Women's Basketball Travels to Temple on Wednesday

CINCINNATI (2-7, 1-4 AAC)
at TEMPLE (4-3, 4-0 AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 13 // 3:30 p.m. ET
McGonigle Hall // Philadelphia, Pa.
SERIES INFO: 13th Meeting; Temple leads 7-5 overall and 5-2 in Philadelphia; UC leads 3-2 in Cincinnati
LAST SEASON'S MEETING: Cincinnati won 86-81 on Jan. 26, 2020 in Cincinnati
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (48-28); 11th season overall (226-108)
Tonya Cardoza is in her 13th season at Temple (231-165); 13th season overall (231-165)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); Temple (--/--)
TV: ESPN+; Kevin Copp and Nicki Jones
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB or GoBearcatsWBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (2-7, 1-4 AAC) travels to Philadelphia on Wednesday to face Temple (4-3, 4-0 AAC). Tipoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
• UC is coming off a 68-49 home setback to Tulane on Saturday. Jillian Hayes scored a career-high 16 points to go with eight rebounds to lead the Bearcats. Jadyn Scott added 10 points and seven rebounds. IImar'I Thomas added nine points. 
• Temple remained a perfect 4-0 in AAC play with a 61-58 home win over UCF on Saturday. Mia Davis led the way with 19 points while Jasha Clinton tallied 17 points with five 3-pointers. 
• Temple owns a 7-5 advantage in the series with Cincinnati, including a 5-2 lead in Philadelphia.
• UP NEXT: The Bearcats play at UCF on Sunday at noon ET on ESPNU. 

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• Senior forward IImar'I Thomas continues to rank among the nation's leaders in multiple categories. Entering Sunday she ranked in the top 25 for field goals made (3rd at 85), points per game (6th at 25.1), minutes played per game (7th at 38.95), total points (9th at 226), free throws made (12th at 55), free throws attempted (16th at 66) and total minutes played (24th at 351).
• Thomas ranks among UC's greatest players all-time in field goal percentage (1st at .591), blocks (3rd at 111), rebounds (4th at 766), points (8th at 1,582) and rebound average (T8th at 7.1).  
• Since the start of league play, Jillian Hayes ranks second on the team in scoring (8.0) and rebounding (6.0).  Hayes posted a career-high 16 points with eight rebounds vs. Tulane (1/9). 
• 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 in program history. She is also the first coach in UC history to record 20-win seasons in each of her first two season on the job. 

TOUTING THOMAS

• NATIONAL NUMBERS: Thomas entered Sunday ranked sixth in the nation in scoring at 25.1 points per game.
• Thomas also entered Sunday ranked among the nation's leaders in seven categories: field goals made (3rd at 85), points per game (6th at 25.1), minutes played per game (7th at 38.95), total points (9th at 226), free throws made (12th at 55), free throws attempted (16th at 66) and total minutes played (24th at 351).
• AAC NUMBERS: Thomas enters the week ranked among the AAC leaders in nine categories: scoring (1st at 25.1), field goal percentage (1st at .552), minutes played (1st at 38.9), free throw percentage (1st at .833), rebounds (T5th at 8.0), defensive rebounds (6th at 5.3), assists (9th at 3.2), offensive rebounds (7th at 2.7) and blocks (T11th at 1.0).
• CHART CHASER: The name IImar'I Thomas is peppered throughout the UC record book and her climb up the charts will be a storyline during the 2020-21 campaign.
• Thomas enters the 10th game of the season ranked among UC's best in multiple categories: field goal percentage (1st at .591), blocks (3rd at 111), rebounds (4th at 766), points (8th at 1,582) and rebound average (T8th at 7.1).

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• BLOCK PARTY: UC leads the AAC and ranks 49th in the nation in blocks, averaging 5.3 per game. UC's 42 blocks this season ranked 37th in the nation entering Sunday. Arame Niang (T4th at 1.3) and IImar'I Thomas (T11th at 1.0) rank among AAC leaders entering the week.
• Since the start of league play, Niang ranks second in the AAC, averaging 1.8 blocks. She has at least one block in seven of nine games this season. 
• Niang posted a career-high four blocks against Tulsa (1/6) while Thomas and Niang recorded three blocks each at Wichita State (1/2).   
• HAYES' IMPACT INCREASING: Since the start of league play, freshman Jillian Hayes ranks second on the team in scoring (8.0) and rebounding (6.0).  
• Hayes posted a career-high 16 points with eight rebounds against Tulane (1/9). She tallied 10 points and five rebounds against East Carolina (12/20). 
• She pulled down a season-best nine boards against Tulsa (1/6) and has grabbed at least four rebounds in eight of nine games this season. 
• In AAC games only, Hayes ranks among league leaders in defensive rebounds (8th at 5.0), rebounds per game (12th at 6.0) and minutes played (14th at 33.0).
• NIANG NUGGETS: Arame Niang ranks second on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game. She has scored in double figures four times this season, including a season-high 13 points against Northern Kentucky (11/25).
• Earlier this season, Niang recorded her second career double-double and the first as a Bearcat at Florida (12/5), posting 12 points and 13 rebounds. With Western Kentucky during the 2018-19 campaign, Niang tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds against Morgan State.
• JADYN SCOTT IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Jadyn Scott reached double figures in scoring for the second time this season, posting 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting to go with a season-best seven rebounds vs. Tulane (1/9). She tallied a season-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting against East Carolina (12/20).
• FIRST CAREER START: Sofia Gritzali registered her first collegiate start against Tulane (1/9), posting seven points to go with four rebounds and three steals. She enters the week ranked 10th in the AAC with a 1.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

SCOUTING TEMPLE

• Temple enters the week as one of only two undefeated AAC teams in league play. The Owls (4-0) are in second place in the conference standings behind USF (6-0).
• Mia Davis, the AAC Co-Preseason Player of the Year along with Cincinnati's IImar'I Thomas, nearly averages a double-double this season (21.2 points, 9.9 rebounds). 
• Alexa Williamson (10.6 points, 5.7 rebounds) and Jasha Clinton (10.3 points, 3.4 assists) also average double figures in scoring for Temple. 
• Asonah Alexander entered Sunday ranked 11th in the nation, averaging 6.1 assists.