by CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team (1-0) pulled out a heart-stopping, 73-67, overtime comeback victory against Northern Kentucky in the season opener for both teams Wednesday inside Fifth Third Arena.
Seniors Iimar’i Thomas and Arame Niang had near-career days to help secure the win.
Thomas put up 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists. She was one point shy of matching a career high in points (35 vs. Houston on Jan. 22, 2020).
Thomas, the American Athletic Conference Co-Preseason Player of the Year, poured in 28 of her 34 points after intermission, including 13 points in overtime. She shot 14 of 23 from the floor after halftime, including a 3-pointer with 3:33 left in overtime that gave the Bearcats a 64-57 lead to lock up the win.
Niang scored 13 points against NKU (0-1) marking the fifth double-digit game of her career, the first as a Bearcat. The Western Kentucky transfer was 4 of 8 from the floor, made all five of her free throws, and had three assists and two steals in 27 minutes of play.
Redshirt-junior guard Addaya Moore and junior guard Milan Schimmel (Umatilla) tallied eight points each. Junior guard Destiny Haymer added seven points and game-high six assists.
Ally Niece led NKU with 17 points.
UC struggled in the first half, falling behind by as many as 13 points and trailed 27-15 at halftime. The Norse ended the first half on a 20-9 run.
But the Bearcats got the ball in the hands of Thomas more in the second half and slowly chipped away at the deficit. UC outscored the Norse 19-12 in the fourth quarter, grabbing their first lead since the game’s first few minutes on a free throw by Niang with 2:47 left in regulation. After a 3-pointer by NKU’s Grayson Rose, Thomas answered with a basket in the paint with 1:25 remaining to send the game into an extra period.
With the win, UC evens the all-time series with NKU at 10 games apiece. The Bearcats improve to 27-23 all-time in season openers, having won all three during the Michelle Clark-Heard coaching era.
UP NEXT
UC battles fifth-ranked Louisville Saturday at 2 p.m. ET inside Fifth Third Arena. The game will be broadcast by ESPN+.
