TicketsUNCASVILLE, Conn. – The No. 4 seed University of Cincinnati women's basketball Bearcats will face the No. 12 seed Tulsa Golden Hurricane in quarterfinal action on Sunday at the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. inside Mohegan Sun Arena.
// GOING LIVE
The game will be video broadcast live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. A live audio broadcast will be available on BearcatsTV. Live stats also can be accessed through StatBroadcast.
// THE SERIES
Sunday's matchup will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams with Tulsa holding a 5-2 series advantage. The schools split in the 2017-18 regular season with, most recently, the Bearcats dominating the Golden Hurricane, 78-41, on Feb. 17 in Cincinnati. In its largest margin of victory in an American game in its five seasons in the league, the Red & Black featured four double-figure scorers with senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind.) leading the way with game highs of 13 points and four assists. The Bearcats and Hurricane have never met on a neutral floor.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (18-11, 10-6 AAC) weathered a late Houston rally to secure a 61-57 Senior Night win inside Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center.
With the win, 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, set to face the winner of the No. 12 Tulsa – No. 5 Houston matchup.
The Bearcats led by as many as 17 points at the end of the third quarter and seemed to have the game in hand. The Cougars did not go down without a fight and mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the first nine points of the period to pull within three, 48-45, with 5:56 left to play.
The two teams battled down the stretch, with UH finally hitting its shots from deep. After a triple from Cougar Serithia Hawkins to cut the Red & Black's lead to just two, 54-52, with 3:55 left, the Red & Black manufactured a 5-0 run – paced by senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) – to jump ahead by seven with 2:31 to go.
The visitors from Texas responded, again, to pull within two, 59-57, with under a minute to play. Looking to tie the game late, the Cougars missed a pair of free throws and a wing jumper. Sophomore guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) proceeded to ice the game from the free-throw line to give UC a thrilling, 61-57, Senior Night triumph.
The two Bearcats seniors stepped up on Monday in their final home regular season game. Senior forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC) led all scorers with 17 points as well as five assists, two blocks, and two steals. Owens, in her 120th career start, chipped in 11 points and five assists. In addition, Rodgers totaled career highs 16 points and seven rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
With four double-figure scorers, junior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) is leading UC in scoring with 11.7 points per game, while Owens adds 11.2, Johnson, 10.4, and freshman forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep), 10.3. Johnson and Thomas average team bests of 6.2 rebounds, while Johnson also swipes a Bearcats-best 2.1 steals each contest. Owens' 4.0 assists per is a team high.
A pair of University of Cincinnati women's basketball student-athletes earned American Athletic Conference postseason recognition Friday with Owens chosen as Third Team All-Conference while Thomas garnered All-Freshman Team accolades. In addition, IImar'I Thomas took home some additional hardware on Saturday as league Freshman of the Year. UC's first conference FOTY award since 2002.
The Bearcats are continuing the momentum from last year's 16-14 campaign – their best season in a decade – and are striving for more. Following Monday's Senior Night win over Houston, UC improved to 18-11 on the season – its best record since going 23-8 in 2002-03 – and notched its 10th conference win – the most since the '02-'03 squad went 11-3 in Conference USA.
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.
As a team, UC is third in the conference in scoring margin (+5.9), rebounding margin (+4.7), assists per game (15.1), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9), and defensive rebounds a contest (27.9). The Bearcats rank fourth in the league in scoring offense (67.8 ppg), scoring defense (61.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.422), and field goal percentage defense (.375). In addition, the Red & Black is fifth-best in free-throw percentage (.719) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg).
Individually on the year, Thomas is tops in the AAC in field-goal percentage at 60.7 percent, with Rizor fifth at 56.4. Owens is second in the conference in free-throw percentage at 92.1 percent and is fifth with 4.0 assists a contest. Johnson is eighth-best in the league in steals with 2.1 a game. In addition, Goings is eighth in the league in both 3-point field-goal makes (2.2 3pg) and eighth 3-point field-goal percentage (.364).
// SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
No. 12 seed Tulsa (10-20, 3-13 AAC) defeated the No. 5 seed Houston Cougars, 98-72, on Saturday night in Uncasville in the first round of the AAC Championship. The Golden Hurricane utilized five double-figure scorers, including two with 20-plus points, led by a game-best 28 points from junior forward Crystal Polk.
Going into Saturday's game, TU was led by junior guard Shug Dickson's 13.7 points per game. Senior guard Erika Wakefield chips in 11.1 points a contest. Sophomore forward Kendrian Elliott grabs a team-best 5.9 rebounds each outing. Wakefield also dishes out a Hurricane-high 2.7 assists per, while Elliott leads the team with 0.7 blocks a game.
Entering Saturday, Tulsa averages 60.5 points a night, but gives up 65.5. The Golden Hurricane shoots 37-percent from the field, but gets outrebounded by nearly four rebounds each time out. In addition, TU makes 11.4 free throws, 4.8 3-pointers, distributes 9.5 assists, and swats almost three shots per outing.
In the preseason, Tulsa was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team AAC.
// FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay connected with Bearcats Women's Basketball on Facebook (@GoBearcatsWBB), Twitter (@GoBearcatsWBB) and Instagram (@GoBearcatsWBB).
// GOING LIVE
The game will be video broadcast live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. A live audio broadcast will be available on BearcatsTV. Live stats also can be accessed through StatBroadcast.
// THE SERIES
Sunday's matchup will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams with Tulsa holding a 5-2 series advantage. The schools split in the 2017-18 regular season with, most recently, the Bearcats dominating the Golden Hurricane, 78-41, on Feb. 17 in Cincinnati. In its largest margin of victory in an American game in its five seasons in the league, the Red & Black featured four double-figure scorers with senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind.) leading the way with game highs of 13 points and four assists. The Bearcats and Hurricane have never met on a neutral floor.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (18-11, 10-6 AAC) weathered a late Houston rally to secure a 61-57 Senior Night win inside Saint Ursula Academy Gymnasium & Convocation Center.
With the win, 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, set to face the winner of the No. 12 Tulsa – No. 5 Houston matchup.
The Bearcats led by as many as 17 points at the end of the third quarter and seemed to have the game in hand. The Cougars did not go down without a fight and mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the first nine points of the period to pull within three, 48-45, with 5:56 left to play.
The two teams battled down the stretch, with UH finally hitting its shots from deep. After a triple from Cougar Serithia Hawkins to cut the Red & Black's lead to just two, 54-52, with 3:55 left, the Red & Black manufactured a 5-0 run – paced by senior guard Ana Owens (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) – to jump ahead by seven with 2:31 to go.
The visitors from Texas responded, again, to pull within two, 59-57, with under a minute to play. Looking to tie the game late, the Cougars missed a pair of free throws and a wing jumper. Sophomore guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) proceeded to ice the game from the free-throw line to give UC a thrilling, 61-57, Senior Night triumph.
The two Bearcats seniors stepped up on Monday in their final home regular season game. Senior forward Shanice Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara/Monroe CC) led all scorers with 17 points as well as five assists, two blocks, and two steals. Owens, in her 120th career start, chipped in 11 points and five assists. In addition, Rodgers totaled career highs 16 points and seven rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
With four double-figure scorers, junior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) is leading UC in scoring with 11.7 points per game, while Owens adds 11.2, Johnson, 10.4, and freshman forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep), 10.3. Johnson and Thomas average team bests of 6.2 rebounds, while Johnson also swipes a Bearcats-best 2.1 steals each contest. Owens' 4.0 assists per is a team high.
A pair of University of Cincinnati women's basketball student-athletes earned American Athletic Conference postseason recognition Friday with Owens chosen as Third Team All-Conference while Thomas garnered All-Freshman Team accolades. In addition, IImar'I Thomas took home some additional hardware on Saturday as league Freshman of the Year. UC's first conference FOTY award since 2002.
The Bearcats are continuing the momentum from last year's 16-14 campaign – their best season in a decade – and are striving for more. Following Monday's Senior Night win over Houston, UC improved to 18-11 on the season – its best record since going 23-8 in 2002-03 – and notched its 10th conference win – the most since the '02-'03 squad went 11-3 in Conference USA.
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.
As a team, UC is third in the conference in scoring margin (+5.9), rebounding margin (+4.7), assists per game (15.1), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9), and defensive rebounds a contest (27.9). The Bearcats rank fourth in the league in scoring offense (67.8 ppg), scoring defense (61.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.422), and field goal percentage defense (.375). In addition, the Red & Black is fifth-best in free-throw percentage (.719) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg).
Individually on the year, Thomas is tops in the AAC in field-goal percentage at 60.7 percent, with Rizor fifth at 56.4. Owens is second in the conference in free-throw percentage at 92.1 percent and is fifth with 4.0 assists a contest. Johnson is eighth-best in the league in steals with 2.1 a game. In addition, Goings is eighth in the league in both 3-point field-goal makes (2.2 3pg) and eighth 3-point field-goal percentage (.364).
// SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
No. 12 seed Tulsa (10-20, 3-13 AAC) defeated the No. 5 seed Houston Cougars, 98-72, on Saturday night in Uncasville in the first round of the AAC Championship. The Golden Hurricane utilized five double-figure scorers, including two with 20-plus points, led by a game-best 28 points from junior forward Crystal Polk.
Going into Saturday's game, TU was led by junior guard Shug Dickson's 13.7 points per game. Senior guard Erika Wakefield chips in 11.1 points a contest. Sophomore forward Kendrian Elliott grabs a team-best 5.9 rebounds each outing. Wakefield also dishes out a Hurricane-high 2.7 assists per, while Elliott leads the team with 0.7 blocks a game.
Entering Saturday, Tulsa averages 60.5 points a night, but gives up 65.5. The Golden Hurricane shoots 37-percent from the field, but gets outrebounded by nearly four rebounds each time out. In addition, TU makes 11.4 free throws, 4.8 3-pointers, distributes 9.5 assists, and swats almost three shots per outing.
In the preseason, Tulsa was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team AAC.
// FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay connected with Bearcats Women's Basketball on Facebook (@GoBearcatsWBB), Twitter (@GoBearcatsWBB) and Instagram (@GoBearcatsWBB).