Women's Basketball Plays at Memphis on Wednesday

CINCINNATI (3-12, 2-9 AAC) 
at  MEMPHIS (4-8, 2-5 AAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 10 // 7:30 p.m. ET
Elma Roane Fieldhouse // Memphis, Tenn.
SERIES INFO: 59th Meeting; Memphis leads 36-22 overall; Memphis leads 13-11 in Cincinnati;
Memphis leads 18-7 in Memphis; Memphis leads 5-3 at neutral sites 
LAST MEETING: Memphis won 61-52 on Jan. 20, 2021 in Cincinnati
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (49-33); 11th season overall (227-113)
Melissa McFerrin is in her 13th season at Memphis (193-197); 17th season overall (243-267)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); Memphis (--/--)
TV: ESPN+; Greg Gaston and Doc Holiday
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB or GoBearcatsWBB

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• IImar'I Thomas has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award, given annually to a women's basketball student-athlete who excels both on and off the court. 
• Thomas entered Tuesday ranked among the nation's leaders in minutes played per game (2nd at 38.9), points per game (15th at 22.2), free throws made (20th at 80) and field goals made (19th  at 124).
• Thomas enters this week needing 11 points to become only the third player in school history to eclipse 1,700 career points and 800 career rebounds along with Linda Norwell (1,799 points and 1,309 rebounds from 1974-77) and Bev Obringer (1,700 points and 977 rebounds from 1985-89).
• She also currently ranks among the school's best in career field goal percentage (first at .584), blocks (third at 116), rebounds (fourth at 815), points (eighth at 1,689) and rebound average (8th at 7.2). 

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (3-12, 2-9 American) travels to Memphis (4-8, 2-5) on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
• The Bearcats rallied but fell short at Tulane 61-59 on Sunday. IImar'I Thomas scored a game-high 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Caitlyn Wilson scored 20 points with six 3-pointers. 
• Memphis dropped a 67-53 home decision at East Carolina on Saturday. Dulcy Mendjiadeau tallied 20 points and 14 rebounds in the setback. 
• The Tigers topped the Bearcats 61-52 on Jan. 20 at Fifth Third Arena. Memphis leads the series 36-22 overall. 
• UP NEXT: UC returns home to welcome UCF on Saturday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

TOUTING THOMAS

• SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE: IImar'I Thomas has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award, given annually to a women's basketball student-athlete who excels both on and off the court. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
• NATIONAL NUMBERS: Thomas entered Tuesday ranked 15th in the nation in scoring at 22.2 points per game. Thomas also entered Tuesday ranked among the nation's leaders in: minutes played per game (2nd at 38.9), free throws made (20th at 80), field goals made (19th  at 124), free throws attempted (30th at 95), total points (25th at 333) and field goal percentage (40th at .530). 
• AAC NUMBERS: Thomas entered Tuesday ranked among the AAC leaders in 10 categories: scoring (1st at 22.2), field goal percentage (1st at .530), minutes played (1st at 38.9), free throw percentage (1st at .842), rebounds (3rd at 8.1), offensive rebounds (5th at 2.7), defensive rebounds (6th at 5.3), assists (9th at 3.4), assist-to-turnover ratio (10th at 1.6) and blocks (14th at 0.9).

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• WILSON SCORES 20 IN CONSECUTIVE GAMES: Caitlyn Wilson has made her first two career starts memorable ones. She hit five 3-pointers and tallying a career-high 23 points in UC's 69-53 home setback to Temple (2/3) then followed that up by making six 3-pointers and scoring 20 points at Tulane (2/6). 
• HAYES NAMED TO AAC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL: Freshman Jillian Hayes was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll last week. 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 (8.0), assists (2.0) and blocks (1.0) and third in rebounds (5.1) this season. She has scored in double figures in four of her last seven games. She posted a season-high 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting at Temple (1/13). 

SCOUTING MEMPHIS

• Memphis has posted a 1-1 mark and had another game postponed since it defeated UC 61-52 on Jan. 20. 
• Dulcy Mendjiadeu Fankam (15.3 points, 11.8 rebounds), Alana Davis (12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds) and Madison Griggs (8.4 points, 2.2 3-pointers per game) lead the Memphis attack.