TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will welcome the Bowling Green Falcons to Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center on Thursday, Dec. 21 for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Admission to the game will be free of charge as part of the Experience UC initiative.
// EXPERIENCE UC
The Bearcats' 2017-18 campaign will, again, be part of the Experience UC initiative which offers free admission to home games. Groups interested in attending can contact Assistant Director of Marketing & Branding Deborah Dixon at dixond9@ucmail.uc.edu for more information.
// TEMPORARY HOME(S)
Due to the current, $87-million renovation of Fifth Third Arena, the Bearcats will play all home contests off campus this year. In the regular season, UC will play two games at Cincinnati State – the Nov. 13 home opener against Slippery Rock and the Nov. 27 meeting with St. Francis (Pa.) – with the remaining games played at Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center (SUA).
// STUDENT SHUTTLE
UC students are invited to enjoy a free bus ride to the game as well as free pizza. The bus will depart from the Bearcat statue on campus at 6 p.m. Free student shuttles to home UC women's basketball games will continue throughout the season.
// GAME PROMOTIONS
Thursday will be Ugly Holiday Sweater Night in which fans are invited to wear their favorite ugly holiday sweaters. Those with the best ugly sweaters will receive prizes including two tickets to the PNC Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden as well as a Bearcats prize pack which includes various promotional items. In addition, the Black Ice Drill Team will perform at halftime.
// GOING LIVE
Aside from the Dec. 17 game against Ohio State on ESPN2 and the Feb. 17 game versus Tulsa on the American Digital Network, all home games in 2017-18 will be streamed live on BearcatsTV free of charge. The link to the live video stream can be found on the women's basketball schedule page. On the same page, links to live statistics can also be found.
// THE SERIES
Thursday's matchup will be the 21st all-time meeting between the two teams with UC leading the series, 13-7. The Bearcats have come away victorious in three of the last four matchups against the Falcons including, most recently, a 68-58 road win last season. In the victory, UC was paced on the offensive end by the one-two scoring punch of forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe Community College) and guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) who scored 25 and 20 points, respectively. The Red & Black is undefeated against BGSU in Cincinnati, 7-0, including a 54-51 triumph inside Fifth Third Arena in 2015.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (7-5) battled but came up short against the 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 87-76, on Sunday evening in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,072 fans inside Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center.
With a raucous home backing and a national TV audience, the Bearcats competed throughout the first quarter, leading by as many as four points midway through the period. Trailing 19-17 at the end of one, the Red & Black fell victim to a 10-6 Buckeye run over the first four minutes of the second quarter. UC collected itself and outscored the visitors from Columbus, Ohio 14-9 over the duration of the period to trail just 38-37 going into halftime.
OSU came out of the break on fire from the field, putting together a 9-3 run during the opening two minutes. After the Bearcats cut their deficit to three at the 6:29 mark of the third quarter, the Buckeyes responded with a 13-2 surge over the next three minutes to seize the momentum. Behind by 11, 65-54, entering the final period, UC encountered a 15-6 OSU burst over the first five minutes to trail by a game-high 20 points, 80-60. With just minutes left to play, the Red & Black could not make up ground quickly enough as it dropped an 87-76 decision.
Johnson led UC with 17 points. Freshman forward Iimar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 22 minutes of play off the bench. Sophomore forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) posted 15 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, while junior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Goings is leading UC in scoring with 12.5 points per game. Thomas is not far behind with 12.1 points a contest as well as a team-best 6.6 rebounds. Johnson is posting 10.8 points per, while senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) averages 10.3 points as well as a team-best 4.0 assists.
After becoming the 26th member of UC women's basketball's 1,000-point club last season, Owens continues her climb up the Bearcats' all-time scoring list. Owens' current 1,242 career points places her 12th. She is on pace to break into the top 10 all-time before season's end.
As a team, UC is first in the conference and 39th in the country in total assists with 185 on the year. The Bearcats are also tops in the AAC and 41st nationally in total free throws made in 2017 with 160. Additionally, the Red & Black are third in the league in both field-goal percentage and assists at 44% and 15.4 per game, respectively.
Individually on the year, Johnson's 35 total steals is 18th in the country and second in The American, while Thomas' 62.1-percent field goal percentage is tops in the league. Owens ranks in a tie for fourth in the conference with 4.0 assists per game, while Goings' 2.3 made 3-pointers a contest is sixth-best in the AAC.
// SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bowling Green (8-2) has won five of its last six games including, most recently, an 82-73 home victory over Ferris State on Monday night. Sophomore guard/forward Andrea Cecil had a career night with 26 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Falcons.
For the season, junior guard Carly Santoro leads four double-digit BGSU scorers with 14.7 points per game as well as an also team-best 10.4 rebounds. Other double-figure scorers include Cecil with 12.1, junior guard Sydney Lambert with 11.3 points and a team-high 2.5 assists a contest, and senior guard Haley Puk with 10.6 points per.
The Falcons average 68.7 points per game and shoot the ball at a 39.7% rate from the field. BGSU makes 14.5 free throws a contest and knocks down 7.6 3-pointers per. Bowling Green's opponents average a 40.1% field-goal percentage, while the Falcons grab 38.2 rebounds a game.
In the preseason, BGSU was picked to finish fifth in the six-team Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division, while Santoro was an East Division All-MAC Team selection.
// EXPERIENCE UC
The Bearcats' 2017-18 campaign will, again, be part of the Experience UC initiative which offers free admission to home games. Groups interested in attending can contact Assistant Director of Marketing & Branding Deborah Dixon at dixond9@ucmail.uc.edu for more information.
// TEMPORARY HOME(S)
Due to the current, $87-million renovation of Fifth Third Arena, the Bearcats will play all home contests off campus this year. In the regular season, UC will play two games at Cincinnati State – the Nov. 13 home opener against Slippery Rock and the Nov. 27 meeting with St. Francis (Pa.) – with the remaining games played at Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center (SUA).
// STUDENT SHUTTLE
UC students are invited to enjoy a free bus ride to the game as well as free pizza. The bus will depart from the Bearcat statue on campus at 6 p.m. Free student shuttles to home UC women's basketball games will continue throughout the season.
// GAME PROMOTIONS
Thursday will be Ugly Holiday Sweater Night in which fans are invited to wear their favorite ugly holiday sweaters. Those with the best ugly sweaters will receive prizes including two tickets to the PNC Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden as well as a Bearcats prize pack which includes various promotional items. In addition, the Black Ice Drill Team will perform at halftime.
// GOING LIVE
Aside from the Dec. 17 game against Ohio State on ESPN2 and the Feb. 17 game versus Tulsa on the American Digital Network, all home games in 2017-18 will be streamed live on BearcatsTV free of charge. The link to the live video stream can be found on the women's basketball schedule page. On the same page, links to live statistics can also be found.
// THE SERIES
Thursday's matchup will be the 21st all-time meeting between the two teams with UC leading the series, 13-7. The Bearcats have come away victorious in three of the last four matchups against the Falcons including, most recently, a 68-58 road win last season. In the victory, UC was paced on the offensive end by the one-two scoring punch of forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe Community College) and guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) who scored 25 and 20 points, respectively. The Red & Black is undefeated against BGSU in Cincinnati, 7-0, including a 54-51 triumph inside Fifth Third Arena in 2015.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (7-5) battled but came up short against the 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 87-76, on Sunday evening in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,072 fans inside Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center.
With a raucous home backing and a national TV audience, the Bearcats competed throughout the first quarter, leading by as many as four points midway through the period. Trailing 19-17 at the end of one, the Red & Black fell victim to a 10-6 Buckeye run over the first four minutes of the second quarter. UC collected itself and outscored the visitors from Columbus, Ohio 14-9 over the duration of the period to trail just 38-37 going into halftime.
OSU came out of the break on fire from the field, putting together a 9-3 run during the opening two minutes. After the Bearcats cut their deficit to three at the 6:29 mark of the third quarter, the Buckeyes responded with a 13-2 surge over the next three minutes to seize the momentum. Behind by 11, 65-54, entering the final period, UC encountered a 15-6 OSU burst over the first five minutes to trail by a game-high 20 points, 80-60. With just minutes left to play, the Red & Black could not make up ground quickly enough as it dropped an 87-76 decision.
Johnson led UC with 17 points. Freshman forward Iimar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 22 minutes of play off the bench. Sophomore forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) posted 15 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, while junior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Goings is leading UC in scoring with 12.5 points per game. Thomas is not far behind with 12.1 points a contest as well as a team-best 6.6 rebounds. Johnson is posting 10.8 points per, while senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) averages 10.3 points as well as a team-best 4.0 assists.
After becoming the 26th member of UC women's basketball's 1,000-point club last season, Owens continues her climb up the Bearcats' all-time scoring list. Owens' current 1,242 career points places her 12th. She is on pace to break into the top 10 all-time before season's end.
As a team, UC is first in the conference and 39th in the country in total assists with 185 on the year. The Bearcats are also tops in the AAC and 41st nationally in total free throws made in 2017 with 160. Additionally, the Red & Black are third in the league in both field-goal percentage and assists at 44% and 15.4 per game, respectively.
Individually on the year, Johnson's 35 total steals is 18th in the country and second in The American, while Thomas' 62.1-percent field goal percentage is tops in the league. Owens ranks in a tie for fourth in the conference with 4.0 assists per game, while Goings' 2.3 made 3-pointers a contest is sixth-best in the AAC.
// SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bowling Green (8-2) has won five of its last six games including, most recently, an 82-73 home victory over Ferris State on Monday night. Sophomore guard/forward Andrea Cecil had a career night with 26 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Falcons.
For the season, junior guard Carly Santoro leads four double-digit BGSU scorers with 14.7 points per game as well as an also team-best 10.4 rebounds. Other double-figure scorers include Cecil with 12.1, junior guard Sydney Lambert with 11.3 points and a team-high 2.5 assists a contest, and senior guard Haley Puk with 10.6 points per.
The Falcons average 68.7 points per game and shoot the ball at a 39.7% rate from the field. BGSU makes 14.5 free throws a contest and knocks down 7.6 3-pointers per. Bowling Green's opponents average a 40.1% field-goal percentage, while the Falcons grab 38.2 rebounds a game.
In the preseason, BGSU was picked to finish fifth in the six-team Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division, while Santoro was an East Division All-MAC Team selection.