TicketsCOLUMBUS, Ohio – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will continue its road swing Sunday, Dec. 2, when it visits Ohio State for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff at Value City Arena.
// GOING LIVE
Fans can watch the game live online on Big Ten Network Plus. A live audio stream will be available – for free – on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats trail in the all-time series, 4-19, and are 1-10 in games played at OSU. In the last meeting, UC was edged, 87-76, by the No. 13 Buckeyes in Cincinnati on Dec. 17, 2017. IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) recorded 15 points and nine rebounds, while Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) tallied 15 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Furthermore, Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) posted her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (5-3) saw its three-game winning streak snapped Wednesday with a 75-63 loss to Ball State at Worthen Arena. UC battled back from a 20-point second-half deficit, but was unable to pull closer than 12 late in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals forged ahead to victory. Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) led the way on the offensive end for UC with 16 points and six assists. Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett (Griffin, Ga./Griffin) joined Miller in double-figure scoring with a career-best 11 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of steals.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Goings 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 12.3 points each contest. Goings is also continuing to shoot the ball well from deep at 32 percent from 3-point range this season after shooting 37 percent a year ago.
Miller is being leaned on to step up this year after the graduation of point guard Ana Owens who scored 1.469 points and dished out 404 assists in her UC career. She has responded by impacting the game in a variety of ways with 10.1 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her total assists mark (41) ranks first in the American Athletic Conference and 17th in the country, while her steals total (24) ranks third in the league and 12th nationally. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) is 22nd-best in NCAA Division I.
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 player role this season with 8.9 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds in 24 minutes per game in a reserve role.
Puckett, who was previously used sparingly off the bench, got the start on Nov. 18 at St. Louis and delivered. In her first-career appearance in the starting lineup, the sophomore impressed with a game and career-high 10 rebounds to go along with four points, three steals, and two blocks in 23 minutes of play. Puckett followed with a career-best 11 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks off the bench at Ball State on Nov. 28.
Junior guard 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 10.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game through eight contests.
UC signed a talented, six-member recruiting class for the 2019-20 season on Nov. 11. 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 Thomas. 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 BUCKEYES
OSU improved to 2-2 on the season Thursday with a 76-69 home victory over North Carolina. Carmen Grande and Dorka Juhasz combined to account for 41 points and 24 rebounds in the win. The Buckeyes have alternated between wins and losses in 2018 with its nonconference slate shortened due to the recent California wildfires. Juhasz leads the Scarlet & Grey with 12.0 points and 9.8 boards per game, while Carly Santoro adds 11.8 points each contest.
// 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 Big Ten Network Plus. A live audio stream will be available – for free – on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats trail in the all-time series, 4-19, and are 1-10 in games played at OSU. In the last meeting, UC was edged, 87-76, by the No. 13 Buckeyes in Cincinnati on Dec. 17, 2017. IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) recorded 15 points and nine rebounds, while Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) tallied 15 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Furthermore, Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) posted her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (5-3) saw its three-game winning streak snapped Wednesday with a 75-63 loss to Ball State at Worthen Arena. UC battled back from a 20-point second-half deficit, but was unable to pull closer than 12 late in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals forged ahead to victory. Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) led the way on the offensive end for UC with 16 points and six assists. Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett (Griffin, Ga./Griffin) joined Miller in double-figure scoring with a career-best 11 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of steals.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Goings 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 12.3 points each contest. Goings is also continuing to shoot the ball well from deep at 32 percent from 3-point range this season after shooting 37 percent a year ago.
Miller is being leaned on to step up this year after the graduation of point guard Ana Owens who scored 1.469 points and dished out 404 assists in her UC career. She has responded by impacting the game in a variety of ways with 10.1 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her total assists mark (41) ranks first in the American Athletic Conference and 17th in the country, while her steals total (24) ranks third in the league and 12th nationally. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) is 22nd-best in NCAA Division I.
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 player role this season with 8.9 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds in 24 minutes per game in a reserve role.
Puckett, who was previously used sparingly off the bench, got the start on Nov. 18 at St. Louis and delivered. In her first-career appearance in the starting lineup, the sophomore impressed with a game and career-high 10 rebounds to go along with four points, three steals, and two blocks in 23 minutes of play. Puckett followed with a career-best 11 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks off the bench at Ball State on Nov. 28.
Junior guard 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 10.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game through eight contests.
UC signed a talented, six-member recruiting class for the 2019-20 season on Nov. 11. 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 Thomas. 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 BUCKEYES
OSU improved to 2-2 on the season Thursday with a 76-69 home victory over North Carolina. Carmen Grande and Dorka Juhasz combined to account for 41 points and 24 rebounds in the win. The Buckeyes have alternated between wins and losses in 2018 with its nonconference slate shortened due to the recent California wildfires. Juhasz leads the Scarlet & Grey with 12.0 points and 9.8 boards per game, while Carly Santoro adds 11.8 points each contest.
// 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.