Women's Basketball Travels to Tulane on Sunday

CINCINNATI (3-11, 2-8 AAC) 
at  TULANE (11-5, 7-4 AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 7 // 3 p.m. ET
Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse // New Orleans, La.
SERIES INFO: 36th Meeting; Cincinnati leads 18-17 overall; Tulane leads 9-6 in New Orleans;
UC leads 9-7 in Cincinnati and 3-2 at neutral sites;
LAST MEETING: Tulane won 68-49 on Jan, 9, 2021 in Cincinnati
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (49-32); 11th season overall (227-112)
Lisa Stockton is in her 27th season at Tulane (528-294); 30th season overall (591-320)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); Tulane (--/--)
TV: ESPN+; Daniel Sallerson and David Grubb
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB or GoBearcatsWBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (3-11, 2-8 American) travels to Tulane (11-5, 7-4) on Sunday, Feb. 7. Tipoff is 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
• The Bearcats dropped a 69-53 home decision to Temple on Wednesday. Caitlyn Wilson poured in a career-high 23 points with five 3-pointers in her first career start as a Bearcat. Arame Niang registered here second double-double of the season, contributing 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. 
• Tulane earned a 57-55 road win at Wichita State on Wednesday.  A trio of Green Wave players posted double figures in points, led by Jerkaila Jordan with 18.
• The Green Wave defeated the Bearcats 29 days ago in Cincinnati, posting a 68-49 win on Jan. 9. Krystal Freeman led Tulane with 18 points. Jillian Hayes led UC with 16 points and eight rebounds.  
• UP NEXT: UC plays at Memphis on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• IImar'I Thomas enters the weekend ranked among the nation's Top 30 leaders in six categories: minutes played per game (2nd at 38.9), points (12th at 23.1), free throws made (16th at 79), field goals made (16th at 79), free throws attempted (25th at 94) and total points (27th at 308).  
• The senior ranks among UC's all-time best in multiple categories: field goal percentage (1st at .583), blocks (3rd at 116), rebounds (4th at 809), points (8th at 1,664) and rebound average (8th at 7.2). 
• Freshman guard Jillian Hayes was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. She ranks second on the team in points (8.2) and third in rebounds (5.3), assists (1.9) and blocks (1.0) this season. She has scored in double figures in four of her last six games.
• Arame Niang has scored in double figures six times this season, including each of UC's last two games. She tallied her second double-double of the season vs. Temple (2/3) with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. 
• 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 seasons on the job.

TOUTING THOMAS

• NATIONAL NUMBERS: Thomas entered Friday ranked 18th in the nation in scoring at 22.0 points per game.
• Thomas also entered the weekend ranked among the nation's leaders in: minutes played per game (2nd at 38.9), free throws made (16th at 79), field goals made (22nd  at 113), free throws attempted (25th at 94), total points (27th at 308) and field goal percentage (44th at .523). 
• AAC NUMBERS: Thomas enters the weekend ranked among the AAC leaders in 10 categories: scoring (1st at 22.0), field goal percentage (1st at .523), minutes played (1st at 38.8), free throw percentage (2nd at .840), rebounds (3rd at 8.2), offensive rebounds (5th at 2.9), defensive rebounds (6th at 54), assist-to-turnover ratio (9th at 1.7), assists (9th at 3.3) and blocks (T10th 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 14th game of the season ranked among UC's best in multiple categories: field goal percentage (1st at .583), blocks (3rd at 116), rebounds (4th at 809), points (8th at 1,664) and rebound average (8th at 7.2).  

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• HAYES NAMED TO AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL: Freshman Jillian Hayes was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. 
• Hayes scored a game-high 17 points with a pair of 3-pointers, four assists and two blocks in UC's 60-52 setback to Wichita State (1/27).
• Hayes ranks second on the team in points (8.2) and third in rebounds (5.3), assists (1.9) and blocks (1.0) this season. She has scored in double figures in four of her last six games, averaging 12.0 points and 3.3 assists during the stretch. She posted a season-high 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting at Temple (1/13). 
• Since the start of league play, Hayes ranks among AAC leaders in minutes played (6th at 34.7), defensive rebounds (T8th at 4.7) and points (T25th at 9.6).
• WILSON GETS 23 IN FIRST START: Caitlyn Wilson made her first career start a fruitful one, hitting five 3-pointers and tallying a career-high 23 points in UC's 69-53 home setback to Temple (2/3). The effort marks the most 3-pointers by a Bearcat in a game this season. 
• NIANG NUGGETS: Arame Niang has scored in double figures six times this season, including each of UC's last two games. She tallied her second double-double of the season vs. Temple (2/3) with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. She posted a season-high 13 points against Wichita State (1/27) and Northern Kentucky (11/25). 
• BLOCK PARTY: UC ranks atop the AAC in blocks per game at 4.4. Arame Niang (7th at 1.1), IImar'I Thomas (T10th at 1.0) and Jillian Hayes (T10th at 1.0) rank among AAC leaders entering the weekend. 
• AMONG AAC LEADERS (ALL GAMES): UC also ranks among AAC team leaders in free throw percentage (3rd at .694), assist-to-turnover (6th at 0.7), field goal percentage (6th at .391) for all games. 

SCOUTING TULANE

• Tulane's roster features a trio of players averaging 12 or more points: Jerkaila Jordan (15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists), Krystal Freeman (13.7 points, 7.9 rebounds) and Arsula Clark (12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists). 
• Freeman (first team) and Clark (second team) received preseason recognition from AAC coaches. Freeman has led the Green Wave in points and rebounds each of the past two seasons.