Comeback Effort Falls Short in Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout

Saturday, December 14

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

1-8,0-0Big East

Cincinnati

6-4,0-0AAC

Cincinnati

Xavier

Comeback Effort Falls Short in Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout

12.14.19 | Women's Basketball

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Freshman Morgan Sharps scored a career-high 24 points with six 3-pointers on Saturday afternoon

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball dropped an 85-78 contest vs Cincinnati in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Saturday afternoon at Cintas Center. Xavier had its sixth highest home crowd in program history as 5,180 fans were in attendance.

Cincinnati led by as many as 14 points before the Musketeers battled back to take a two-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Bearcats closed the game on a 17-8 run to pull off their second straight win in the series.

Xavier dropped to 1-8 on the year, while Cincinnati improved to 6-4.

FIRST HALF

• Cincinnati went 4-for-5 from the floor to open the game, taking a 9-2 lead. The Bearcats hit 63.2 percent (12-for-19) of their shot attempts in the opening frame to take a 30-16 advantage.

• Xavier outscored Cincinnati, 19-10, to open the second quarter - closing within five points (40-35) at the 2:32 mark. The Bearcats ended the half on a 4-2 run to make the score 44-37 at the break. Xavier outscored Cincinnati, 21-14, in the second quarter.

• A'riana Gray and Morgan Sharps led Xavier with 13 points each at intermission. Sharps also led the team on the glass with five rebounds. Both teams had nine 19 rebounds at the break.

SECOND HALF

• Xavier hit 50 percent (9-for-18) of its shot attempts in the third quarter, outscoring Cincinnati, 24-18.

• A Morgan Sharps three pointer with 34 seconds left in the third quarter gave Xavier its first lead of the game, 61-60. Sam Rodgers hit a jumper in the closing seconds to give Cincinnati a one-point lead (62-61) heading into the final quarter.

• Xavier opened the fourth quarter on a 7-4 run on 3-for-4 shooting, taking a 68-66 lead with 7:45 on the clock. The Musketeers led, 70-68, with 6:46 left in regulation before Cincinnati outscored Xavier, 17-8, down the stretch to seal the win.

• The final quarter had four ties and three lead changes.

NOTABLES

• Xavier had 5,180 fans in attendance, the sixth highest home crowd in program history. It was the largest home crowd since Dec. 4, 2011 (Xavier vs Cincinnati).

• Freshman Morgan Sharps led three Musketeers in double figures with a career-high 24 points. The guard was 9-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-12 from behind the arc. The six 3-pointers are the most in a game since Jan. 29, 2016 (Aliyah Zantt - six 3-pointers vs Butler). Sharps also had five rebounds and two assists.

• Junior A'riana Gray added 19 points and a team-high six rebounds. The forward added six assists, three blocks and three steals. The six assists were a career high for Gray.

• Freshman Courtney Prenger added 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting. She added six rebounds in 22 minutes of action off the bench.

• Sophomore Carrie Gross chipped in nine points, four rebounds and four assists. Junior Aaliyah Dunham posted seven points, five rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

• Cincinnati won the battle on the glass, 38-34. Xavier posted two more points (21-19) off of turnovers and had 20 more bench points (39-19).

• Xavier posted a season-high seven blocks and 22 assists in Saturday's game.

UP NEXT

• Xavier closes non-conference action at the West Palm Beach Invitational on Dec. 20-21. The Musketeers take on Florida and Northwestern during tournament play.

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