The Bearcats Women’s Basketball team traveled to Addition Finacial Arena to take on the very talented UCF basketball team. The Bearcats came into the game 3-7 and 2-4 in conference play. The Bearcats leading scorer IImar’I Thomas who was also 4th in scoring in all of college basketball with a 25.1 average was looking to get the Bearcats some momentum in conference play.
The Bearcats got off to a very slow start to begin the game as the UCF Knights started off with a 14-2 run to begin the game and the Bearcats were struggling to just make a shot. The Bearcats did get some momentum as a couple of big shots from Caitlyn Wilson and IImar’I Thomas and the Bearcats trailed 19-13 at the end of the first quarter. They were able to cut the lead to three from a Wilson three to start the second quarter, but they would not be able to get any momentum after that as they struggled from mid-range and found themselves behind 34-20 at the half. They were only able to score seven points in the quarter and that was a big cause because of the UCF tough defense. Wilson and Thomas both had eight points each and no one else could seem to find the basket. Would the Bearcats be able to build enough momentum to get back in the game?
The road team started the 3rd quarter how they finished the second they were very cold from the paint and just couldn’t get anything to go in. The Bearcats did not score until five minutes went by in the 3rd quarter and at this time were down 40-21. They were just trying to find some type of momentum in this game as they tried to feed their leading scorer, but she was getting double-teamed in the paint. The UCF defense was just too much to get any type of momentum going in the 3rd quarter. The Bearcats were able to get a couple of baskets at the end of the quarter though as they cut the lead 44-28 at the end of the third. Finally, the fourth quarter started and the Bearcats would try to fight back, but unfortunately just would not get the kind of shooting performance they would have liked to make a comeback. The Bearcats fell behind 49-28 with a little over six minutes left, the Knights had everything going for them defensively and in the shooting game. Overall, The Bearcats fought, but unfortunately just could not get things going. They fell 57-41 and dropped to 3-8 while falling to 2-5 in conference play.
IImar’I Thomas was the leading scorer with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, eight rebounds and two assists. Destiny Haymer had 10 points, two assists and a rebound and Caitlyn Wilson had eight points and a rebound after a quick start in the first half.
The Bearcats will be back at home on Wednesday to take on the Memphis Tigers on ESPN+. The Tigers have struggled also as they are 2-7 while not having a conference win this year so far. The Bearcats will look to put together some wins in hopes of getting back to the top of the conference.
