TicketsSTORRS, Conn. – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will go for its fifth-straight win Wednesday, Jan. 9, when it visits third-ranked UConn for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Gampel Pavilion.
// GOING LIVE
The game will broadcast live on SportsNet New York (SNY) and ESPN3. A live audio stream will be available on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats have come up short in all 19 matchups with the Huskies. The two met twice last season, most recently in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship semifinals. In the last meeting in Connecticut – also last season – guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) set career marks of 20 points and five made 3-pointers.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (9-5, 1-0 AAC) tipped off American Athletic Conference play Sunday with a 69-57 victory over the visiting SMU Mustangs inside Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats controlled the first half, complete with a 15-1 run over the final 5:36 of the second quarter to take command, 41-21, at the break. The Mustangs fought back in the second half, but the early Red & Black advantage proved too much to overcome. The win was the Bearcats' fourth in a row and the largest margin of victory in an American opener in their six seasons in the league.
UC's starting five combined to score all of the team's points on the day, led by 22 from sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) – her fourth-straight 20-plus effort. Junior guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) had a career day with 20 points – 17 of which came in the first half – and five 3-pointers. In addition, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) totaled 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Miller contributed 12 points, six assists, and a career-best five steals.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Rodgers picked up her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll distinction Monday after recording a career performance Sunday in UC's AAC-opening, 69-57 home victory over SMU. The Cincinnati native scored a career-best 20 points – 17 of which came in the first half – including a career-high five 3-pointers. The guard was a catalyst in a game-changing, late-second-quarter 15-0 Bearcats run with three triples. In addition, she tallied another career mark with two blocks. In her last six contests, the guard is averaging 12.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 made trifectas. Entering Monday, she is fourth in the conference in free-throw percentage (.828, 24-of-29) and 25th in scoring average. Her five misses this year are her only career misses after going 4-for-4 as a freshman and 24-of-24 as a sophomore.
Thomas was a fixture on The American's Weekly Honor list with recognition in three of the last four weeks the Bearcats have competed. On Dec. 24, the sophomore landed on the Honor Roll after totaling 23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three steals against Howard on Dec. 21. The points, assists, and steals totals were each career marks. The week prior, she was named AAC Player of the Week and earned a spot on the NCAA's prestigious Weekly Starting Five following scoring 20 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds in the annual Crosstown Shootout vs. Xavier on Dec. 16. Previously, the forward was picked for the Honor Roll on Dec. 10 after averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of contests for the week ending Dec. 9. In her last four games, Thomas is averaging 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds. On the year, she is fourth in the country in field goal percentage at 68.1 percent from the field.
Senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) has shown a steady progression throughout her Bearcats career and is stepping up in 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 averaging 10.1 points each contest in 2018-19. Goings' streak of 18-straight games with a made 3-pointer was snapped against SMU on Jan. 6.
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 10.7 points, 5.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists per game mark (5.1) ranks first in the AAC and 56th in the country, while her steals total (33) ranks third in the league. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.37) is 39th-best in NCAA Division I and runner-up in the conference.
Junior guard Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) had a long, winding journey to NCAA Division I basketball, but is thriving 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 7.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game through 14 contests.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with an 8-1 record in 2018-19. A 76-72 setback to Old Dominion on Nov. 12 snapped a five-game winning streak at home dating back to last season. In total, the Red & Black boast a 70-percent (31-13) winning percentage on their home court over the last three years.
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 HUSKIES
UConn (12-1, 1-0 AAC) bounced back from its first regular season loss in four years with an 81-61 AAC-opening victory at Houston on Sunday. Katie Lou Samuelson had 19 points, while Napheesa Collier added 18. UConn started the second quarter on a 13-2 run to open up a 37-23 lead on Samuelson's layup 3½ minutes into the quarter. The Huskies finished the half with a 14-2 run to take a 51-30 halftime lead on Crystal Dangerfield's jumper. Houston got no closer than 16 in the second half.
On the season, UConn features five double-figure scorers, led by Samuelson with 19.4 per. Collier is not far behind with 18.4 a game. The Huskies lead the league in eight statistical categories, notably points per game (82.8), scoring margin (+26.3), assists per contest (18.3), and defensive rebounds each outing (30.8). In the preseason, the perennial NCAA Final Four participant was picked to win the conference for the sixth-straight year, with Samuelson was chosen as Player of the Year and Associated Press All-American. Collier and Crystal Dangerfield were also tabbed First Team All-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
The game will broadcast live on SportsNet New York (SNY) and ESPN3. A live audio stream will be available on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats have come up short in all 19 matchups with the Huskies. The two met twice last season, most recently in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship semifinals. In the last meeting in Connecticut – also last season – guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) set career marks of 20 points and five made 3-pointers.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (9-5, 1-0 AAC) tipped off American Athletic Conference play Sunday with a 69-57 victory over the visiting SMU Mustangs inside Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats controlled the first half, complete with a 15-1 run over the final 5:36 of the second quarter to take command, 41-21, at the break. The Mustangs fought back in the second half, but the early Red & Black advantage proved too much to overcome. The win was the Bearcats' fourth in a row and the largest margin of victory in an American opener in their six seasons in the league.
UC's starting five combined to score all of the team's points on the day, led by 22 from sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) – her fourth-straight 20-plus effort. Junior guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) had a career day with 20 points – 17 of which came in the first half – and five 3-pointers. In addition, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) totaled 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Miller contributed 12 points, six assists, and a career-best five steals.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Rodgers picked up her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll distinction Monday after recording a career performance Sunday in UC's AAC-opening, 69-57 home victory over SMU. The Cincinnati native scored a career-best 20 points – 17 of which came in the first half – including a career-high five 3-pointers. The guard was a catalyst in a game-changing, late-second-quarter 15-0 Bearcats run with three triples. In addition, she tallied another career mark with two blocks. In her last six contests, the guard is averaging 12.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 made trifectas. Entering Monday, she is fourth in the conference in free-throw percentage (.828, 24-of-29) and 25th in scoring average. Her five misses this year are her only career misses after going 4-for-4 as a freshman and 24-of-24 as a sophomore.
Thomas was a fixture on The American's Weekly Honor list with recognition in three of the last four weeks the Bearcats have competed. On Dec. 24, the sophomore landed on the Honor Roll after totaling 23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three steals against Howard on Dec. 21. The points, assists, and steals totals were each career marks. The week prior, she was named AAC Player of the Week and earned a spot on the NCAA's prestigious Weekly Starting Five following scoring 20 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds in the annual Crosstown Shootout vs. Xavier on Dec. 16. Previously, the forward was picked for the Honor Roll on Dec. 10 after averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of contests for the week ending Dec. 9. In her last four games, Thomas is averaging 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds. On the year, she is fourth in the country in field goal percentage at 68.1 percent from the field.
Senior guard Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) has shown a steady progression throughout her Bearcats career and is stepping up in 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 averaging 10.1 points each contest in 2018-19. Goings' streak of 18-straight games with a made 3-pointer was snapped against SMU on Jan. 6.
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 10.7 points, 5.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists per game mark (5.1) ranks first in the AAC and 56th in the country, while her steals total (33) ranks third in the league. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.37) is 39th-best in NCAA Division I and runner-up in the conference.
Junior guard Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) had a long, winding journey to NCAA Division I basketball, but is thriving 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 7.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game through 14 contests.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with an 8-1 record in 2018-19. A 76-72 setback to Old Dominion on Nov. 12 snapped a five-game winning streak at home dating back to last season. In total, the Red & Black boast a 70-percent (31-13) winning percentage on their home court over the last three years.
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 HUSKIES
UConn (12-1, 1-0 AAC) bounced back from its first regular season loss in four years with an 81-61 AAC-opening victory at Houston on Sunday. Katie Lou Samuelson had 19 points, while Napheesa Collier added 18. UConn started the second quarter on a 13-2 run to open up a 37-23 lead on Samuelson's layup 3½ minutes into the quarter. The Huskies finished the half with a 14-2 run to take a 51-30 halftime lead on Crystal Dangerfield's jumper. Houston got no closer than 16 in the second half.
On the season, UConn features five double-figure scorers, led by Samuelson with 19.4 per. Collier is not far behind with 18.4 a game. The Huskies lead the league in eight statistical categories, notably points per game (82.8), scoring margin (+26.3), assists per contest (18.3), and defensive rebounds each outing (30.8). In the preseason, the perennial NCAA Final Four participant was picked to win the conference for the sixth-straight year, with Samuelson was chosen as Player of the Year and Associated Press All-American. Collier and Crystal Dangerfield were also tabbed First Team All-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.