TicketsCINCINNATI – For the first time since February 2017, University of Cincinnati women's basketball will return to competition at Fifth Third Arena when it hosts California (Pa.) at noon on Saturday inside the newly-renovated facility.
// THE GAME
Admission to the game will be free of charge. A live audio stream will be available – for free – on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here. Due to football gameday, parking will be available at garages on campus for $15. Fans can also pre-purchase parking at Woodside and Campus Green Garages online here.
// THE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the first between Cincinnati and NCAA Division II California (Pa.).
// GAME PROMOTIONS
In addition to free admission, 300 books will be given away in celebration of National Book Day. Roster cards, team posters, and schedule cards will be available at the Fans First Center on the East Concourse. Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase season tickets at the East Ticket Office.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
UC returns three starters in 2018-19 from a team that won 19 games last year -- its best season in 15 years – and advanced to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship. With 68 percent of their scoring and 66 percent of their rebounding back, the Bearcats also boast the league's reigning Freshman of the Year in sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep). UC's leading returning scorer from a year ago, senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne), is also back after averaging 11.2 points per game in 2017-18.
Leading UC this year will be head coach Michelle Clark-Heard who was an assistant at UC from 2002-05 and spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at Western Kentucky. In six seasons at WKU, Clark-Heard reached four NCAA Tournaments, won four conference tournament championships and two regular season conference titles while posting 154 wins, becoming the second-fastest Lady Topper coach to reach 100 victories with the program. She amassed a 154-48 (.762) record at WKU and a 178-80 (.690) career mark. Clark-Heard has led her teams to six-consecutive 20-win seasons and six-straight appearances in the postseason (four NCAA, two WNIT).
At American Athletic Conference Basketball Media Day on Oct. 15, UC was selected to finish fifth in the 12-team league. Chosen by the league's head coaches, the pick is the highest the Bearcats have ever been selected in their six years in the AAC. Five-time The American champion and 2018 NCAA Final Four participant UConn was, again, picked to win the conference title. USF earned one first-place vote and was chosen second. Houston followed in third ahead of UCF, Cincinnati, Temple, SMU, ECU, Tulane, Wichita State, Memphis, and Tulsa to round out the poll.
UC welcomes three newcomers in 2018-19 in transfer guards Addaya Moore (Granite City, Ill./Granite City/Illinois), Monique Thompson (Long Beach, Calif./St. Anthony/Northwest Christian), and Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College). Moore transferred to UC from Illinois and will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules with three seasons of eligibility remaining in Clifton, beginning with the 2019-20 season. Thompson is a graduate transfer from NAIA Northwest Christian in Eugene, Oregon and is eligible to play this season. Sifa comes to UC from the JuCo ranks at Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas and will be an important contributor for the Bearcats in 2018-19.
The Bearcats' home schedule features 16 regular-season home games, highlighted by the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout against Xavier on Sunday, Dec. 16 and a matchup with perennial national power UConn on Saturday, Feb. 2. View the complete 2018-19 schedule here.
// SCOUTING THE VULCANS
Cal U went 24-7 last season and reached the 2018 NCAA Division II Tournament for the fourth-consecutive year. The team began its four-year run with a D-II National Championship in 2015. This preseason, the Vulcans were picked to finish third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division. The Vulcans return three starters from 2017-18, plus a two-time All-PSAC West selection in redshirt senior forward Seairra Barrett after she missed all of the 2017-18 campaign due to injury.
// FIFTH THIRD ARENA REOPENS
After a 20-month, privately funded, $87-million renovation, Fifth Third Arena reopens in 2018-19. The last UC women's basketball game at the facility was the 2016-17 regular-season finale against Tulsa on Feb. 27, 2017. With the arena under renovation, the Bearcats played the 2017-18 season off campus at both Saint Ursula Academy (16 games) and Cincinnati State (two games). UC posted a 12-6 home mark last year.
// SEASON-TICKET INFO
Catch the exciting start of Clark-Heard era and the reopening of Fifth Third Arena by purchasing your 2018-19 University of Cincinnati women's basketball season tickets now! The prices for standard Bearcats season tickets are $65 for adults and $50 for youth, seniors, UC faculty and staff and current or former military members. Courtside season tickets are on sale for $100. Click here for more information on season tickets. Click here to purchase today.
// SINGLE-GAME TICKET INFO
Single-game tickets for the 2018-19 University of Cincinnati women's basketball season are on sale now. General admission tickets are available at just $5, while Champions Club tickets are $7. Discounts for youth (ages 4-12) and seniors (ages 65+) include $3 general admission tickets and $5 Champions Club tickets. Tickets can be purchased by either calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging onto GoBEARCATS.com/Tickets, or by visiting the Fifth Third Arena ticket office on gameday.
// THE GAME
Admission to the game will be free of charge. A live audio stream will be available – for free – on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here. Due to football gameday, parking will be available at garages on campus for $15. Fans can also pre-purchase parking at Woodside and Campus Green Garages online here.
// THE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the first between Cincinnati and NCAA Division II California (Pa.).
// GAME PROMOTIONS
In addition to free admission, 300 books will be given away in celebration of National Book Day. Roster cards, team posters, and schedule cards will be available at the Fans First Center on the East Concourse. Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase season tickets at the East Ticket Office.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
UC returns three starters in 2018-19 from a team that won 19 games last year -- its best season in 15 years – and advanced to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship. With 68 percent of their scoring and 66 percent of their rebounding back, the Bearcats also boast the league's reigning Freshman of the Year in sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep). UC's leading returning scorer from a year ago, senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne), is also back after averaging 11.2 points per game in 2017-18.
Leading UC this year will be head coach Michelle Clark-Heard who was an assistant at UC from 2002-05 and spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at Western Kentucky. In six seasons at WKU, Clark-Heard reached four NCAA Tournaments, won four conference tournament championships and two regular season conference titles while posting 154 wins, becoming the second-fastest Lady Topper coach to reach 100 victories with the program. She amassed a 154-48 (.762) record at WKU and a 178-80 (.690) career mark. Clark-Heard has led her teams to six-consecutive 20-win seasons and six-straight appearances in the postseason (four NCAA, two WNIT).
At American Athletic Conference Basketball Media Day on Oct. 15, UC was selected to finish fifth in the 12-team league. Chosen by the league's head coaches, the pick is the highest the Bearcats have ever been selected in their six years in the AAC. Five-time The American champion and 2018 NCAA Final Four participant UConn was, again, picked to win the conference title. USF earned one first-place vote and was chosen second. Houston followed in third ahead of UCF, Cincinnati, Temple, SMU, ECU, Tulane, Wichita State, Memphis, and Tulsa to round out the poll.
UC welcomes three newcomers in 2018-19 in transfer guards Addaya Moore (Granite City, Ill./Granite City/Illinois), Monique Thompson (Long Beach, Calif./St. Anthony/Northwest Christian), and Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College). Moore transferred to UC from Illinois and will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules with three seasons of eligibility remaining in Clifton, beginning with the 2019-20 season. Thompson is a graduate transfer from NAIA Northwest Christian in Eugene, Oregon and is eligible to play this season. Sifa comes to UC from the JuCo ranks at Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas and will be an important contributor for the Bearcats in 2018-19.
The Bearcats' home schedule features 16 regular-season home games, highlighted by the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout against Xavier on Sunday, Dec. 16 and a matchup with perennial national power UConn on Saturday, Feb. 2. View the complete 2018-19 schedule here.
// SCOUTING THE VULCANS
Cal U went 24-7 last season and reached the 2018 NCAA Division II Tournament for the fourth-consecutive year. The team began its four-year run with a D-II National Championship in 2015. This preseason, the Vulcans were picked to finish third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division. The Vulcans return three starters from 2017-18, plus a two-time All-PSAC West selection in redshirt senior forward Seairra Barrett after she missed all of the 2017-18 campaign due to injury.
// FIFTH THIRD ARENA REOPENS
After a 20-month, privately funded, $87-million renovation, Fifth Third Arena reopens in 2018-19. The last UC women's basketball game at the facility was the 2016-17 regular-season finale against Tulsa on Feb. 27, 2017. With the arena under renovation, the Bearcats played the 2017-18 season off campus at both Saint Ursula Academy (16 games) and Cincinnati State (two games). UC posted a 12-6 home mark last year.
// SEASON-TICKET INFO
Catch the exciting start of Clark-Heard era and the reopening of Fifth Third Arena by purchasing your 2018-19 University of Cincinnati women's basketball season tickets now! The prices for standard Bearcats season tickets are $65 for adults and $50 for youth, seniors, UC faculty and staff and current or former military members. Courtside season tickets are on sale for $100. Click here for more information on season tickets. Click here to purchase today.
// SINGLE-GAME TICKET INFO
Single-game tickets for the 2018-19 University of Cincinnati women's basketball season are on sale now. General admission tickets are available at just $5, while Champions Club tickets are $7. Discounts for youth (ages 4-12) and seniors (ages 65+) include $3 general admission tickets and $5 Champions Club tickets. Tickets can be purchased by either calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging onto GoBEARCATS.com/Tickets, or by visiting the Fifth Third Arena ticket office on gameday.