TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will welcome Butler to Fifth Third Arena on Thursday, March 28 in a Round of 16 matchup in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
// TICKETS
Courtside seats are priced at $25 each, Champions Club (west side of the arena) seats are $10, and general admission seats will cost $8. Thanks to partners and sponsors of UC Athletics, Bearcats fans who attend the Reds Opening Day game on Thursday afternoon will receive free admittance to the UC-Butler game by showing their Reds ticket stub at the ticket office on the east side of the arena by the Oscar Robertson statue.
UC students can purchase tickets for $4 apiece. The first 500 students to claim tickets for the game will be admitted free thanks to UC Athletics partners and sponsors. Students will need both a ticket and their student ID.
In addition, UC faculty and staff can purchase tickets for $4.
Tickets can be purchased online at GoBEARCATS.com/Tickets, over the phone at 1-877-CATS-TIX, or at the ticket office.
Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets for $2 apiece by contacting the athletics tickets office directly at 1-877-CATS-TIX.
Starting with the third round of the tournament, the WNIT requires schools to charge a higher single-seat ticket price, which caused the price increase from rounds one and two.
// PARKING
Cash parking will be available in Corry Garage for $5. Corry Garage is located at 51 W. Corry St., Cincinnati, OH 45219, directly across from Marge Schott Stadium). Parking opens two (2) hours prior to the event.
// GOING LIVE
The game will be streamed live on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// GAME PROMOTIONS
Several exciting fan amenities and promotions will be in effect for Thursday's game, including NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games on the concourse TVs, students receiving triple Ruckus Rewards points after attending the game on Thursday, and a live raffle of four sets of football tickets during the media timeouts of each quarter (the raffles will include two pairs of student tickets to the UC-Ohio State game in Columbus on Sept. 7, 2019 along with two student season tickets for the 2019 football season). Students will need to sign into the Ruckus Rewards app and check-in at the game to register for the raffle.
To celebrate the third round of the WNIT, the Armory Bar will be open with $3 domestic drafts and $5 premium beers. Concessions specials will also be available and announced closer to game time.
Fans who show their women's basketball ticket at the Marge Schott Stadium ticket windows this weekend can receive free admission to any one of the UC baseball games vs. Tulane. The Bearcats and Green Wave are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. ET Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats hold a 5-4 all-time series advantage over the Bulldogs. The teams have split the last four meetings with UC coming up short in the latest meeting – a 65-48 home loss in 2009 -- but winning at Butler in 2001 – 94-66. In Cincinnati, the Red & Black leads the series, 3-2, with its last victory taking place in 2000.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (23-10, 12-4 AAC) defeated Minnesota, 72-65, on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena in the WNIT second round.
The victory marked the first time the Bearcats have won consecutive postseason games in program history. In addition, 23 victories in a season is the most in 16 years, matching the 2002-03 team. Moreover, the triumph is the Red & Black's first over a Power 5 school since besting Ohio State at home in 2013.
A dominant fourth quarter in which the Bearcats outscored the Gophers 24-12 allowed UC to continue its postseason run. In total, the home team outpaced the visitors 43-29 in the second half after facing a 36-29 halftime deficit.
Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) notched her third 20-plus-point game of the season with a team-best 20 points. She also pulled down five rebounds and dished out five assists. Junior guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) scored a career-high 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Additionally, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) scored 11 points and grabbed a career and game-best 14 rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
UC is 6-13 all-time in the postseason, including 5-9 in the WNIT. This is the Bearcats' second-straight WNIT appearance after being edged, 81-75, at Michigan State last season in the tournament's first round.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with a 16-2 home record which is the most since 1980-81. In total, the Red & Black boasts a 74-percent (40-14) winning percentage on their home floor over the last three seasons.
The Bearcats' historic accomplishments this season include their first 20-win season since 2003, first time with 12 or more conference wins since 1999, highest-ever finish in the AAC (third place), and first time with three or more regular-season conference honorees since 2003.
The trio of sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep), Miller, and junior guard Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) were each recognized with AAC regular-season honors early this month. Thomas was selected First Team All-Conference, Miller Second Team, and Sifa Newcomer of the Year. The recognition marks back-to-back years UC has had multiple AAC regular-season honorees after Thomas won Freshman of the Year and Ana Owens was chosen for the Third Team in 2018. In addition, Thomas' selection is the Bearcats' first First Team honoree in its six years in the AAC.
Thomas was named American Player of the Week for the third time this season on March 5 after averaging 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game as the Bearcats went 2-0 over the previous week. On the year, she is 12th in the country in field-goal percentage at 60.3 percent which is currently second-best in a season in program history. Additionally, Rizor was tabbed for the Weekly Honor Roll on March 5 after posting averages of 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in UC's pair of wins the week prior. Thomas has received weekly recognition by the league five times this season, including three Player of the Week honors. In total, the sophomore has garnered weekly AAC accolades 10 times in her young career. The honor is the first of Rizor's career.
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 proven to be a great, late addition to the Bearcats roster with 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game through 31 contests. Sifa earned her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll distinction on Feb. 25 after averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game as the Bearcats won both of their contests the previous week.
Miller is being leaned on to step up this year after the graduation of 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 team bests of 13.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, to go along with 4.7 rebounds each outing. Her assists per game mark (5.3) ranks second in the AAC and 32nd in the country and her current 174 total assists ranks as third-best in a season in program history. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) is 47th-best in NCAA Division I. Miller has been named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice this season, most recently on Feb. 11 following her career day of 23 points 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 9.0 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 five-straight games – off the bench -- with double-figure scoring was snapped against Tulsa on Feb. 20 with nine points. The Georgia native earned her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll accolade 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. In her career, the sharpshooter is sixth all-time in program history in made 3-pointers with 155.
UC's 12 conference wins were each very impressive. On average, the Bearcats won by 17 points, featuring a league-play-best, 28-point wallop of Wichita State on Feb. 10. The Red & Black registered six wins by 20 points or more, including three of its last seven.
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.
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.
Leading UC this year is 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).
// SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Butler (23-9, 11-7 BIG EAST), an automatic qualifier for the WNIT, advanced to Thursday's tournament Round of 16 with a 70-52 home win Saturday against Kent State. The Bulldogs were led by Whitney Jennings' 23 points, while Kristen Spolyar added 22 points. On the season, Jennings paces Butler with 15.2 points per game, with Spolyar contributing 13.2 each outing. Tori Schickel chips in 12.3 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds a contest. BU averages 66.8 points per game, gives up only 58.1, and swipes a league-best 11.0 steals each time out. The Bulldogs finished the regular season in third place in the 10-team BIG EAST, but was knocked out in the conference tournament quarterfinals by Creighton.
// 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.
// TICKETS
Courtside seats are priced at $25 each, Champions Club (west side of the arena) seats are $10, and general admission seats will cost $8. Thanks to partners and sponsors of UC Athletics, Bearcats fans who attend the Reds Opening Day game on Thursday afternoon will receive free admittance to the UC-Butler game by showing their Reds ticket stub at the ticket office on the east side of the arena by the Oscar Robertson statue.
UC students can purchase tickets for $4 apiece. The first 500 students to claim tickets for the game will be admitted free thanks to UC Athletics partners and sponsors. Students will need both a ticket and their student ID.
In addition, UC faculty and staff can purchase tickets for $4.
Tickets can be purchased online at GoBEARCATS.com/Tickets, over the phone at 1-877-CATS-TIX, or at the ticket office.
Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets for $2 apiece by contacting the athletics tickets office directly at 1-877-CATS-TIX.
Starting with the third round of the tournament, the WNIT requires schools to charge a higher single-seat ticket price, which caused the price increase from rounds one and two.
// PARKING
Cash parking will be available in Corry Garage for $5. Corry Garage is located at 51 W. Corry St., Cincinnati, OH 45219, directly across from Marge Schott Stadium). Parking opens two (2) hours prior to the event.
// GOING LIVE
The game will be streamed live on Bearcats TV, while live stats can be accessed here.
// GAME PROMOTIONS
Several exciting fan amenities and promotions will be in effect for Thursday's game, including NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games on the concourse TVs, students receiving triple Ruckus Rewards points after attending the game on Thursday, and a live raffle of four sets of football tickets during the media timeouts of each quarter (the raffles will include two pairs of student tickets to the UC-Ohio State game in Columbus on Sept. 7, 2019 along with two student season tickets for the 2019 football season). Students will need to sign into the Ruckus Rewards app and check-in at the game to register for the raffle.
To celebrate the third round of the WNIT, the Armory Bar will be open with $3 domestic drafts and $5 premium beers. Concessions specials will also be available and announced closer to game time.
Fans who show their women's basketball ticket at the Marge Schott Stadium ticket windows this weekend can receive free admission to any one of the UC baseball games vs. Tulane. The Bearcats and Green Wave are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. ET Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.
// THE SERIES
The Bearcats hold a 5-4 all-time series advantage over the Bulldogs. The teams have split the last four meetings with UC coming up short in the latest meeting – a 65-48 home loss in 2009 -- but winning at Butler in 2001 – 94-66. In Cincinnati, the Red & Black leads the series, 3-2, with its last victory taking place in 2000.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (23-10, 12-4 AAC) defeated Minnesota, 72-65, on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena in the WNIT second round.
The victory marked the first time the Bearcats have won consecutive postseason games in program history. In addition, 23 victories in a season is the most in 16 years, matching the 2002-03 team. Moreover, the triumph is the Red & Black's first over a Power 5 school since besting Ohio State at home in 2013.
A dominant fourth quarter in which the Bearcats outscored the Gophers 24-12 allowed UC to continue its postseason run. In total, the home team outpaced the visitors 43-29 in the second half after facing a 36-29 halftime deficit.
Junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) notched her third 20-plus-point game of the season with a team-best 20 points. She also pulled down five rebounds and dished out five assists. Junior guard Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) scored a career-high 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Additionally, junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) scored 11 points and grabbed a career and game-best 14 rebounds.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
UC is 6-13 all-time in the postseason, including 5-9 in the WNIT. This is the Bearcats' second-straight WNIT appearance after being edged, 81-75, at Michigan State last season in the tournament's first round.
The Bearcats have created a formidable home-court advantage inside newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena this season with a 16-2 home record which is the most since 1980-81. In total, the Red & Black boasts a 74-percent (40-14) winning percentage on their home floor over the last three seasons.
The Bearcats' historic accomplishments this season include their first 20-win season since 2003, first time with 12 or more conference wins since 1999, highest-ever finish in the AAC (third place), and first time with three or more regular-season conference honorees since 2003.
The trio of sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep), Miller, and junior guard Florence Sifa (Bujumbura, Burundi/Jacksonville College) were each recognized with AAC regular-season honors early this month. Thomas was selected First Team All-Conference, Miller Second Team, and Sifa Newcomer of the Year. The recognition marks back-to-back years UC has had multiple AAC regular-season honorees after Thomas won Freshman of the Year and Ana Owens was chosen for the Third Team in 2018. In addition, Thomas' selection is the Bearcats' first First Team honoree in its six years in the AAC.
Thomas was named American Player of the Week for the third time this season on March 5 after averaging 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game as the Bearcats went 2-0 over the previous week. On the year, she is 12th in the country in field-goal percentage at 60.3 percent which is currently second-best in a season in program history. Additionally, Rizor was tabbed for the Weekly Honor Roll on March 5 after posting averages of 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in UC's pair of wins the week prior. Thomas has received weekly recognition by the league five times this season, including three Player of the Week honors. In total, the sophomore has garnered weekly AAC accolades 10 times in her young career. The honor is the first of Rizor's career.
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 proven to be a great, late addition to the Bearcats roster with 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game through 31 contests. Sifa earned her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll distinction on Feb. 25 after averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game as the Bearcats won both of their contests the previous week.
Miller is being leaned on to step up this year after the graduation of 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 team bests of 13.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, to go along with 4.7 rebounds each outing. Her assists per game mark (5.3) ranks second in the AAC and 32nd in the country and her current 174 total assists ranks as third-best in a season in program history. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) is 47th-best in NCAA Division I. Miller has been named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice this season, most recently on Feb. 11 following her career day of 23 points 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 9.0 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 five-straight games – off the bench -- with double-figure scoring was snapped against Tulsa on Feb. 20 with nine points. The Georgia native earned her first AAC Weekly Honor Roll accolade 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. In her career, the sharpshooter is sixth all-time in program history in made 3-pointers with 155.
UC's 12 conference wins were each very impressive. On average, the Bearcats won by 17 points, featuring a league-play-best, 28-point wallop of Wichita State on Feb. 10. The Red & Black registered six wins by 20 points or more, including three of its last seven.
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.
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.
Leading UC this year is 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).
// SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Butler (23-9, 11-7 BIG EAST), an automatic qualifier for the WNIT, advanced to Thursday's tournament Round of 16 with a 70-52 home win Saturday against Kent State. The Bulldogs were led by Whitney Jennings' 23 points, while Kristen Spolyar added 22 points. On the season, Jennings paces Butler with 15.2 points per game, with Spolyar contributing 13.2 each outing. Tori Schickel chips in 12.3 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds a contest. BU averages 66.8 points per game, gives up only 58.1, and swipes a league-best 11.0 steals each time out. The Bulldogs finished the regular season in third place in the 10-team BIG EAST, but was knocked out in the conference tournament quarterfinals by Creighton.
// 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.