Women's Basketball Hosts Xavier in Crosstown Shootout Sunday

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team hosts rival Xavier on Sunday for the Women's Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Tip-off between the Bearcats and Musketeers is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Fifth Third Arena.
 
// THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati is coming off a 76-52 triumph over Tennessee State on Friday in Fifth Third Arena.
• The Bearcats are 4-3 with their only losses coming to top-25 programs – No. 17 Louisville, No. 3 Colorado and No. 10 NC State (ranking at time of game).  
• Cincinnati debuted at No. 98 out of 360 NCAA DI teams in the initial NCAA Women's Basketball NET rankings of the 2023-24 season, released on Monday. It marked Cincinnati's highest ranking in the NET era. The Big 12 was the only women's basketball conference with all of its members in the top 100 of the initial NET rankings.
• Senior Jillian Hayes registered her third double-double of the season, 16th of her career, with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds on Friday. She has posted double-doubles in back-to-back games and sits fourth in the Big 12 in the category (3).
• Hayes is averaging 12.3 points and 8.9 rebounds and is shooting 53.6% from the field this season. She sits fifth in the Big 12 and 62nd nationally in rebounds per game (8.9).
• Freshmen Reagan Jackson (18 pts) and Brianna Byars (13 pts) combined for 31 points in Friday's win. It marked new season highs in points for the duo.
• Freshman Reagan Jackson, who made her first career start, led all scorers with a career-high 18 points on Friday. She went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. She ranks seventh in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.846).
• Reagan Jackson is averaging 13.7 points and 2.3 rebounds over the past three games. She is shooting 40.0% from the field (12-30), 50.0% from 3-pt range (6-12) and 91.7% from the charity stripe (11-12) during the stretch.
• Cincinnati has made 152 trips to the free throw line this season, making 111 of its attempts (.730). The Bearcats sit second in the Big 12 and 33rd nationally in free throws made per game (15.86).
• UC ranks 45th in the nation in three-point field goal defense, holding its opponents to 24.8% from behind the arc.
• Cincinnati will play 12 games against 10 programs that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats played four of those games - Louisville, Toledo, Colorado and NC State - in the first five contests.

 
// MILESTONE WATCH

• Senior Jillian Hayes is 28 points away from 1,000 in her career. She is looking to become the 30th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points.
• Hayes currently ranks fourth all-time at UC in career blocks with 107. She is 10 blocks away from a third-place tie with Anita Tersigni (1981-84) with 117.
• Hayes is also chasing top-10 marks in rebounds and free throws made. With 637 career boards, she is 37 away from a 10th-place tie with Joy Roberts (1980-83) with 674. She has made 267 free throws and needs 26 more to crack into UC's all-time top-10 list for the category (293).
• Senior Malea Williams is eighth all-time at UC in blocks with 70 in three seasons with the Bearcats. She has 72 total blocks in her career after recording two blocks during her freshman season at Louisville.

 
// SERIES HISTORY

• Cincinnati and Xavier will be meeting for the 45th time in history, with the Bearcats leading the all-time series 26-18.
• The rivalry is the fourth-longest in terms of total meetings in UC program history.
• The first-ever meeting between the two teams occurred on January 16, 1979, with Cincinnati defeating Xavier at home, 79-37.
• Both teams are led by new head coaches this season, Katrina Merriweather (UC) and Billi Chambers (XU).
• Katrina Merriweather went a perfect 5-0 vs. Xavier from 1997-02 (four as a student-athlete and one on staff as a graduate assistant).