After a hard-fought battle, the Cincinnati Bearcats would fall to the Seton Hall Pirates by a score of 69-68 Monday Night.
Seton Hall would bring the intensity early, winning the opening tip, and scoring the games first basket.
Through a back-and-forth first quarter, Seton Hall would shoot 50% from both the field and from beyond the arc, holding the Bearcats to only 35% shooting, and 17 total points.
However, Reagan Jackson and the Bearcats would turn things around in the 2nd quarter with Jackson's 2 3-pointers and three steals being forced by the team. Cincinnati would head into the locker room tied with Seton Hall at 35.
The second half would be night and day for Cincinnati compared to the first half. a Donimant 19-8 3rd quarter would give the Bearcats the lead, as well as their second-largest lead of the night. Freshman guard Chloe Mann would stand out on the night, earning her first collegiate double-figure game, and knocking down a clutch three with 4-5 from the stripe.
The tension in the fourth quarter would however affect the Bearcats, turning over the ball 11 times, and leading the game to go down to the wire.
Late in the game, Jillian Hayes would be fouled and convert on an and-1 opportunity to give Cincinnati the lead with under 30 seconds to play. However, Seton Hall would force foul shots on the other end of the floor. The Pirates' Savannah Catalon would knock down the eventual game-winning free throws.
Cincinnati would have one final chance to win the game, but Tineya Hylton's game-winner was too strong off the glass, leading to the defeat.
Jillian Hayes would finish with her 26th career double-double, totaling 16 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Three other Bearcats (A'riel Jackson, Tineya Hylton, Chloe Mann) would finish in double-figures.
Cincinnati travels up to Canada for the Atlantic Slam W, a multi-team event featuring Georgetown and FGSU, this weekend.
The Bearcats will face Georgetown on Friday, and FGSU on Sunday. Coverage will be available on Cincinnati's 100.7/106.3 The Project and FOX Sports 1360AM on Friday and Sunday respectively.
