University of Louisville
Cincinnati
Women Fall To No. 23 Cincinnati, 80-70
March 02, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2002
CHICAGO (AP) - Debbie Merrill scored a career-high 31 points, and Valerie King added 26 to lead No. 23 Cincinnati to an 80-70 victory over Louisville in the quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Tournament.
Merrill shot 10-for-14 from the field and 11-for-12 from the line, and finished with eight rebounds for the third-seeded Bearcats (24-4), who face Houston in Sunday's semifinal round.
Marju Sober and Kara Kessens each scored 16 points for Louisville (17-12), which squandered a 15-point lead in the first half.
Cincinnati rallied from a 41-26 deficit and tied the game at 57 on a running jumper by King with 10:38 remaining.
King made a pair of free throws to give the Bearcats a 61-59 advantage, their first lead of the second half. Cincinnati pushed its lead to 70-63 with 3:25 left and never looked back.
