The Cincinnati Enquirer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Cincinnati held Southern Miss to 34.5 percent shooting and 19 first-half points en route to a 61-41 win in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament Friday afternoon in the Pyramid.

Valerie King scored 19 points, 14 in the first half, making five of 13 3-pointers, setting a C-USA Tournament game record for 3-point attempts. K.B. Sharp also scored 19 with five assists and four rebounds. Debbie Merrill added her ninth double-double in the last 13 games with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Leading 13-12 with 8:55 left in the first half, UC closed the half with a 21-7 run. Southern Miss went almost six minutes without a field goal during the stretch. King made four of her three-pointers in the first half.

In the second half the Bearcats extended the lead to 21, 44-23, holding the Eagles to one field goal over the first 5:36 of the half.

Southern Miss then put together a strong run, as the Bearcats managed only one field goal during an eight-and-a-half minute stretch and the Eagles sliced the lead to eight, 50-42 with 4:02 left. But the Bearcats held the Eagles scoreless for the remainder of the game.

UC shot 41.8 percent for the game, with Sharp making 7-of-10 field goal attempts. DeAnna Stevenson added four points and six rebounds and Merrill dished out four assists.

Dana Jones led USM with 13 points and Sonja Brown added 11. Allison Story, who scored 28 in the first round win over Houston, was held scoreless.

The Bearcats head to the semifinals for the fifth time in the last six years to face DePaul at 2 p.m. today.

SOUTHERN MISS (14-15)-Story 0-3 0-0 0, Jones 6-10 1-2 13, Brown 5-10 1-1 11, Lee 1-5 2-2 4, Lassiter 2-5 0-0 3, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Hulshof 0-0 0-0 0, Sumerall 3-11 0-0 6, Parkerson 1-5 0-0 2, Webster 0-0 0-0 0, Udicova 1-3 0-0 2, Woods 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 19-55 4-5 42.

CINCINNATI (22-6)-Alexander 3-6 0-0 6, Young 1-4 0-0 2, Merrill 4-14 2-4 10, Sharp 7-10 4-4 19, King 6-16 2-2 19, Dozier 0-0 0-0 0, Knoch 0-0 1-2 1, Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Piepho 0-0 0-0 0, Hillman 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 2-5 0-0 4, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-55 9-12 61.

Halftime: Cincinnati 34-19. 3-point goals: Southern Miss. 0-6 (Brown 0-1, Sumerall 0-5), Cincinnati 6-16 (Sharp 1-3, King 5-13). Rebounds: Southern Miss. 29 (Lassiter 7), Cincinnati 41 (Merrill 13). Assists: Southern Miss. 9 (Lassiter 3), Cincinnati 12 (Sharp 5).