By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Crosstown Shootout might be less than a week away, but Xavier isn't first on the minds of University of Cincinnati women's basketball players.

They're just relieved they won their own tournament.

UC overcame a nine-point, first-half deficit to defeat the University of Louisiana-Lafayette 68-55 in Sunday's Bearcat Invitational championship game at Shoemaker Center. UC, which has never lost its holiday tournament in 12 outings, improved to 7-2.

"I knew we needed to keep working our way back," UC coach Laurie Pirtle said. "We were really cool from the 3-point line; we couldn't find anyone to hit it. I just figured sooner or later, somebody was going to hit the 3. And we needed to go inside first until that happened."

What they needed was Carolyn Alexander.

The 5-foot-10 small forward scored 15 of her career-high 23 points in the second half to restore UC's momentum. She had 10 rebounds in her first Bearcats double-double, and earned the tournament's MVP award.

"I'm just glad she shot the ball," UC sophomore center Debbie Merrill said. "Every day at practice I say, `Will you please shoot it? If you miss it, I'll rebound it.' I always have to beg her to take shots."

Alexander, who played her first two seasons at Eastern Kentucky, came to UC as a guard. She was molded into a power forward within a year but still retains many of her guard qualities.

"Posts are generally bigger and slower, and I'm used to guarding smaller, quicker people," Alexander said. "So I feel like I have an advantage, especially on the defensive end."

The Ragin' Cajuns' zone stifled go-to players Merrill and Valerie King, giving Alexander the leeway - and the confidence - she was looking for.

But a troubling first half, in which the Bearcats shot 1-of-11 from 3-point range, was compounded by a three-minute scoring drought. Led by Charlotte Green's team-high 21 points, UL-Lafayette pulled ahead by nine.

Locked at 30 at halftime, a revived UC defense forced 11 second-half turnovers.

"Defensively, we were a whole new team," Pirtle said. "We pushed the ball better, and played much more intense and aggressive the second half."

With five minutes to play, Alexander scored on a K.B. Sharp assist and the Bearcats never trailed again.

The Bearcats now turn to their 1:30 p.m. Saturday game against Xavier (7-1). UC leads the Crosstown Shootout series 18-6, and has won the last six straight.

UL-Lafayette (55)--Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Petrakova 6-12 4-4 16, Glenn 3-12 0-0 6, White 3-6 0-0 6, Green 9-12 0-0 21, Blanche 0-0 0-0 0, Tolston 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 4-4 55.

UC (68)--Alexander 11-16 1-1 23, Young 2-6 0-0 4, Merrill 7-13 2-2 16, Sharp 2-9 1-2 6, King 5-11 2-2 13, Dozier 1-1 0-0 3, Harvey 1-7 0-0 3, Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0, Stephens 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 6-7 68.

Halftime: Tied 30-30. 3-point goals: UL-Lafayette 3-9 (Glenn 0-3, White 0-1, Green 3-5), Cincinnati 4-21 (Alexander 0-1, Sharp 1-7, King 1-6, Dozier 1-1, Harvey 1-6). Rebounds: UL-Lafayette 25 (Petrakova 13), Cincinnati 32 (Alexander 10). Assists: UL-Lafayette 9 (Glenn 7), Cincinnati 19 (Sharp 8). Records: L 3-6, C 7-2.