Cincinnati- Tonight the Bearcats welcomed in the Memphis Tigers for their final home game of the 2021-2022 season, where they were honoring their three seniors, Nesma Khalifa, Arame Niang and student assistant coach Zenzele Apesemaka-Vital for their contributions to the Bearcats Woman’s basketball programs over the years.
The Memphis Tigers came into the night 14-10 on the season, (5-8 AAC), while the Bearcats were 10-15 on the season, (3-10 AAC). The Bearcats were looking to avenge their 66-54 loss at Memphis back on February 2nd. The Bearcats were looking to end the regular season with two big wins before heading into the conference tournament.
The starters for the Bearcats were Caitlyn Wilson, Jillian Hayes, Akira Levy, Sofia Gritzali and Arame Niang. Now for the Memphis Tigers starters, Madison Griggs, Emani Jefferson, Jamirah Shutes, Alana Davis and Tyler Frierson. The Bearcats got some great news as Braylyn Milton who went down late in the Bearcats 67-58 loss versus ECU on Saturday, after getting landed on diving for a loss ball, was participating in pregame warmups for the Bearcats, a great sign for coach Heard and the Bearcats.
How it happened- The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to start the game, behind a triple from Akira Levy, and a layup by Arame Niang, as the Bearcats were looking to set the tone here early at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats got off to a quick start as Niang started 3-of-3 from the field with a team high six points, as the Bearcats took a 18-10 lead to the 2nd quarter, as the Bearcats got off to a hot shooting start as they shot 62% from the field in the first quarter.
The Bearcats controlled the pace after an 8 point lead heading into the second quarter, the Bearcats knew they had to keep their foot on the gas. The Tigers had no answer for graduate student Arame Niang, as she was the x-factor for the Bearcats early, as the Bearcats found a way to dominate the paint early, as Niang went 6-of-7 with 12 points in the first 15 minutes of play. The Bearcats went cold thought the final 3 minutes of the first half allowing the Tigers to cut the Bearcats lead to 4 at the break, where they led 35-31, behind Arame Niang who had 12 points in the first half, as the Bearcats were dominating the paint and that was the x-factor during the first half of play.
After the Tigers cut the Bearcats lead to 4 heading into the break, the Bearcats knew they’d have to find a way to extend the lead back after battling back and forth to start the second half. A big time three from Caitlyn Wilson with 1 minute remaining in the 3rd quarter gave the Bearcats a 7-point lead heading to the 4th quarter where the Tigers were looking for a late push here at Fifth Third Arena.
Caitlyn Wilson hit two big time threes to help open this one back for the Bearcats, despite only shooting 2-of-5 from the field at the time, the two she did hit where two big threes to give the Bearcats some momentum down the stretch. The Bearcats kept their foot on the gas after consecutive baskets in transition gave them a 68-51 lead with 2 minutes remaining following a Arame Niang and 1.
The Bearcats would hold on to win this one 71-58 as the Bearcats set the tone early here tonight at Fifth Third Arena after a quick 7-0 start to the game the Bearcats never looked back. The Bearcats were led by graduate student Arame Niang who capped off her final game here at Fifth Third Arena with a game high 19 points, five rebounds, while shooting 8-of-11 from the field. Akira Levy also scored in double digits as she had a huge night after being held scoreless versus ECU on Sunday, as Levy finished with 13 points and 11 assists. Jillian Hayes also finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 4-of-7 from the field. Overall, the Bearcats controlled the tempo from the jump as they established the inside game early as coach Heard and the Bearcats were looking to find a way to get the ball in the paint where they outscored the Tigers 38-26 in tonight’s contest. The Bearcats also shot 51% from the field in tonight’s game while the Tigers shot just 29%, which was a huge stat to look back on as the Bearcats were taking some great shots and were finding a way to get points on the board quickly. The Bearcats continued to show why they are very hard to play here at Fifth Third Arena as they finished the season 9-7 on the season in home games, with wins over Memphis, Tulsa, UCF.
The Bearcats will be back in action this Saturday at 2 pm when they travel to Orlando, Florida where they will take on the University of Central Florida, for their final conference matchup of the season before they head to Fort Worth, Texas for the AAC Tournament.
