Women's Basketball Plays at No. 12 USF on Wednesday

CINCINNATI (4-13, 3-10 AAC) 
at USF (11-1, 8-0 AAC) 
Wednesday, Feb. 17 // 7 p.m. ET
Yuengling Center // Tampa, Fla.
SERIES INFO: 38th meeting; USF leads 20-17 overall; USF leads 11-6 in Tampa, Fla.; Series is tied 8-8 in Cincinnati;
Cincinnati leads 3-1 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: USF won 73-61 on Dec. 22, 2020 in Cincinnati
STREAK: USF - 1
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (50-34); 11th season overall (228-114)
Jose Fernandez is in his 21st season at USF (384-273); 21st season overall (384-273)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); USF (12/15)
TV: ESPN+; Jim Louk and Leah Secondo
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• IImar'I Thomas was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging a team-best 22.5 points while shooting 66.7 percent from the field (18 of 27) with 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in a 1-1 week for the Bearcats.
• Thomas became only the third player to eclipse 1,700 career points and 800 career rebounds when she scored 23 points against Memphis (2/10). She moved into fifth place on UC's all-time scoring list at 1,734 points after scoring 22 against UCF on Saturday.
• Thomas has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award, given to a women's basketball student-athlete who excels both on and off the court. She also was named a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Player of the Year award.
• Thomas enters the week ranked among the nation's Top 20 for minutes played per game (second at 39.1), field goals made (12th at 142) and points per game (13th at 22.2).
• 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.

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (4-13, 3-10 American) plays at No. 12 USF (11-1, 8-0) on Wednesday. Tipoff is  7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.  
• The Bearcats dropped a 70-51 home decision to UCF on Saturday. IImar'I Thomas moved into fifth place on UC's all-time scoring list following her 22-point effort. 
• USF pushed its win streak to a program-best 10 games Saturday, earning a 67-46 home win over Tulsa in the Bulls first game since Jan. 13. Sydni Harvey led USF in scoring with 14 points. 
• USF posted a 73-61 win at UC earlier this season on Dec. 22. Thomas scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Bearcats. Harvey led USF with 21 points. 
• USF leads the series 20-17 overall, including an 11-6 in Tampa, Florida.   
• UP NEXT: UC plays host to Houston on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Thomas and Addaya Moore will be honors during Senior Day ceremonies following the game. 

TOUTING THOMAS

• NATIONAL NUMBERS: Thomas enters the week ranked among the nation's best in several categories for 2020-21, including minutes played per game (2nd at 39.1), field goals made (12th at 142), points per game (13th at 22.2), total points (21st at 378), free throws made (22nd at 87), free throws attempted (25th at 107), and field goal percentage (28th at .544).
• AAC NUMBERS: Thomas lists among the AAC's leaders in 10 statistical categories entering the week, including points per game (first at 22.2), field goal percentage (first at .544), minutes played (first at 39.1), free throw percentage (second at .813), rebounds (fifth at 7.5), defensive rebounds (fifth at 5.1), offensive rebounds (seventh at 2.4), assists (seventh at 3.4), assist-to-turnover ratio (10th at 1.6) and blocks (14th at 0.9).
• MILESTONE MOMENTS: Thomas became only the third player in program history to achieve 1,700 career points and 800 rebounds when she scored 23 points at Memphis (2/10). She joins Linda Norwell (1,799 points and 1,309 rebounds from 1974-77) and Bev Obringer (1,700 points and 977 rebounds from 1985-89) on the elite list. 
• Thomas also moved into fifth place on UC's scoring list at 1,734 career points after scoring 22 against UCF (2/13). 

SCOUTING USF

• USF has won a school-record 10 games in a row and ranks No. 12 in the latest Associated Press poll.   
• Four players average double figures in scoring for the Bulls including Elena Tsineke (12.0), Bethy Mununga (10.9), Sydni Harvey (10.8) and Maria Alvarez (10.2).