Tonight the Cincinnati Bearcats welcomed the Memphis Tigers to Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were without starting guard Destiny Haymer for tonights contest. The Bearcats got off to a great start as senior forward Ilmar’i Thomas was involved early finishing with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in the first quarter alone. They were up as big as 6 when they were leading 17-11. But, the 2nd quarter was all Tigers as they outscored the Bearcats 23-8 including a 9-0 run to start the 2nd quarter. Thomas lead the scoring for the Bearcats in the first half with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field with eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The freshman guard Jillian Hayes was behind her with five points, two rebounds and two assists.
The second half Memphis continued to push the Bearcats and maintain the lead after their big 23 point second quarter. The home team just couldn’t get over that big hump after allowing 23 points while scoring only 8 in the second quarter. That was a big factor in the game as that was a shift of momentum for the Tigers. The Bearcats shot 34% percent from the field in tonights contest. The leading scorers for the Bearcats tonight were Thomas as she finished with 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field. Thomas also finished with nine rebounds and eight assists. Thomas had six of those rebounds alone in the first quarter. The Tigers did a great job making sure Thomas didn’t get any rebounds after she destroyed the boards in the first quarter. The Bearcats second leading scorer was Hayes as she finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Sofia Gritzali also finished with eight points. The Bearcats just didn’t have it go there way tonight as they fell to 2-6 in the AAC and 3-9 overall.
The Bearcats will be back in action next Wednesday the 27th when the welcome the Wichita State Shockers. That game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ at 2 pm.
