TicketsFORT WORTH, Texas – University of Cincinnati women's basketball will visit the TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday, March 31, for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff at Schollmaier Arena in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) quarterfinals.
// GOING LIVE
A live video stream of the game will be available on HFTV, while a live audio stream can be accessed on Bearcats TV. Follow along with live stats here. Purchase tickets here.
// THE SERIES
Former league mates in Conference USA, the Bearcats trail the Horned Frogs in the all-time series, 4-1, and have yet to pick up a win in Fort Worth. In the last overall meeting, UC fell 68-51 in Cincinnati in 2005. In the last matchup at TCU, the Red & Black dropped a 73-57 decision in 2004. The Bearcats' only win against the Horned Frogs came in 2003 – a 68-61 triumph at home.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC (24-10, 12-4 AAC) bested Butler, 72-65, on Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena in the third round of the WNIT.
The Bearcats faced an eight-point, 56-48, deficit to the Bulldogs heading into the fourth quarter, but fought to the finish with a 13-2 run to end the game to come away victorious.
Junior guard 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.
// SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
UC is 7-13 all-time in the postseason, including 6-9 in the WNIT – having never won consecutive postseason games until this season. 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 17-2 home record which matches a program high set in 1981. In total, the Red & Black boasts a 75-percent (41-14) winning percentage on their home floor over the last three seasons.
The Bearcats' other 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 60.6 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 7.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game through 32 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 13.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, to go along with 4.6 rebounds each outing. Her assists per game mark (5.3) ranks second in the AAC and 31st in the country and her current 179 total assists ranks as third-best in a season in program history. Additionally, her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) is 48th-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 8.9 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 156.
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. The Lakota East product is playing her best basketball of the season in the WNIT with averages of 17 points over three games, including a 67-percent shooting clip from 3-point range.
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 HORNED FROGS
TCU (23-10, 10-8 Big 12), an at-large selection for the WNIT, advanced to Sunday's tournament quarterfinals with an 82-78 road win Thursday at Arkansas. Advancing to the WNIT round of eight for the second-consecutive season, the Horned Frogs were led in the victory by senior forward Amy Okonkwo's career-high 36 points, to go along with 14 rebounds. On the season, TCU is led by senior center Jordan Moore's 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Okonkwo adds 13.8 points each outing, while junior guard Kianna Ray scores 10.3 per. The Horned Frogs finished the regular season sixth in the 10-team Big 12 and was knocked out of the conference tournament in the quarterfinals with a 66-64 loss to No. 21 Texas. TCU averages 69.2 points per game and gives up 61.2. Texas Christian shoots an average of 42-percent from the field.