UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 3 seed Cincinnati erased an 11-point halftime deficit and stormed past No. 2 seed UCF 57-51 in the second semifinal of the 2020 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Bearcats advance to their first American final and face top-seeded UConn in the tournament championship game on Monday at 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2.
 
IImar’I Thomas paced all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking three shots for Cincinnati. Angel Rizor turned in 13 points and nine rebounds in the victory, and Antoinette Miller notched 12 points and five assists for the Bearcats. Kay Kay Wright and Brittney Smith scored 12 points apiece for UCF in the setback, and Masseny Kaba registered 10 points and eight rebounds for the Knights.
 
UCF enjoyed a solid stretch at the start of the first quarter by hitting four of its first seven attempts from the floor to open an 8-3 edge over Cincinnati. Smith connected on a jumper in the paint to push the Knights further ahead at 14-5. Cincinnati pulled the score back within six points at 17-11 at the end of the first quarter. UCF held the Bearcats to just one made field goal in six attempts by the second quarter media timeout to pull ahead at 29-16 after a Smith and-1. Miller drilled a 3-pointer in the final minute to close the Cincinnati gap to 11 at 36-25 at the half.
           
A UCF scoring drought and 7-3 run to open the third quarter for Cincinnati made it a 39-32 game midway through the third period. Florence Sifa went coast-to-coast with a Bearcat steal to trim the deficit to 39-34 out of the media timeout before a Rizor lay-in made it a three-point game (39-36). Thomas continued the run with a hoop in traffic and two free throws to vault Cincinnati in front 43-39. The Bearcats held the Knights scoreless for the final 7:49 of the quarter to maintain the four-point lead. Buckets from Thomas and Rizor and a Miller fastbreak layup to open the fourth quarter made it a 10-point Cincinnati advantage (49-39). Wright and UCF would not go away quietly, as a 3-pointer with 2:51 left brought the Knights within five (51-46). Sianni Martin picked up the hoop and harm to draw within one at 52-51 before Thomas spun in the lane and hit for Cincinnati (54-51) to cement the win.
 
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