TicketsPROVIDENCE, R.I. – A pair of University of Cincinnati women's basketball student-athletes earned American Athletic Conference postseason recognition Friday with senior guard Ana Owens chosen as Third Team All-Conference while freshman forward IImar'I Thomas garnered All-Freshman Team accolades.
Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) averaged 11.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.2 rebounds during the 2017-18 regular season including 12.3 points and 3.1 assists per game in conference play. Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) tallied 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds overall including 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds each contest in AAC action.
On the season, Owens is 20th in the AAC in scoring and fifth in assists. The Indy native is also near-automatic from the free-throw line, shooting 92 percent from the charity stripe which is second-best in the league. In addition, she ranks 15th in The American with 1.6 3-point field goals made a game and is 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.3. The senior has led the Bearcats in scoring 12 times this season and in assists on 19 occasions. The guard scored 20-plus points twice in the 2017-18 regular season including a season-high 27 points at Houston on Jan. 10.
For her career, Owens continues her climb up the Bearcats' all-time scoring list with 1,444 points which currently ranks 11th. She is also marked in the Bearcats record book as second all-time in minutes played (4,203), third in free-throw percentage (.834), fourth in made 3-pointers (193), fifth in assists (397), and ninth in games played with 119 – starting every game of her collegiate career.
Owens earned three conference weekly accolades in this season and totaled 10 for her career. She was a postseason AAC All-Freshman Team pick in 2015.
A unanimous All-Freshman Team selection, Thomas is 27th in the league in points per game and 16th in rebounding in just 21.3 minutes of play per game in a reserve role off the bench. The 17-year-old shoots 60.7 percent from the field which is tops in The American. Additionally, she ranks 12th in the conference in defensive rebounds per game at 4.4 and is 13th in blocked shots at 0.8.
The freshman led UC in scoring twice this regular season and nine times in rebounding. In addition, she totaled two double-doubles and scored in double-figures 13 times. Moreover, she posted season bests of 19 points and 11 rebounds against Howard on Dec. 14.
In total, the forward was named league Freshman of the Week an American-best five times in 2017-18.
Friday marks back-to-back seasons in which Bearcats student-athletes have garnered postseason all-league honors. Previously, Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe Community CC) was named the AAC Newcomer of the Year and a Third Team All-Conference honoree last year.
The American's major awards including Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Scholar Athlete of the Year will be announced tomorrow, March 3, at a press conference at 9 a.m. at Mohegan Sun.
// UP NEXT
With Wednesday's win against Houston, the Bearcats clinched the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, March 3-6 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Red & Black will face the winner of Saturday's No. 12 Tulsa – No. 5 Houston matchup on Sunday at 8:30 p.m.
Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) averaged 11.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.2 rebounds during the 2017-18 regular season including 12.3 points and 3.1 assists per game in conference play. Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) tallied 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds overall including 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds each contest in AAC action.
On the season, Owens is 20th in the AAC in scoring and fifth in assists. The Indy native is also near-automatic from the free-throw line, shooting 92 percent from the charity stripe which is second-best in the league. In addition, she ranks 15th in The American with 1.6 3-point field goals made a game and is 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.3. The senior has led the Bearcats in scoring 12 times this season and in assists on 19 occasions. The guard scored 20-plus points twice in the 2017-18 regular season including a season-high 27 points at Houston on Jan. 10.
For her career, Owens continues her climb up the Bearcats' all-time scoring list with 1,444 points which currently ranks 11th. She is also marked in the Bearcats record book as second all-time in minutes played (4,203), third in free-throw percentage (.834), fourth in made 3-pointers (193), fifth in assists (397), and ninth in games played with 119 – starting every game of her collegiate career.
Owens earned three conference weekly accolades in this season and totaled 10 for her career. She was a postseason AAC All-Freshman Team pick in 2015.
A unanimous All-Freshman Team selection, Thomas is 27th in the league in points per game and 16th in rebounding in just 21.3 minutes of play per game in a reserve role off the bench. The 17-year-old shoots 60.7 percent from the field which is tops in The American. Additionally, she ranks 12th in the conference in defensive rebounds per game at 4.4 and is 13th in blocked shots at 0.8.
The freshman led UC in scoring twice this regular season and nine times in rebounding. In addition, she totaled two double-doubles and scored in double-figures 13 times. Moreover, she posted season bests of 19 points and 11 rebounds against Howard on Dec. 14.
In total, the forward was named league Freshman of the Week an American-best five times in 2017-18.
Friday marks back-to-back seasons in which Bearcats student-athletes have garnered postseason all-league honors. Previously, Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe Community CC) was named the AAC Newcomer of the Year and a Third Team All-Conference honoree last year.
The American's major awards including Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Scholar Athlete of the Year will be announced tomorrow, March 3, at a press conference at 9 a.m. at Mohegan Sun.
// UP NEXT
With Wednesday's win against Houston, the Bearcats clinched the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, March 3-6 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Red & Black will face the winner of Saturday's No. 12 Tulsa – No. 5 Houston matchup on Sunday at 8:30 p.m.