Dec. 1, 2007

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CINCINNATI - Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips each scored 16 points and notched double-doubles but it was not enough as the Xavier University women's basketball team fell by a 61-55 score to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon in the 30^th edition of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout at Cintas Center.  With the win, XU slips to 4-3 on the year while the Bearcats improve to 5-2.   

Amber Harris and freshman Ta'Shia Phillips both recorded double-doubles for the contest, pacing the Musketeers with 16 points a piece.  Harris pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds while Phillips grabbed ten, together accounting for more than half of Xavier's rebounding total (43).  Harris also added four assists, one block, and a steal.

The double-doubles were Harris' third and Phillips' fourth of the season.  Ta'Shia Phillips has recorded a double-double in four of her last five games, missing by three points against Liberty on November 25.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle, featuring three ties and two lead changes.  Cincinnati jumped out to a 14-3 lead with 11:50 to go.  XU made only one of its first eight field goal attempts and missed its first 10 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. 

XU would battle back to within five points with a 6-0 run over a 1:30 stretch but Cincinnati stretched the lead out to 11 once again, leading 22-11 at the seven-minute mark. 

The Musketeers would not lie down though and ended the half on a 14-4 run to knot up the score at 26.  Xavier opened the second half with a 6-0 run, but the Bearcats battled back.

Cincinnati retook the lead at the 9:50 mark on a Carla Jacobs three-pointer, and the Musketeers could not get over the hump.  Sophomore Amber Harris drained a field goal with 24 seconds remaining to bring Xavier within three at 55-58, but the Bearcats held on in the closing seconds, earning the 61-55 victory.

Xavier had a rough night from beyond the arc, sinking three of 23 three-point field goal attempts.  Cincinnati made eight of their 26 attempts to finish at 20.8 percent from three.

The Musketeers dominated play in the paint, scoring more than twice Cincinnati's total, a 34-16 disparity.  Though XU led the rebounding lines by only three (43-40), the Musketeers put in 19 second-chance points to UC's nine.

Ta'Shia Phillips continued her trend as the team-leader in field goal percentage, knocking down eight of her eleven shots to bring her season percentage to 59.7 percent.

The Musketeers played in front of a sell-out crowd, as they were successful in their campaign to "Sell Out the Shootout" for the second straight year. 

XU will return to the floor on Tuesday, December 4 when the team travels to North Carolina State.  Game time is set for 7 p.m.