Congrats to Antoinette Miller and IImar’I Thomas racking up another award. These young women had a great season and are getting deserved love.
Per GoBearcats:
For only the second and third time in program history, members of the University of Cincinnati women’s basketball program has been named All-Americans as both Antoinette Miller and IImar’I Thomas have been selected to the 2020 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Honorable Mention list. Prior to their selections, the only other member of the program to earn All-America accolades came in 2003 when Debbie Merrill also earned honorable mention.
// HISTORIC SELECTIONS
The honors earned for the Bearcats are their first of their careers and their second major awards garnered this year from the WBCA as both were named WBCA All-Region honorees last week. Along with Merrill, the three individuals are the only players in program history to earn regional and national accolades from the Association.
// ELITE COMPANY
With her honor today, Thomas continued to add join Merrill in elite company. In 2003, both earned all-conference first-team honors before the WBCA named them both all-region and All-America honorable mention. To add to it, both opened their careers being named as the freshman of the year in their respective leagues with Merrill earning the award in 2002 in Conference USA while Thomas was named the AAC’s top rookie in 2018.
// SEASON REVIEW: THOMAS
The 2019-20 season was big for Thomas as the junior joined the program’s 1,000-point club and ranked among the top scorers in the AAC all season. Thomas finished the year averaging 18.6 points per game and pulled down 7.8 rebounds while also averaging 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per contest. An AAC All-Conference Second Team selection in the preseason, Thomas’ play was noticed by all league coaches during the season as she was a unanimous selection to the AAC All-Conference First Team following the regular season. Thomas, a nine-time weekly award winner this year, including a three-time AAC Player of the Week, tallied eight double-doubles during the season and hit double figures in the scoring column in 24 of her 32 games played, including 12 games with 20 or more points scored, two of which saw her go for over 30. In the postseason, Thomas averaged 17.3 points and 5.7 rebounds to help UC take runner-up honors in the AAC Tournament where she was selected to the AAC All-Championship Team.
// SEASON REVIEW: MILLER
Miller’s senior season saw her continue to post improved numbers as the team’s floor general averaged 15.6 points per game while dishing out 4.4 assists per contest as well. The second of three Bearcats to reach 1,000 career points during the season, Miller entered and exited the season in similar fashion as she was named AAC All-Conference Second Team in both releases. A three-time selection to the AAC’s weekly Honor Roll during the season, Miller averaged over 34 minutes played in all three tournament games to help the Bearcats to a runner-up showing while making their first conference final appearance in 17 years. Miller tallied her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Ball State earlier in the season and nearly picked-up her second in the tournament opener with Memphis as she finished with 15 points and nine assists. All told, the senior scored in double figures in 20 of her 28 games played while scoring 20 or more in eight of those contests.
