Great Week for Women’s Basketball, Bearcats Win Pair at Home

The Cincinnati Bearcats women’s basketball team had a fantastic week at home. They rolled off a pair of wins against Houston and Temple, improving their overall mark to 13-6 and their conference record to 4-2, which is good for third place.

On Wednesday evening, the Bearcats took it to the Houston Cougars from pillar to post. Cincinnati took control late in the first quarter, going on an 11-0 run to conclude the period. The Bearcats opened up a 47-31 by the half. Coach Michelle Clark-Heard was able to get everyone on the Bearcats’ roster action in the second half and enabled 10 players to score points.

Cincinnati shot an impressive .548 against the Cougars and dominated the boards 45-33. No one personified the Bearcats’ success against Houston (10-10 overall, 3-3 AAC) than junior forward I’lmari Thomas, who poured in 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

This was her career-high in scoring and her sixth double-double of the season. This performance offers further evidence of Thomas’ stature of one of the AAC’s top players.

Seniors Antoinette Millers, Angel Rizor (12 points), and Sam Rodgers (12 points) all reached double figures in the Houston game.

On Sunday, the Bearcats faced a much tougher challenge against Temple (12-8 overall, 4-3 AAC). Cincinnati opened up a nine-point lead on Temple in the second quarter, 36-27, but had to fight off a fiesty Owls team throughout the second half. The Bearcats again shot better than 50 percent but lost the battle on the boards 43-38.

Antoinette Miller led the way for Cincinnati with 21 points while Sam Rodgers posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Cincinnati returns to action on Thursday evening. They head to Storrs, Connecticut for a matchup with perennial national and AAC power UConn, who is currently ranked third in the nation,.

Check back with Down the Drive for full coverage of the Bearcats’ contest with the Huskies.