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CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Debbie Merrill collected 26 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as 25th-ranked Cincinnati clinched a bye in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament with a 75-51 rout of DePaul. Merrill had 13 points and 11 rebounds by halftime as the Bearcats (21-4, 10-3 C-USA) opened a 34-24 lead en route to their eighth straight win. Guard Valerie King added 20 points and backcourt mate K.B. Sharp dished out 10 assists for Cincinnati, which has won more than 20 games for the fourth time in five years. DePaul closed to within 34-27 following a 3-pointer by Lenae Williams. But the Bearcats scored 14 of the next 16 points to take a 48-29 with 14:04 left. Cincinnati is tied with Houston for second place, a half-game behind Texas Christian in the conference standings. The Bearcats need to win their league finale against Louisville, while TCU must drop one of its two reamining games to claim at least a share of the regular season title. Williams led DePaul (15-10, 8-4) with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting. But the Blue Demons shot just 32 percent (17-of-53) and were outrebounded, 45-30. |
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