Cincinnati Returns Home Wednesday vs. UCF

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team returns home for a Wednesday night contest against UCF. Tip-off between the Bearcats and Knights is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET in Fifth Third Arena.
 
// THE RUNDOWN

• Cincinnati (8-6, 0-3 Big 12) pulled with one early in the fourth quarter, before ultimately falling to Oklahoma, 77-64, on Saturday afternoon in Norman, Okla. The Bearcats could not overcome 23 turnovers in the loss, including seven in the decisive fourth quarter. Cincinnati is averaging 21.3 giveaways in conference play.
• Junior Clarissa Craig led the Bearcats with a season-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting vs. Oklahoma. It marked the seventh different Bearcat to lead the team in scoring this season.
• Redshirt junior Ta'Ziah Jenks is providing valuable minutes off the bench for the Bearcats. She is averaging 20.5 minutes, 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds over the last two games. She finished with nine points and a season-high six rebounds vs. Oklahoma.
• Senior Jillian Hayes is averaging nearly a double-double with 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds and is shooting 50.5% from the field this season. She sits sixth in the Big 12 and 77th nationally in rebounds per game (8.5). She has recorded five double-doubles this season, with the most recent coming against West Virginia on January 3 (18 points and 11 rebounds). Her five double-doubles are the fifth-most in the Big 12 and 49th-most in the country.   
• Hayes is six rebounds away from 700 in her career. She is looking to become the eighth player in program history to record 1,000+ points and 700+ rebounds for their career.
• Senior Malea Williams is averaging 9.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks and is shooting 41.5% from the field this season. She sits seventh in the Big 12 in blocks per game (1.2) and total blocks (17). She recorded a season-high four blocks at Oklahoma (Jan. 6). 
• Five Bearcats have missed at least one game this season due to injury. Two of the Bearcats' five starters have missed multiple games due to injury.
• The Bearcats are 7-3 when they outrebound their opponent. UC sits 21st in the country in offensive rebounds per game (15.4). The Bearcats have won the rebounding battle in all three of their Big 12 contests (+3.7).
• Cincinnati has made 314 trips to the free throw line this season, making 232 of its attempts (.739). The free throw percentage is good for third 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 (16.6). UC is 8-2 when it makes more free throws than its opponent.
• Hayes is getting to the free throw line at a high rate, making the second-most foul shots in the Big 12 (66-80 FT). She sits fifth in the league in free throw percentage (.825).
• UC ranks 17th in the nation in three-point field goal defense, holding its opponents to 24.9% from behind the arc.
• The Bearcats finished non-conference play with an 8-3 record for their best non-conference winning percentage (72.7%) in 15 years. UC won six consecutive games during the stretch for its longest win streak since 2019-20.

 
// A WIN WOULD...

• Give Cincinnati its first-ever Big 12 win
• Be Katrina Merriweather's 160th career win
• Snap a three-game losing streak to UCF

 
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati heads to Provo, Utah for a Saturday matchup against BYU. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.