The University of Cincinnati Clermont College Lady Cougars earned a bid into the USCAA National Championships for the eighth time in the past nine years.

The University of Cincinnati Clermont College Lady Cougars earned a bid into the USCAA National Championships for the eighth time in the past nine years.
By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor

The University of Cincinnati Clermont College Lady Cougars have a strong pedigree at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship Tournament and they added to that reputation this past week in Uniontown, Penn.

Sneaking into the national tournament for the eighth time in the past nine years, the Lady Cougars were awarded the No. 7 seed.

“We didn’t know what to expect for this season and we would have never guessed we would have made the tournament,” UC Clermont head coach Michael Matthews said. “We improved quite a bit from the beginning to the end.

“At the end of the season, I wouldn’t say that I was very optimistic that we would make the tournament. I thought we were just outside the bubble.”

The Lady Cougars hovered around .500 for the first few months of the season, but started to gain some traction after the turn of the New Year winning five of their last eight contests.

Even still, UC Clermont sat at 14-10 when the tournament entrants were announced.

“(The committee) said we happened to have the best non-conference record and schedule of any team in the nation,” Matthews explained. “They keep one spot open for the best non-conference national team and they said that was how we got in. We were really happy to take it.”

The Lady Cougars took the opportunity and ran with it, knocking off No. 2 seed Penn State Hazelton in the first round, 61-54.

“It was a one game tournament — that’s how we prepared for it,” Matthews said. “We were focused on (Hazelton) and that team only.”

The coach said with the lack of playing experience on his roster, he and his staff have come to expect a lull in production at some point during their games, however, they never know when it will happen or how costly it will ultimately be.

The timing and scope of the “freshman meltdown,” as Matthews calls, can be overcome if it occurs early enough or it could doom the team to a loss.

“Against Hazelton, we just so happened to have (the lull) early in the third quarter,” the coach said. “In the fourth quarter, we dominated and outscored them by quite a bit.”

Kelsey Finn had a huge game for UCC, coming up one point shy of a double-double. To go along with her nine points, Finn grabbed 18 rebounds while also dishing out five assists.

Emily Frye and Arica Stutz (Felicity-Franklin) led the red and black in scoring: Frye had a team-high 12 points and Stutz added 11 to go along with 10 rebounds.

The win guaranteed the Lady Cougars a Final Four appearance, their fourth in the last eight years. But that’s all the further UCC would advance.

Playing the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in the semifinals, the Lady Panthers gave the Lady Cougars a taste of their own medicine.

“We had our opportunities against Albany, but they did what we did to Hazelton,” Matthews said. “They had a short burst of six points and we never recovered.”

UCC fell in the semis, 57-53.

Stutz again had a big game, scoring a team-high 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Glen Este alumna Whitney Brand added 13 points as well to go along with five rebounds.

Matthews viewed the entire tournament as a learning experience for his young squad.

With a mix of talent and leadership returning, he expects a tournament win to boost the confidence of his team entering next season.