TicketsPHILADELPHIA – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will aim for its third-consecutive win Sunday when it visits the Temple Owls for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff at McGonigle Hall.
// GOING LIVE
The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. A live audio stream will be available on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats trail the Owls in the all-time series – 4-6 -- but have won the last three meetings. The two teams met last month in Cincinnati with the Red & Black earning a 72-52 victory. Sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with game highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett (Griffin, Ga./Griffin) was a force off the bench with a career-best 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. In addition, junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) notched her first-career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, as well as seven rebounds. The Bearcats also trail in the series in games played in Philly – 2-4 – but won the last outing – a 70-52 triumph at the Liacouras Center last season. In the win, guards Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) and Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) chipped in seven and six points, respectively.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (16-8, 8-3 AAC) won its third-consecutive road conference game Wednesday with an 89-69 victory against the Memphis Tigers at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Winners of seven on their last eight games – including back-to-back triumphs – completed the regular-season sweep of the Tigers behind nine first-half 3-pointers and a 44-35 scoring advantage in the second. With its highest scoring output of the season, UC featured five double-figure scorers, led by 19 points – including five made 3-pointers – from Goings. Miller notched her third double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 11 assists. Rodgers, too, added 15 points – featuring four made triples, while fellow junior guard Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) also chipped in 15 points. In addition, Thomas posted 12 points and seven rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
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 12.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists per game mark ranks second in the AAC and 22nd in the country, while her steals total (49) ranks third in the league. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) is 37th-best in NCAA Division I. Miller has been named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice in the past three weeks, most recently on Monday following her career day against Wichita State.
Goings 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 9.8 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' is currently on a streak of four-straight games – off the bench -- with at least 14 points. The Georgia native earned her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 4 after averaging 16.0 points, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 rebounds as the Bearcats split a pair of games the week prior.
Thomas has been a fixture on The American's weekly honor list with recognition four times this season. On Jan. 21, 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 63.8 percent from the field.
UC's eight conference wins have each been very impressive. On average, the Bearcats have won by 17 points, featuring a league-play-best, 28-point wallop of Wichita State on Feb. 10. The Red & Black have registered five wins by 20 points or more, including its last two.
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.
Sifa 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 2.5 rebounds per game through 22 contests.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with a 12-2 record in 2018-19. UC reeled off nine-consecutive victories at home before dropping a close one to No. 2 UConn on Feb. 2. In total, the Red & Black boasts a 72-percent (36-14) winning percentage on their home floor 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.
// SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple (8-15, 4-6 AAC) had a four-game win streak snapped by No. 5 UConn in their last outing. In the loss, sophomore Mia Davis tallied 20 points with nine rebounds to lead five Owls in double figures. Davis leads Temple on both ends of the floor, averaging a league-best 19.5 points to go along with 9.0 rebounds per game. Graduate student Alliya Butts is second on the team in scoring, with 15.3 points per game, while leading the Owls with averages of 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per outing. As a team, Temple is shooting 38.6% from the field and 29.9% from long range. In the preseason, Temple was picked to finish sixth in the league with Davis and Butts both preseason Second Team All-Conference selections.
// 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.
// GOING LIVE
The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. A live audio stream will be available on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats trail the Owls in the all-time series – 4-6 -- but have won the last three meetings. The two teams met last month in Cincinnati with the Red & Black earning a 72-52 victory. Sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with game highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Andeija Puckett (Griffin, Ga./Griffin) was a force off the bench with a career-best 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. In addition, junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) notched her first-career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, as well as seven rebounds. The Bearcats also trail in the series in games played in Philly – 2-4 – but won the last outing – a 70-52 triumph at the Liacouras Center last season. In the win, guards Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) and Nikira Goings (Marietta, Ga./Osborne) chipped in seven and six points, respectively.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (16-8, 8-3 AAC) won its third-consecutive road conference game Wednesday with an 89-69 victory against the Memphis Tigers at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Winners of seven on their last eight games – including back-to-back triumphs – completed the regular-season sweep of the Tigers behind nine first-half 3-pointers and a 44-35 scoring advantage in the second. With its highest scoring output of the season, UC featured five double-figure scorers, led by 19 points – including five made 3-pointers – from Goings. Miller notched her third double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 11 assists. Rodgers, too, added 15 points – featuring four made triples, while fellow junior guard Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) also chipped in 15 points. In addition, Thomas posted 12 points and seven rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
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 12.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game so far in 2018-19. Her assists per game mark ranks second in the AAC and 22nd in the country, while her steals total (49) ranks third in the league. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) is 37th-best in NCAA Division I. Miller has been named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice in the past three weeks, most recently on Monday following her career day against Wichita State.
Goings 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 9.8 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' is currently on a streak of four-straight games – off the bench -- with at least 14 points. The Georgia native earned her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 4 after averaging 16.0 points, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 rebounds as the Bearcats split a pair of games the week prior.
Thomas has been a fixture on The American's weekly honor list with recognition four times this season. On Jan. 21, 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 63.8 percent from the field.
UC's eight conference wins have each been very impressive. On average, the Bearcats have won by 17 points, featuring a league-play-best, 28-point wallop of Wichita State on Feb. 10. The Red & Black have registered five wins by 20 points or more, including its last two.
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.
Sifa 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 2.5 rebounds per game through 22 contests.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with a 12-2 record in 2018-19. UC reeled off nine-consecutive victories at home before dropping a close one to No. 2 UConn on Feb. 2. In total, the Red & Black boasts a 72-percent (36-14) winning percentage on their home floor 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.
// SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple (8-15, 4-6 AAC) had a four-game win streak snapped by No. 5 UConn in their last outing. In the loss, sophomore Mia Davis tallied 20 points with nine rebounds to lead five Owls in double figures. Davis leads Temple on both ends of the floor, averaging a league-best 19.5 points to go along with 9.0 rebounds per game. Graduate student Alliya Butts is second on the team in scoring, with 15.3 points per game, while leading the Owls with averages of 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per outing. As a team, Temple is shooting 38.6% from the field and 29.9% from long range. In the preseason, Temple was picked to finish sixth in the league with Davis and Butts both preseason Second Team All-Conference selections.
// 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.