TicketsHOUSTON – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will again head west when it travels to Houston, Texas to face the Houston Cougars on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. EST inside H&PE Arena on the Texas Southern University campus.
// GOING LIVE
Fans can watch the game live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. A live audio broadcast will be available on BearcatsTV. Live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
Wednesday's matchup will be the 23rd all-time meeting between the two teams with UC dominating the series, 16-6. The Bearcats have won six of the last seven matchups and are 6-2 in games played at Houston. In the last matchup, UC came up short, 74-61, in the first round of the 2017 Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. Guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) scored a game-best 20 points in the loss. In the last meeting in Houston, on Feb. 11, 2017, the Bearcats came away victorious, 71-62, with 13 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists from forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC).
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (9-7, 1-2 AAC) dropped a 64-51 decision to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday afternoon at the Reynolds Center.
In their second road league matchup in three games, the Bearcats fell victim to nearly seven minutes of scoreless basketball in the first half. Struggling from the field, UC leaned on their defense, holding the Hurricane to 36-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes of play. This strong defensive performance allowed the Red & Black to stay within striking distance in the second, facing a 30-23 deficit at halftime.
The Bearcats battled back in the following half, clawing to within four points midway through the third quarter and whittled their deficit down to just three points early in the fourth. UC reduced a 10-point shortfall midway through the final period to just five, 53-48, with 4:20 to go. Armed with the momentum, UC had the script flipped on them as the home team outscored the Bearcats 11-3 over the duration to put the game away.
Owens and sophomore forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) led the Bearcats with 10 points apiece. Rizor also grabbed a team-high-tying six rebounds. In her second start of the season, junior forward Maya Benham (Douglasville, Ga./Osborne) scored a season-best eight points.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Currently sidelined with an injury, junior Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) is leading UC for the season with 13.1 points per game. Freshman forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) follows with 11.8 points a contest. In addition, Johnson grabs a team-best 6.4 rebounds each game, while Owens dishes out 4.3 assists per contest.
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 1,280 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 third in the conference, giving up just 59.8 points per game and allowing only 36.7-percent shooting. The Bearcats are fourth in the league in field goal percentage per game at 42.7 percent and also rank fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.9. Additionally, the Red & Black round out the top five in the AAC in defensive rebounds with 27.4 boards per game and knock down 70 percent of its free throws.
Individually on the year, Thomas is second in The American in field-goal percentage per game at 60.3 percent, while Owens ranks No. 2 in the league in free-throw percentage with 94-percent shooting. Additionally, sophomore guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) is third-best in the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage at 43.3 percent. Johnson's 2.5 steals per contest ranks fourth in the league, while Owens' 4.3 assists a game is also fourth in the AAC.
// SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Last time out, Houston (14-3, 3-0 AAC) came back from trailing by 21 points in the third quarter to stun Tulane and win 98-92 in overtime on Saturday in New Orleans. Houston finished the contest with four players in double-figures including a career-high 34 points from Jasmyne Harris to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds.
For the season, Harris is averaging a team-best 19.8 points per game. Three additional Cougars score in double-figures: Angela Harris (13.2), Serithia Hawkins (12.2), Dorian Branch (11.4). Furthermore, Hawkins grabs a Cougars-high 8.1 rebounds a contest, while Harris distributes 4.0 assists per. The Cougars average 77.0 points each game and drain 34.1 percent of its 3-point attempts. UH is tops in The American in field-goal percentage defense, allowing only 26-percent shooting. Houston swipes a league-best 12.8 steals a contest and is also tops in the AAC in turnover margin at +5.35.
In the preseason, Houston was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team conference.
// GOING LIVE
Fans can watch the game live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. A live audio broadcast will be available on BearcatsTV. Live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
Wednesday's matchup will be the 23rd all-time meeting between the two teams with UC dominating the series, 16-6. The Bearcats have won six of the last seven matchups and are 6-2 in games played at Houston. In the last matchup, UC came up short, 74-61, in the first round of the 2017 Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. Guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) scored a game-best 20 points in the loss. In the last meeting in Houston, on Feb. 11, 2017, the Bearcats came away victorious, 71-62, with 13 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists from forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC).
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (9-7, 1-2 AAC) dropped a 64-51 decision to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday afternoon at the Reynolds Center.
In their second road league matchup in three games, the Bearcats fell victim to nearly seven minutes of scoreless basketball in the first half. Struggling from the field, UC leaned on their defense, holding the Hurricane to 36-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes of play. This strong defensive performance allowed the Red & Black to stay within striking distance in the second, facing a 30-23 deficit at halftime.
The Bearcats battled back in the following half, clawing to within four points midway through the third quarter and whittled their deficit down to just three points early in the fourth. UC reduced a 10-point shortfall midway through the final period to just five, 53-48, with 4:20 to go. Armed with the momentum, UC had the script flipped on them as the home team outscored the Bearcats 11-3 over the duration to put the game away.
Owens and sophomore forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) led the Bearcats with 10 points apiece. Rizor also grabbed a team-high-tying six rebounds. In her second start of the season, junior forward Maya Benham (Douglasville, Ga./Osborne) scored a season-best eight points.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Currently sidelined with an injury, junior Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) is leading UC for the season with 13.1 points per game. Freshman forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) follows with 11.8 points a contest. In addition, Johnson grabs a team-best 6.4 rebounds each game, while Owens dishes out 4.3 assists per contest.
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 1,280 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 third in the conference, giving up just 59.8 points per game and allowing only 36.7-percent shooting. The Bearcats are fourth in the league in field goal percentage per game at 42.7 percent and also rank fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.9. Additionally, the Red & Black round out the top five in the AAC in defensive rebounds with 27.4 boards per game and knock down 70 percent of its free throws.
Individually on the year, Thomas is second in The American in field-goal percentage per game at 60.3 percent, while Owens ranks No. 2 in the league in free-throw percentage with 94-percent shooting. Additionally, sophomore guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) is third-best in the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage at 43.3 percent. Johnson's 2.5 steals per contest ranks fourth in the league, while Owens' 4.3 assists a game is also fourth in the AAC.
// SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Last time out, Houston (14-3, 3-0 AAC) came back from trailing by 21 points in the third quarter to stun Tulane and win 98-92 in overtime on Saturday in New Orleans. Houston finished the contest with four players in double-figures including a career-high 34 points from Jasmyne Harris to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds.
For the season, Harris is averaging a team-best 19.8 points per game. Three additional Cougars score in double-figures: Angela Harris (13.2), Serithia Hawkins (12.2), Dorian Branch (11.4). Furthermore, Hawkins grabs a Cougars-high 8.1 rebounds a contest, while Harris distributes 4.0 assists per. The Cougars average 77.0 points each game and drain 34.1 percent of its 3-point attempts. UH is tops in The American in field-goal percentage defense, allowing only 26-percent shooting. Houston swipes a league-best 12.8 steals a contest and is also tops in the AAC in turnover margin at +5.35.
In the preseason, Houston was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team conference.