TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's basketball team concludes the inaugural Atlantic Slam W on Sunday, taking on FGCU at 3 p.m. ET at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
THE RUNDOWN
- Cincinnati opened the inaugural Atlantic Slam W with a gritty 59-57 victory over Georgetown on Friday night in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Bearcats improve to 4-1 on the season, with a Sunday matchup against FGCU on deck at 3 p.m. ET.
- Fifth-year forward Jillian Hayes continued her dominant start to the 2024-25 season, tallying 28 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year and 27th of her career. Hayes shot 8-of-18 from the field and a career-best 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
- Freshman guard Chloe Mann finished in double figures for the second straight game, scoring a career-high 15 points while adding three steals and two assists. She is averaging 13.0 points over the last two games.
- Despite struggling offensively (20-67 FG), Cincinnati's defense carried the night. The Bearcats forced 25 turnovers, converting them into 27 points, while committing only six turnovers themselves. Cincinnati is committing 12.5 turnovers per game, the second fewest in the Big 12, which ranks 11th nationally.
- With the win, the Bearcats snapped a five-game losing streak to Georgetown, dating back to 2009.
- Hayes is averaging a double-double with 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds and is shooting 54.3% from the field this season. She sits second in the Big 12 in rebounding, third in scoring and ninth in field goal percentage. She is one of six Big 12 players to notch three games of 20-or-more points.
- Hayes has recorded four double-doubles in five games, which currently leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally.
- Hayes is second all-time in program history in blocked shots (133) and is third in rebounds (894).
- Redshirt junior Alliance Ndiba opened her Bearcat career with three consecutive games of 10+ rebounds. She is the first Bearcat to start a season with 10+ boards in three straight games since Loyre Harper in 1992-93. She ranks 11th in the conference in rebounding (7.6) and eighth in blocking (1.4).
- Hayes and Hylton combined for 40 points vs. Davidson. It marked the first time Cincinnati had two 20-point scorers in a game since Hayes (21 points) and Mya Jackson (24 points) vs. Toledo on Nov. 16, 2022.
- Toronto native Tineya Hylton set and matched her career high of 20 points in two of the first three games. She is averaging 12.8 points to go along with a team-best 4.4 assists per game this season.
- Among active career leaders in Division I, Hayes is third in FT made (432), 16th in rebounds (894) and 27th in doubles-doubles (27).
- Hayes and Ndiba are two of seven Big 12 players to have posted three-or-more games with 10+ boards.
- Cincinnati ranks second in the Big 12 in free throw percentage, shooting 76.5% from the charity stripe. The Bearcats are 4-0 when they make more free throws than their opponent.
- Cincinnati pulled down 50 rebounds vs. Delaware State. It marked the fourth game in the Merriweather era at Cincinnati with 50 rebounds or more. Across her career, Merriweather's teams have achieved this feat in 46 games.
- Head coach Katrina Merriweather announced the signing of five players on National Signing Day. The class is currently ranked No. 7 by ASGR Hoops, marking the highest-ranked class in program history.
A WIN WOULD...
- Give UC its best start since 2016-17, when they started the year 6-1
- Be Katrina Merriweather's 170th career win
MILESTONE WATCH
- Hayes is 10 blocks away from becoming UC's career blocked shots leader.
- Hayes is six rebounds from 900 in her career. She would be the third player in program history to reach the milestone.