TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will begin a two-game homestand Wednesday, Jan. 23, when it welcomes Houston to Fifth Third Arena for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff.
// TICKETS
General admission tickets to the game are only $5, while tickets inside the Champions Club are just $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.
// PARKING
Cash parking will be available at Corry Garage on campus for $5.
// GOING LIVE
The game will broadcast live on ESPN3. A live audio stream will be available on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// GAME PROMOTIONS
Fans are encouraged to join the Bearcats in wearing black as part of the annual Wear Black promotion. Free, black, Bearcats t-shirts will be given away to fans upon entry to Fifth Third Arena. In addition, halftime will feature a unicycle performance by elementary-school performers – the Crosby Popcycles 4th & 5th graders from Crosby Elementary in Harrison, Ohio. . Per usual, there will be a postgame autographs session with the Bearcats.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats dominate the Cougars in the all-time series, 18-6, with two-straight wins. UC is also 8-2 in games against UH played in Cincinnati, including four-consecutive victories. In the last meeting, the Red & Black won a 61-57, Senior Night, home thriller on Feb. 26, 2018 to clinch the four seed in the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. In addition to strong performances by seniors Ana Owens and Shanice Johnson, guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) added 16 points and seven assists.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC picked up a conference victory on the road Saturday with a convincing, 70-50 win at Tulsa inside the Reynolds Center. A buzzer beater to end the first quarter by sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) set the tone for a strong first half in which the Bearcats (11-7, 3-2 AAC) outscored the Golden Hurricane (9-9, 3-2 AAC), 25-12. UC really took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 22-10 -- including an 11-2 run to end the period -- to lead 47-22 with 10 minutes left to play. The Red & Black kept up the pressure in the final quarter, not allowing TU to get closer than 18 as the Bearcats rolled to victory.
UC had four players with double-figure scoring performances with Thomas leading the way with 18 points. Thomas also grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds to notch her fifth double-double of the season. Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) neared her second-consecutive double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, to go along with four assists. In addition, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) added 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Rodgers chipped in 12 points.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Thomas has been a fixture on The American's weekly honor list with recognition four times this season. On Monday, the sophomore was named Player of the Week for the second time in 2018-19 after averaging 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals as the Bearcats picked up a pair of wins. 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 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. On the year, she is seventh in the country in field-goal percentage at 65.4 percent from the field.
Junior 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 and dished out 404 assists in her UC career. She has responded by impacting the game in a variety of ways with 11.2 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists per game mark (5.3) ranks second in the AAC and 34th in the country, while her steals total (40) ranks third in the league. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.13) is 57th-best in NCAA Division I. Miller notched her first-career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists against Temple on Jan. 16.
Rodgers picked up her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll distinction on Jan.7 after recording a career performance on Jan. 6 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. She is 28-of-35 from the free-throw line this season. Her seven misses this year are her only career misses after going 4-for-4 as a freshman and 24-of-24 as a sophomore.
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 9.2 points each contest in 2018-19. After suffering a sprained ankle at UConn on Jan. 9, the senior scored 11 points at UCF the following game with three made 3-pointers. Goings' streak of 18-straight games with a made 3-pointer was snapped against SMU on Jan. 6.
Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett (Griffin, Ga./Griffin) has emerged as a legitimate post presence off the bench. She was a force against Temple on Jan. 16 with a career-best 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. In conference play, the Georgia native is averaging 5.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in just 12 minutes per game.
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 7.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game through 16 contests.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with a 9-1 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. UC has responded by reeling off seven-consecutive victories. In total, the Red & Black boast a 72-percent (33-13) 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). Nelson and Tuff were both recently nominated for selection for the 2019 McDonald's All American Game. 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 COUGARS
Houston (9-8, 3-1 AAC) recorded its third-consecutive win Sunday with a 66-58 victory at Wichita State. The Cougars were led offensively by junior guard Angela Harris who led all scorers with her first 20-point game of the season. Harris finished the contest with 23 points behind five 3-pointers and an 8-of-9 mark from the free throw line. Octavia Barnes finished the contest with 13 points, while Julia Blackshell-Fair added 12. On the season, UH is paced by Jasmyne Harris' – who hasn't played in the last three games -- 16.2 points per game, while Angela Harris chips in 10.5 each contest. In addition, Serithia Hawkins posts 9.3 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds an outing, while Dorian Branch contributes 8.9 per. Houston scores 72.8 points per game, but gives up a league-worst 70. They also swipe 11.3 steals each outing and block 4.0 shots. In the preseason, the Cougars were picked to finish third in the AAC with J. Harris and A. Harris First and Second Team All-Conference selections, respectively.
// 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.
// TICKETS
General admission tickets to the game are only $5, while tickets inside the Champions Club are just $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.
// PARKING
Cash parking will be available at Corry Garage on campus for $5.
// GOING LIVE
The game will broadcast live on ESPN3. A live audio stream will be available on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// GAME PROMOTIONS
Fans are encouraged to join the Bearcats in wearing black as part of the annual Wear Black promotion. Free, black, Bearcats t-shirts will be given away to fans upon entry to Fifth Third Arena. In addition, halftime will feature a unicycle performance by elementary-school performers – the Crosby Popcycles 4th & 5th graders from Crosby Elementary in Harrison, Ohio. . Per usual, there will be a postgame autographs session with the Bearcats.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats dominate the Cougars in the all-time series, 18-6, with two-straight wins. UC is also 8-2 in games against UH played in Cincinnati, including four-consecutive victories. In the last meeting, the Red & Black won a 61-57, Senior Night, home thriller on Feb. 26, 2018 to clinch the four seed in the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. In addition to strong performances by seniors Ana Owens and Shanice Johnson, guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) added 16 points and seven assists.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC picked up a conference victory on the road Saturday with a convincing, 70-50 win at Tulsa inside the Reynolds Center. A buzzer beater to end the first quarter by sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) set the tone for a strong first half in which the Bearcats (11-7, 3-2 AAC) outscored the Golden Hurricane (9-9, 3-2 AAC), 25-12. UC really took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 22-10 -- including an 11-2 run to end the period -- to lead 47-22 with 10 minutes left to play. The Red & Black kept up the pressure in the final quarter, not allowing TU to get closer than 18 as the Bearcats rolled to victory.
UC had four players with double-figure scoring performances with Thomas leading the way with 18 points. Thomas also grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds to notch her fifth double-double of the season. Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) neared her second-consecutive double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, to go along with four assists. In addition, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) added 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Rodgers chipped in 12 points.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Thomas has been a fixture on The American's weekly honor list with recognition four times this season. On Monday, the sophomore was named Player of the Week for the second time in 2018-19 after averaging 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals as the Bearcats picked up a pair of wins. 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 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. On the year, she is seventh in the country in field-goal percentage at 65.4 percent from the field.
Junior 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 and dished out 404 assists in her UC career. She has responded by impacting the game in a variety of ways with 11.2 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists per game mark (5.3) ranks second in the AAC and 34th in the country, while her steals total (40) ranks third in the league. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.13) is 57th-best in NCAA Division I. Miller notched her first-career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists against Temple on Jan. 16.
Rodgers picked up her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll distinction on Jan.7 after recording a career performance on Jan. 6 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. She is 28-of-35 from the free-throw line this season. Her seven misses this year are her only career misses after going 4-for-4 as a freshman and 24-of-24 as a sophomore.
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 9.2 points each contest in 2018-19. After suffering a sprained ankle at UConn on Jan. 9, the senior scored 11 points at UCF the following game with three made 3-pointers. Goings' streak of 18-straight games with a made 3-pointer was snapped against SMU on Jan. 6.
Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett (Griffin, Ga./Griffin) has emerged as a legitimate post presence off the bench. She was a force against Temple on Jan. 16 with a career-best 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. In conference play, the Georgia native is averaging 5.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in just 12 minutes per game.
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 7.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game through 16 contests.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with a 9-1 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. UC has responded by reeling off seven-consecutive victories. In total, the Red & Black boast a 72-percent (33-13) 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). Nelson and Tuff were both recently nominated for selection for the 2019 McDonald's All American Game. 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 COUGARS
Houston (9-8, 3-1 AAC) recorded its third-consecutive win Sunday with a 66-58 victory at Wichita State. The Cougars were led offensively by junior guard Angela Harris who led all scorers with her first 20-point game of the season. Harris finished the contest with 23 points behind five 3-pointers and an 8-of-9 mark from the free throw line. Octavia Barnes finished the contest with 13 points, while Julia Blackshell-Fair added 12. On the season, UH is paced by Jasmyne Harris' – who hasn't played in the last three games -- 16.2 points per game, while Angela Harris chips in 10.5 each contest. In addition, Serithia Hawkins posts 9.3 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds an outing, while Dorian Branch contributes 8.9 per. Houston scores 72.8 points per game, but gives up a league-worst 70. They also swipe 11.3 steals each outing and block 4.0 shots. In the preseason, the Cougars were picked to finish third in the AAC with J. Harris and A. Harris First and Second Team All-Conference selections, respectively.
// 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.