By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team will put its 18-game home winning streak on the line this weekend when it hosts two of Conference USA's top-rated programs.

BIG WEEKEND

TODAY'S GAME • Tipoff: UC (11-3, 1-0 C-USA) vs. TCU (7-7, 0-1), 7p.m. • Where: Shoemaker Center. • Admission: $5.   SUNDAY'S GAME • Tipoff: UC vs. Houston (9-4, 1-0 C-USA), 3 p.m. • Where: Shoemaker Center. • Admission: Free. • TV: ESPN2.

The Bearcats (11-3, 1-0 C-USA) will play defending regular-season conference champion Texas Christian at 7 p.m. today, and Houston at 3 p.m. Sunday. Both games are at Shoemaker Center.

UC, which hasn't lost a home game since Jan.8, 2002, against Syracuse, lost only five games last season. Two of the losses were in one weekend - at TCU and Houston.

"I'm excited about this weekend. Starting conference play has given us a new attitude," UC coach Laurie Pirtle said. "We're playing games that will ultimately decide our season. This is going to be fun."

The Bearcats, the reigning Conference USA Tournament champs, shared a No.1 ranking with TCU in the preseason C-USA coaches poll. The Lady Frogs (7-7, 0-1) have played UC only once since joining the league last season, routing the Bearcats 73-57 at Fort Worth, Texas.

Cincinnati and Houston (9-4, 1-0) tied for second place in the 2001-02 C-USA regular season. The Cougars were picked fourth in the preseason C-USA coaches poll but opened their league schedule with a 64-50 loss to TCU.

Sunday's game, broadcast on ESPN2, could mark another UC milestone - record-breaking attendance. The Cincinnati Recreation Commission has "taken ownership" of the game, furnishing everything from national anthem singers and halftime entertainment to the distribution of 20,000 free tickets.

The Bearcats set an attendance record in last season's YMCA-sponsored home finale against Louisville; a crowd of 7,246 witnessed UC's 85-71 win.

Pirtle is expecting big things from the Bearcats, who were ranked No.18 in the preseason by the Associated Press but fell off the charts in November.

Improved defense has been pivotal in UC's last three wins, as has the emergence of Debbie Merrill and Brittani Young as vocal leaders.

"Our new year started with Louisville," Pirtle said of UC's 67-48 win in its C-USA opener. "We needed to step out and introduce ourselves in conference play."

E-mail srussell@enquirer.com