. She was 7-of-10 from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the arc. Alicia Abernathy and Monica League joined her in double figures with 12 and 10 points, resepctively. Abernathy's 12 points gives her 976 for her career, 24 away from becoming the 11th player in school history to score 1,000. Andrea Davidson just missed out on her first career double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Cincinnati (16-5, 6-2 C-USA) was led by K.B. Sharp, who scored 17 in the loss. Valerie King and Debbie Merril scored 12 each, while Carolyn Alexander added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
With the exception of a quick 49ers run here or there, the game was tight and physical throughout. It featured six ties and nine lead changes. The teams combined for 44 fouls and shot 54 free throws.
For a short time in the first half, Charlotte appeared to be taking control of the game. After an Alexander field goal pulled Cincinnati within two, 13-11, the Niners went on an 8-0 run to go up 10, 21-11, with 8:55 to play in the period. The Cats rallied to retake the lead five minutes later, 24-23, and finished the half up one, 28-27.
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Charlotte fell behind by four early in the second period before taking the lead for good, 47-45, on an Abernathy bucket from Pam Brown with 8:14 left in regulation. The 49ers ran the lead back to eight, 60-52, on another Abernathy basket with 3:35 to play. Cincinnati came back to get within two, 64-62, when King made the first of two free throws with 55 seconds to play, but the 49ers' League knocked down 5-of-6 of her free throw attempts in the final seconds to seal the win.
The 49ers return to action Sunday, when they host Louisville at 1:00 in Halton Arena. Sunday is Girls and Women in Sports Day with all youth 17-and-under admitted free. The game will be televised by the C-USA TV Network, and shown locally on Time Warner Cable's channel 22.
