Women's Basketball Plays at Florida on Saturday

CINCINNATI (1-0) at FLORIDA (2-1)
Saturday, Dec. 5 // 1 p.m. ET
Exactech Arena at O'Connell Center // Orlando, Fla.
SERIES INFO: First meeting
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (47-21); 11th season overall (225-101)
Cam Newbauer is in his fourth season at Florida (36-58); eighth season overall (115-108)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (Preseason): Cincinnati (--/--); Florida (--/--)
TV: SEC Network+; Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB or GoBearcatsWBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (1-0) plays at Florida (2-1) on Saturday, Dec. 5. Tipoff from Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is set for 1 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. 
• The Bearcats are playing their first game since rallying past Northern Kentucky, 73-67, in overtime on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Fifth Third Arena. 
• American Athletic Conference Co-Preseason Player of the Year IImar'I Thomas scored 34 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists as the Bearcats overcame a 13-point second-quarter deficit. 
• Florida is coming off a 67-52 win over Charleston Southern on Wednesday evening. Kiara Smith led the way with 15 points for the Gators. Nina Rickards added 12 points and seven rebounds.  
• Saturday marks the first meeting in series history between Cincinnati and Florida. 
• UP NEXT: Cincinnati plays host to Xavier in the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Thursday, Dec. 10, at Fifth Third Arena. The game tips at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

CINCINNATI STORYLINES

• The AAC Co-Preseason Player of the Year, senior forward IImar'I Thomas is coming off a 34-point performance against Northern Kentucky (11/25). She was named to the NCAA Weekly Starting Five and the AAC Player of the Week earlier this week. 
• Cincinnati was picked to finish in the preseason poll of league coaches behind USF, UCF and Tulane. The Bearcats did receive two first-place votes.
• UC's 2020-21 roster includes seven returning letterwinners and five newcomers. Redshirt-junior guard Addaya Moore (3.7 points, 4.4. rebounds, 32 games played, 12 starts) is the only returning Bearcats, besides Thomas, with more than 10 starts a year ago. 
• Cincinnati is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since stringing together three consecutive 20-win campaigns from 2001-03.
• The Bearcats tied for second in the AAC regular-season standings a year ago with an 11-5 mark, the school's best finish in The American and its best league result since placing second in the Conference USA standings in 2004. 
• UC reached the championship game of the 2019 AAC Women's Championship, rallying from a 15-point deficit to post a 57-51 win over UCF. The effort resulted in the Bearcats first conference tournament championship game appearance since 2003 (Conference USA).
• Michelle Clark-Heard won more games (46) during her first two seasons at Cincinnati than any other head coach program history. She edged out Ceal Barry, who registered 45 wins combined through her first two seasons in Clifton (1979-80 and 1980-81). Clark-Heard is also the first coach in UC history to record 20-win seasons in each of her first two season on the job.

TIP-INS

• 30 POINTS THREE TIMES: Senior forward IImar'I Thomas poured in 34 points in UC's 76-67 overtime win over Northern Kentucky in the season opener. 
• Thomas has eclipsed the 30-point plateau on two other occasions during her UC career. She netted 32 points against UCF on Jan. 12, 2020 before posting a career-best 35 points against Houston on Jan. 22, 2020. 
• RECOGNITION REDUX: Thomas garnered two awards this week for her performance against NKU. She was named to the NCAA Weekly Starting Five and also tabbed the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week. 
• It marks the second time in her career Thomas has been recognized with the NCAA's Weekly Starting Five award. She poured in 20 points and 18 rebounds against Xavier on Dec. 16, 2018 to claim the honor as a sophomore.
• A WBCA Honorable Mention All-American and unanimous First Team All-AAC selection last season, Thomas received AAC Player of the Week accolades three times and was a nine-time AAC Weekly Honor Roll recipient in 2019-20.  
• She also earned First Team All-AAC honors as a sophomore in 2018-19 and was tabbed AAC Freshman of the Year and a unanimous All-Freshman Team selection in 2017-18.
• SEASON-OPENER NUGGETS: With the win over NKU, UC improved to 27-23 all-time in season openers, having won all three during the Michelle Clark-Heard coaching era. 
• It marked UC's latest lid lifter in a season since dropping a 58-49 home decision to Rice on Nov. 25, 1994. 

SCOUTING FLORIDA

• Florida is one of four SEC teams to return four or more starters this season. The Gators finished 15-15 overall and ninth in the league at 6-10 in 2019-20. 
• Sophomore guard Lavender Briggs was named a Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection. She was UF's leading scorer last season (15.0 points) and was tabbed to the SEC All-Freshmen Team in 2019-20. 
• Kiara "KiKi" Smith leads the Gators in scoring through three games this season, averaging 16.3 points while shooting 52.6 percent (20 of 38) from the floor. 
• Smith, along with Briggs (14.0), Nina Rickards (13.0) and Danielle Rainey (10.7) are averaging double figures in scoring through three games. 
• Florida was picked to finish 10th in the league in a preseason vote of SEC media.