Cincinnati Hosts #11 Kansas State Saturday

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team hosts 11th-ranked Kansas State in its first-ever Big 12 game on Saturday inside Fifth Third Arena. Tip-off between the Bearcats and Wildcats is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
// THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati (8-3) takes a six-game winning streak into Saturday's conference opener. The Bearcats posted their best non-conference winning percentage (72.7%) in 15 years.
• UC is averaging 71.0 points and 46.5 rebounds and are +17.8 in rebounding margin during the win streak. Defensively, the Bearcats are holding their opponents to just 51.5 points and 34.3% shooting – 23% from 3-point range. 
• Senior Malea Williams tallied her second double-double in the last three games with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Cincinnati's 71-51 win over Siena on Dec. 21.
• Williams is averaging 11.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and is shooting 45.0% from the field (18-40) and 46.2% from 3 (6-13) over the last four games. She sits eighth in the Big 12 in blocks (1.09) and 15th in rebounding (6.8).
• Freshman Brianna Byars scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her first career double-double vs. Siena. It marked the sixth different Bearcat to lead the team in scoring this season.
• Junior post Clarissa Craig made her first appearance of the season vs. Siena after missing the first 10 games of the season. She made all four of her shot attempts and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
• Senior Jillian Hayes is averaging nearly a double-double with 12.4 points and 8.5 rebounds and is shooting 51.2% from the field this season. She sits sixth in the Big 12 and 75th nationally in rebounds per game (8.5).
• Cincinnati has made 251 trips to the free throw line this season, making 186 of its attempts (.741). The free throw percentage is good for fourth in the league and 82nd in the country.
• The Bearcats sit first in the Big 12 and 13th nationally in free throws made per game (16.91). UC is 8-1 when it makes more free throws than its opponent.
• Hayes is getting to the free throw line at a high rate, making the third-most foul shots in the Big 12 (47-65 FT). She sits sixth in the league and inside the top-100 nationally in free throw percentage (.839).
• UC ranks 17th in the nation in three-point field goal defense, holding its opponents to 24.1% from behind the arc.
• Cincinnati is 4-1 in games decided by 21 points or more. The Bearcats earned their largest margin of victory vs. Howard on Dec. 13 (+25). The four wins by 21 points or more are the most in a single season since the Bearcats had seven in 2019-20.
• The Bearcats are 7-0 when they outrebound their opponent. UC sits 17th in the country in offensive rebounds per game (16.3). Cincinnati pulled down a season-high 24 offensive boards vs. Tennessee State (Dec. 1), the most in a single game since the Bearcats had 31 at SEMO on Nov. 11, 2016.
• The Bearcats' 18-game conference slate features nine home contests inside Fifth Third Arena and eight game versus teams that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Cincinnati will face Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech for the first time in program history.

 
// A WIN WOULD...

• Be Cincinnati's seventh win in a row for its longest win streak since 2005-06
• Give Cincinnati its first-ever Big 12 win
• Complete an unbeaten December (6-0)
• Be Cincinnati's sixth straight home win
• Give Cincinnati its first ranked win since 2011
• Be Katrina Merriweather's 160th career win

 
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati hits the road for the first time in Big 12 action, traveling to West Virginia on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET in Morgantown, W.Va.