TicketsKANSAS CITY, Mo. –- The No. 10 seed University of Cincinnati women's basketball team opens the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship with a first round matchup against No. 15 seed Arizona State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
THE RUNDOWN
THE RUNDOWN
- Cincinnati finished the regular season with a 15-13 overall record and a 7-11 mark in Big 12 play. They defeated Arizona State 73-66 earlier this season in Tempe.
- Fifth year forward Jillian Hayes was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team on Tuesday. She collects All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season after earning Honorable Mention recognition last year.
- Hayes, referred to as "the heartbeat" of the team by Coach Merriweather, leads the Bearcats in scoring (15.7), rebounding (9.5) and ranks second in blocks (22) and steals (43). Her 12 double-doubles rank second in the Big 12 and 34th nationally. She also sits second in the league in rebounding and 12th in scoring.
- Senior Tineya Hylton has scored in double figures in four straight games, averaging 15.8 points while shooting 44.9% from the field and 46.2% from deep during the stretch.
- Hylton leads the team in assists (66) and steals (46) while ranking second in scoring (13.4). In Big 12 play, 65.3% of her points (153 of 234) have come after halftime, and she has posted double figures in the second half six times.
- Hayes averaged 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 61.9% against two top-25 opponents last week. On Senior Day, Hayes — who has worn No. 20 her entire career — delivered a fitting 20-point performance for her 20th career 20-piece.
- Wednesday's game holds special meaning for A'riel Jackson, whose mother, Kym Hampton, played at Arizona State before a 15-year pro career. Hampton attended the teams' first meeting on Jan. 25.
- Cincinnati faced a tough final stretch, playing five of its last six games against teams that earned top-six tournament seeds. The Bearcats outscored their final two opponents by five in the second half (82-77). Coach Merriweather highlighted the progress after the WVU game, saying, "If you took the second half of the last two games and put them together, that would be the 40 minutes we wanted all season."
- Hayes holds program records for games played (142), career blocks (149) and free throws made (554) and attempted (797). She also ranks second in rebounds (1,111), fifth in steals (226) and sixth in scoring (1,739).
- Reagan Jackson has emerged as a third scoring option, averaging 11.6 points over the last eight games, finishing in double figures five times. She leads the team with 40 made 3-pointers and has hit at least one in eight straight games. She recorded a career-high seven assists against WVU and surpassed 500 career points.
- Cincinnati leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with 16.9 made free throws per game. The Bearcats have outscored opponents at the line in 20 games, going 14-6 in those contests, but have shot just 62% (31-of-50) over the last two games.
- With starting center Alliance Ndiba sidelined the last 10 games due to injury, a trio of sophomores has stepped up. Delaney Snyder has made six starts, Brianna Byars is averaging 6.8 rebounds over the last four games, and Ramiyah Byrd has nearly two blocks per game in that stretch, including a career-high four against West Virginia.
- The Bearcats are 13-1 when leading with five minutes to play and 10-1 when holding opponents to 59 points or fewer. Conversely, they are 2-12 when trailing with five minutes left and 2-7 when scoring 59 or fewer.
- Cincinnati is 12-4 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent but just 1-9 when losing the turnover battle.
- The Bearcats secured their best non-conference winning percentage (.800, 8-2) since the 2005-06 season (.909, 10-1).
- Cincinnati ranks No. 89 in the March 3 NET rankings, while Arizona State is No. 140.