No. 13 West Virginia 82, Cincinnati 63

2/19/2008 7:49 PM

By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer

CINCINNATI (AP) -Meg Bulger scored 20 points Tuesday night, scoring inside and outside in a balanced offense that carried No. 13 West Virginia to an 82-63 victory over Cincinnati.

The Mountaineers (21-4, 10-2 Big East) made a season-high 13 3-pointers and got themselves turned around after a stunning loss over the weekend.

West Virginia moved up to No. 11 in the poll last week, matching its highest ranking in school history. The Mountaineers then beat Pitt 56-35 with one of their best defensive showings of the season.

Instead of moving up some more, they got tripped up. DePaul hit a season-high 14 3-pointers in an 81-80 win on Saturday that ended West Virginia's nine-game winning streak and led to a little soul-searching.

The Mountaineers finished with five players in double figures and, after a slow start, got their defense turned around.

Kahla Roudebush scored 22 for Cincinnati (11-14, 2-11), which has lost 10 of its last 11 games. The Bearcats tied their school record by making 13 3-pointers in 24 tries, but managed only eight points in the paint.

Cincinnati had been blown out in its three previous games against ranked teams this season, losing by 37 to Connecticut, by 30 to Rutgers and by 32 to Notre Dame. This one started a little better, but wound up the same way.

There were three ties and six lead changes in the first half. Cincinnati kept it close by hitting 3s - 11 of the Bearcats' first 12 shots came from behind the arc, and seven of them went in. The flurry was particularly galling to West Virginia, which made perimeter defense a priority after the loss to DePaul.

Late in the first half, West Virginia finally clamped down. Liz Repella had a pair of 3-pointers during a 13-0 run that closed the half and put West Virginia up 46-34. After its opening flurry, Cincinnati went only 2-of-13 from the field the rest of the half.

Center Olayinka Sanni, who leads the Mountaineers with 16.8 points per game, picked up her fourth foul with 16:53 left, and Cincinnati started taking the ball inside for the first time. Emy Ogide's layup cut it to 58-52, but the Bearcats got no closer.

Guard LaQuita Owens had a steal and a pair of layups that completed a 13-4 run and built the lead to 71-56 with 7:30 to go. Cincinnati never threatened again.