TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati women's basketball bested Butler, 72-65, on Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena in the third round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The Bearcats (24-10) faced an eight-point, 56-48, deficit to the Bulldogs (23-10) heading into the fourth quarter, but fought to the finish with a 13-2 run to end the game to come away victorious.
Junior Sam Rodgers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East) continued her stellar play with a new career high of 23 points – including a career-best-tying five 3-pointers, highlighted by a huge triple to give the Red & Black a 65-63 lead with 1:23 to go in the game. For the second-straight contest, junior guard Antoinette Miller (Detroit, Mich./Southfield-Lathrup) scored 20 points as well as added five assists and three steals. Sophomore forward IImar'I Thomas (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) chipped in 12 points, five rebounds, and a career-high-tying four blocks, while junior forward Angel Rizor (Zebulon, N.C./East Wake) recorded 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
One year to the day Michelle Clark-Heard was announced as UC's new head coach, the Bearcats started slow – falling behind 6-0. UC answered with 15-straight points and went into the second quarter with a 19-10 lead. The Red & Black led by as many as 10 points in the second period, but saw the Bulldogs answer to tie the game at 28 with 3:39 remaining before halftime. The final stretch of the period was back and forth with Miller beating the buzzer with a lay-in to give the Bearcats a 36-33 advantage at the break.
UC scored the first four points of the third quarter, but witnessed the Bulldogs respond with a 13-5 burst to take a 46-45 lead midway through the period. Over the final five minutes of the third, the Bearcats were outscored 10-3 to trail 56-48 with 10 minutes left to play. Facing a 61-55 shortfall with 4:27 left, the Bearcats left it all on the floor during the stretch run, capped by an enormous, Rodgers trifecta to put the home team up 65-63 with 1:23 to go. In crunch time, UC knocked down its free throws and continued to limit Butler to keep its historic postseason streak alive.
UC shot 40 percent from the field and buried nine 3-pointers, in addition to sinking 15 free throws. The Bearcats scored 23 points off of 17 Bulldogs turnovers and got out in transition for 18 points. Additionally, the Red & Black scored 18 points in the paint, turned 10 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points, and dished out 16 assists on 24 made field goals.
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The Bearcats will face TCU in the WNIT quarterfinals on Sunday at 2 PM ET in Fort Worth, Texas.