TicketsST. LOUIS – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will wrap its two-game road swing Sunday when it visits St. Louis for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff at Chaifetz Arena.
// GOING LIVE
Fans can watch the game live online on ESPN+. A live audio stream will be available – for free – on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
UC dominates the all-time series, 25-4. The two teams haven't met since 2005 when the Bearcats fell, 49-47 in St. Louis. The Red & Black leads the series in games played in The Lou, 9-4, with its last win coming in 2001.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (2-2) dropped a 65-48 decision to Pitt Friday at Petersen Events Center. After an even first half, UC was outscored 35-18 in the second half. Sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) led the way for the Bearcats on the offensive end with 12 points. Junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) chipped in 10 points, a team-best seven rebounds, as well as three assists.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) has shown a steady progression throughout her Bearcats career and is really stepping up to begin her senior season. After averaging 2.7 points per game as a freshman, 6.1 as a sophomore, and a team-best 11.2 as a junior, the guard is pacing UC in 2018-19 with a team-high 14.3 points.
Junior point guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) is being leaned on to step up this year after the graduation of point guard Ana Owens who scored 1.469 points in her UC career. She has responded with 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.0 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists mark ranks sixth in the American Athletic Conference, while her steals average ranks tops in the league and 15th nationally.
Thomas was a spark off the bench as a freshman last year and went on to be named AAC Freshman of the Year. She is continuing in the sixth man role this season with 9.5 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds in 25 minutes per game in a reserve role.
Newcomer Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) had a long, winding journey to NCAA Division I basketball, but is thriving early on at UC. Having experienced civil war and political unrest in her east African home country of Burundi, Sifa followed her basketball dream to junior college in Jacksonville, Texas and now to Cincinnati. An athletic guard, she has already proven to be a great, late addition to the Bearcats roster with 10.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game through four contests.
UC signed a talented, six-member recruiting class for the 2019-20 season on Monday. Stretching from the Mid-Atlantic to the Southeast and all the way to Africa, head coach Michelle Clark-Heard's inaugural Bearcats signing class features players who are tenacious, versatile, and true winners. Signees include: 6-foot-2 forward Jana Abdullah (Alexandria, Egypt/King Integrated American School), 5-foot-6 point guard Aleah Nelson (Nottingham, Md./McDonogh High School), 6-foot-1 wing Jada Scott (Townsend, Ga./Frederica Academy), 6-foot-1 forward Jadyn Scott (Townsend, Ga./Frederica Academy), 5-foot-8 guard Jordan Tuff (Kernersville, N.C./Connections Academy), and 5-foot-8 guard Chellia Watson (Winder, Ga./Window-Barrow High School). The Scott twins' brother, Trevon, is a redshirt junior forward on the UC men's basketball team.
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, Goings, 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 Sifa. 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 BILLIKENS
SLU is 1-1 on the year following a 60-56 home loss against Indiana State on Tuesday. Amber Lindfors registered a team-high 12 points and a game-high four blocks to lead the Billikens. St. Louis' lone win on the year was a 70-43 romp at Eastern Kentucky. On the season, Ciaja Harbison leads three double-figure scorers with 13.0 points per game, while Lindfors and Jordyn Frantz each add 10.5. Frantz leads the team with 8.0 rebounds a contest. In the preseason, SLU was picked to finish seventh in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference.
// FIFTH THIRD ARENA REOPENS
After a 20-month, privately funded, $87-million renovation, Fifth Third Arena reopens in 2018-19. 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.
// GOING LIVE
Fans can watch the game live online on ESPN+. A live audio stream will be available – for free – on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
UC dominates the all-time series, 25-4. The two teams haven't met since 2005 when the Bearcats fell, 49-47 in St. Louis. The Red & Black leads the series in games played in The Lou, 9-4, with its last win coming in 2001.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (2-2) dropped a 65-48 decision to Pitt Friday at Petersen Events Center. After an even first half, UC was outscored 35-18 in the second half. Sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) led the way for the Bearcats on the offensive end with 12 points. Junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) chipped in 10 points, a team-best seven rebounds, as well as three assists.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) has shown a steady progression throughout her Bearcats career and is really stepping up to begin her senior season. After averaging 2.7 points per game as a freshman, 6.1 as a sophomore, and a team-best 11.2 as a junior, the guard is pacing UC in 2018-19 with a team-high 14.3 points.
Junior point guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) is being leaned on to step up this year after the graduation of point guard Ana Owens who scored 1.469 points in her UC career. She has responded with 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.0 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists mark ranks sixth in the American Athletic Conference, while her steals average ranks tops in the league and 15th nationally.
Thomas was a spark off the bench as a freshman last year and went on to be named AAC Freshman of the Year. She is continuing in the sixth man role this season with 9.5 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds in 25 minutes per game in a reserve role.
Newcomer Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) had a long, winding journey to NCAA Division I basketball, but is thriving early on at UC. Having experienced civil war and political unrest in her east African home country of Burundi, Sifa followed her basketball dream to junior college in Jacksonville, Texas and now to Cincinnati. An athletic guard, she has already proven to be a great, late addition to the Bearcats roster with 10.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game through four contests.
UC signed a talented, six-member recruiting class for the 2019-20 season on Monday. Stretching from the Mid-Atlantic to the Southeast and all the way to Africa, head coach Michelle Clark-Heard's inaugural Bearcats signing class features players who are tenacious, versatile, and true winners. Signees include: 6-foot-2 forward Jana Abdullah (Alexandria, Egypt/King Integrated American School), 5-foot-6 point guard Aleah Nelson (Nottingham, Md./McDonogh High School), 6-foot-1 wing Jada Scott (Townsend, Ga./Frederica Academy), 6-foot-1 forward Jadyn Scott (Townsend, Ga./Frederica Academy), 5-foot-8 guard Jordan Tuff (Kernersville, N.C./Connections Academy), and 5-foot-8 guard Chellia Watson (Winder, Ga./Window-Barrow High School). The Scott twins' brother, Trevon, is a redshirt junior forward on the UC men's basketball team.
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, Goings, 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 Sifa. 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 BILLIKENS
SLU is 1-1 on the year following a 60-56 home loss against Indiana State on Tuesday. Amber Lindfors registered a team-high 12 points and a game-high four blocks to lead the Billikens. St. Louis' lone win on the year was a 70-43 romp at Eastern Kentucky. On the season, Ciaja Harbison leads three double-figure scorers with 13.0 points per game, while Lindfors and Jordyn Frantz each add 10.5. Frantz leads the team with 8.0 rebounds a contest. In the preseason, SLU was picked to finish seventh in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference.
// FIFTH THIRD ARENA REOPENS
After a 20-month, privately funded, $87-million renovation, Fifth Third Arena reopens in 2018-19. 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.