Women's Basketball Opens AAC Tournament Play vs Memphis

2021 AAC CHAMPIONSHIP // FIRST ROUND
NO. 10  MEMPHIS (4-14, 2-11 AAC)
vs  NO. 7  CINCINNATI (6-15, 5-12 AAC)
Monday, Mar. 8 // 5:30 p.m. ET
Dickies Arena // Fort Worth, Texas
SERIES INFO: 60th Meeting; Memphis leads 36-23 overall; Memphis leads 5-3 at neutral sites; 
Memphis leads 13-11 in Cincinnati; Memphis leads 18-8 in Memphis 
THIS SEASON'S MEETINGS: Memphis won 61-52 on Jan. 20, 2021 in Cincinnati; 
Cincinnati won 73-62 on Feb. 10, 2021 in Memphis
STREAK: Cincinnati - 1
COACHES: Michelle Clark-Heard is in her third season at Cincinnati (53-36); 11th season overall (231-116)
Michele Savage is in her first season as interim head coach at Memphis (0-2); eighth season overall (96-125)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS: Cincinnati (--/--); Memphis (--/--)
TV: ESPN+; Sam Gore and Christy Thomaskutty
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsWBB

GAME PREVIEW 

• Cincinnati (7-15, 5-12 American) earned the No. 7 seed in the 2021 American Championship and will face No. 10 seed Memphis (4-14, 2-12) in opening-round action Monday, Mar. 8, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
• The winner will play No. 2 seed UCF in the semifinals on Tuesday, Mar. 9, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 
• UC has won three consecutive games entering the tournament, including a 65-57 road win at Houston on Tuesday. IImar'I Thomas registered her fifth 30-point game of the season, pouring in 30 points and six assists. Caitlyn Wilson reached double figures for the eighth time in nine games, hitting four 3-pointers for 12 points. 
• Memphis enters the league tournament have lost its last seven games, including a 66-52 result at Temple on Thursday. Dulcy Mendjiadeu Fankam led the Tigers with 13 points and 14 rebounds. 
• Memphis owns a 36-23 lead in the series, including a 5-3 mark at neutral sites. UC is 2-0 against Memphis at the AAC Championship, including a 94-52 victory in the quarterfinals of last season's event.  
• UC and Memphis split a pair of meetings this season with the road team winning each time. Memphis claimed a 61-52 victory at Fifth Third Arena on Jan. 20 while UC earned a 73-62 win at Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Feb. 10. 

CINCINNATI HEADLINES

• IImar'I Thomas was named the AAC Player of the Year on Sunday. She received all 50 voting points from the league's coaches to earn unanimous First Team All-AAC honors. She becomes the first player in school history to earn first team all-conference honors three times (2019-21) and the first Bearcat named conference player of the year since Cheryl Cook (Metro Conference, 1984 and 1985). 
• Thomas ranks among the nation's Top 30 leaders in nine categories, including minutes played per game (2nd at 39.37), field goals made (4th at 195), total points (6th at 526), points per game (7th at 23.9) and free throws made (7th at 126). 
• She set a school and AAC record scoring 51 points to go with 12 rebounds at East Carolina (2/24). The point total is highest by a Division I men's or women's basketball player this season. 
• Jillian Hayes has been named to the AAC All-Freshmen Team. She enters the postseason ranked among AAC freshmen leaders in blocks (first at 1.1), defensive rebounds (first at 4.3), assists (third at 2.9) and minutes played (third at 32.5). 
• Caitlyn Wilson is averaging 15.6 points with a team-best 37 3-pointers over the past nine games. She ranks among AAC leaders in total 3-pointers made (1st at 45) and 3-pointers per game (1st at 2.5) and ranks fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (4th at .333).
• 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).

BEARCATS AT THE AAC TOURNAMENT

• Cincinnati recorded its best showing in AAC Championship history last year in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Bearcats defeated Memphis (94-52) in the quarterfinals and UCF (57-51) semifinals before falling to UConn (87-53) in the finals. It marked UC's first conference tournament championship game appearance since 2003 (Conference USA).  
• UC is 6-7 all-time in the AAC Championship. 
• UC is 2-2 in the first round, 3-2 in the quarterfinals, 1-2 in the semifinals and 0-1 in the finals of the event. 
• UC's record at the event by seeding follows: No. 3 (3-2); No. 4 (1-1); No. 7 (0-1); No. 8 (1-1), No. 9 (1-2). 
• UC's only conference tournament championship came in 2002 (Conference USA). 

THOMAS NAMED AAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Senior forward IImar'I Thomas was named the 2021 AAC Player of the Year on Sunday.
• Thomas received all 50 voting points from the league's coaches to earn unanimous First Team All-AAC honors.
• Thomas becomes the first player in school history to earn first team all-conference honors three times (2019-21) and the first Bearcat named conference player of the year since Cheryl Cook (Metro Conference, 1984 and 1985). 

HAYES NAMED TO AAC ALL-FRESHMEN TEAM

• Guard Jillian Hayes has been named to the AAC All-Freshmen Team by the league's coaches. 
• Hayes is the fourth UC player to be named to the AAC All-Freshmen Team, joining IImar'I Thomas (2018), Bianca Quisenberry (2014) and Anna Owens (2015).
• Hayes enters the postseason ranked among AAC freshmen leaders in blocks (first at 1.1), defensive rebounds (first at 4.3), assists (third at 2.9) and minutes played (third at 32.5). 
• Hayes, who has started 18 of 22 games for the Bearcats this season, averages 7.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals. She leads the team in steals and ranks third among active players in points, rebounds and blocks.

TOUTING THOMAS

• NATIONAL & AAC NUMBERS: Thomas entered the weekend ranked among the nation's Top 30 in nine categories for 2020-21, including minutes played per game (2nd at 39.37), field goals made (4th at 195), total points (6th at 526), points per game (7th at 23.9), free throws made (7th at 126), total minutes played (8th at 866), free throws attempted (14th at 154), field goal percentage (22nd at .545) and field goals attempted (29th at 358).
• The Oakland, California, native ranks atop all AAC players in 10 national categories, the nine listed above, as well as free throw percentage (81.8). She also ranked among the AAC's Top 10 leaders in rebounds (6th at 7.5), offensive rebounds (6th at 2.6), defensive rebounds (7th at 4.8), assists (7th at 3.5), blocks (9th at 1.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (10th at 1.5).     
• 51-POINT PERFORMANCE: Thomas set the UC women's basketball record and the AAC record for most points in a game when she poured in 51 points to go with 12 rebounds at East Carolina on Feb. 24. She went 20 of 27 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. The effort still stands as the most points in a Division I men's or women's basketball game this season. She joined Oscar Robertson as the only two player in UC history to score 50 or points in a game. Robertson accomplished the feat six times, the last coming via a school-record 62-point performance against North Texas in 1960.  
• With the outing, she becomes the only player in UC history to achieve 1,800 career points and 800 rebounds. 
• SCORING 30 OR MORE POINTS FIVE TIMES IN 20-21: Thomas has scored 30 or more points five times and 20 or more points on 18 occasions this season. She scored 23 or more points in each of UC's first nine games of the season. She has scored 22 or more points in seven of UC's last eight games. 
• Thomas scored 32 points, missing only four total shots against Marquette on Dec. 10, making 9 of 11 field goals and 14 of 16 free throws. She tallied 34 points in the season opener against Northern Kentucky and scored 30 points each in both matchups with Houston.
• 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.
• FOUR DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Thomas has registered four double-doubles this season: 24 points and 17 rebounds at Wichita State (1/2); 24 points and 12 rebounds vs. Tulsa (1/6); and 24 points and 12 rebounds (1/13); 51 points and 12 rebounds at East Carolina (2/24).  
• CHART CHASER: The name IImar'I Thomas is peppered throughout the UC record book and her climb up the charts has been a storyline during the 2020-21 campaign.
• Thomas enters the postseason ranked among UC's best in multiple categories: field goal percentage (1st at .583), blocks (2nd at 127), field goals made (2nd at 746), points (3rd at 1,882), rebounds (4th at 858) and rebound average (T8th at 7.1). 

BEARCATS TIP-INS

• HAYES HAVING NICE FRESHMAN SEASON: Guard Jillian Hayes was named to AAC All-Freshmen team on Sunday. 
• Hayes is the fourth UC player to be named to the AAC All-Freshmen Team, joining IImar'I Thomas (2018), Bianca Quisenberry (2014) and Anna Owens (2015). 
• She has started 18 of 22 games for the Bearcats this season, averages 7.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals. She leads the team in steals and ranks third among active players in points, rebounds and blocks. 
• Hayes enters the postseason ranked among AAC freshmen leaders in blocks (first at 1.1), defensive rebounds (first at 4.3), assists (third at 2.9) and minutes played (third at 32.5). Among all players in the league she ranks 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th in those categories, respectively. 
• Hayes was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after scoring a game-high 17 points with a pair of 3-pointers, four assists and two blocks against Wichita State on Jan. 27. 
• A solid performer for UC this season, Hayes has scored in double figures in seven games, including a career-high 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting at Temple on Jan. 13. The game prior she scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds against Tulane on Jan. 9. 
• WILSON STEPPING UP AS A STARTER: Caitlyn Wilson has made the most of moving into the starting lineup over the past nine games. She is averaging 15.6 points with a team-best 37 3-pointers during the stretch. 
• She has scored in double figures in eight of the nine games, scoring 20 or more points four times. She hit five 3-pointers and tallied a career-high 23 points vs Temple (2/3). She made six 3-pointers at Tulane (2/7), at Memphis (2/10) and at Tulsa (2/27).  
• She ranks among AAC leaders in total 3-pointers made (1st at 45), 3-pointers per game (1st at 2.5) and 3-point field goal percentage (4th at .333).
• AMONG AAC LEADERS (ALL GAMES): UC ranks among AAC team leaders in blocks (1st at 4.5), free throw percentage (1st at .714), assists (2nd at 15.0), field goal percentage (3rd at .412) and rebounding defense (4th at 36.1).
• AWAY FROM HOME: UC has played better away from home this season. The Bearcats are 6-5 overall away from Cincinnati, including a 6-3 mark in league road games. UC ended the regular-season winning three consecutive road games at East Carolina, Tulsa and Houston.