Recap: Big 12 Women's Hoops Media Day

The Big 12 once again had an outstanding setup to give the programs and universities within the conference a platform to promote the upcoming season.

All 16 universities were represented with eight being given 10 minutes on the ESPN set in the morning, and eight others in the afternoon.

Following the morning and afternoon sessions, all eight programs from each session gave media 30 minutes with the head coach and then 30 minutes with student-athletes.

Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, and West Virginia all received first place votes in the coaches poll, with Kansas State getting the nod as the favorite.

Utah (6th) and Arizona (7th) were the two highest ranked teams of the four new additions in the preseason poll. Four Big 12 teams were ranked in the top 16 of the preseason national poll. It is just the third time in poll history that the feat has been accomplished.

With four new additions, the conference tournament will feature a new format this season.

The top four finishing teams in the league’s regular season standings will receive a double bye into the quarterfinals while teams that finish the year fifth through eighth will receive one bye into the second round.

The Championship game will take place Sunday, March 9 on ESPN unless BYU advances to the final which would move the title game to Monday, March 10 on ESPN2.

Outlook for Cincinnati

Cincinnati Women's Basketball Head Coach Katrina Merriweather will try to build upon a 14-18 finish and WNIT appearance in year one as the new leader of the women's program.

The Bearcats were picked to finish 13th in the preseason coaches poll after last season's 5-13 showing in league play.

Despite the mixed bag of results and success, Coach Merriweather and her group are more prepared this season for the grind of a 20-game league schedule.

"I think it was a disappointing postseason for us but we did celebrate that we made it (to the postseason)," Merriweather told media on Tuesday. "It showed that we have some preparing to do in regards to preparing to have a long season and I think that we went into it this summer talking about that, mentioning that, and making sure that we show much better in the postseason."

There is a lot of momentum and optimism around the Cincinnati Women's program both on and off the court, with an alum and former Bearcat currently being the face of the program.

Off the court, the Bearcats 2025 recruiting class currently ranks as one of the best in the country with five players in the top 190 currently committed from the ASGR national rankings, including top-10 five-star Purcell Marian wing Dee Alexander.

Merriweather discussed some of that success and what can be attributed to it.

"I think moving to the Big 12 is huge," Merriweather noted. "Huge because it's a big stage with high level competition. It's just a saturation of every night, there's going to be all-conference players, every night there's going to be teams ranked in the top 25 in the country, so I think that's probably the bigger deal. I think the Jordan brand is still something matters (as well). That's just what kids are into."

Merriweather has also surrounded herself with an excellent staff.

The former Bearcat has had a staff member selected to the WBCA 30-under-30 list seven years straight. 

On the court, one of the biggest reasons for the optimism within the program is the return of 6-foot-1 fifth year senior Jillian Hayes.

Hayes started all 32 games for the Bearcats last season and led the team in points, rebounds, and steals per game. The Cincinnati native recorded 10 double-doubles for the second straight season and is currently ranked 3rd in UC history in blocks (127), 4th in free throws made (403), 5th in rebounds (844), 7th in rebounding average (7.4), 8th in steals (143) and is 14th on the scoring list with 1,299 career points.

More importantly, it is the leadership and belief in the program that sets Hayes apart from others.

"She believes in what we're doing," Merriweather explained. "She is a hometown girl who loves her city and her university. She wanted to be a part of something that was going to continue to grow and her coming back made it okay for other (players) to come back. It made it okay for (players) in the transfer portal like Tineya Hylton to join us and I think that she was the start of all of that and so Jill is the reason why we're going to have a chance to compete at a higher level this year."

Cincinnati welcomes four newcomers to the roster this season, including four-star Duncanville (TX) freshman point guard Chloe Mann, fifth-year Loyola-Marymount transfer Daylee Dunn, and redshirt-junior center Alliance Ndiba.

The other addition to that class was 5-foot-7 Texas A&M transfer point guard Tineya Hylton.

According to Merriweather, Hylton brings toughness and pace at both ends of the floor, but more importantly, her addition allows sophomores A'Riel Jackson and Reagan to be more effective on the wing for the Bearcats.

"Her being able to run the team and facilitate allows Ari and Reagan to knock down shots without worrying about having ball handling responsibility. It does the same thing for Chloe Mann. Having T is priceless and she was a necessary step for us taking a step forward.

A'Riel Jackson was the second leading scorer from last season's team after averaging 10.7 points per game during Big 12 play and scoring in double-figures in ten games.

Having Hylton on the floor with Jackson helps with spacing and will force the defense to make more decisions on how they defend the UC perimeter.

"When you have your most creative ball handle, someone who can make shots and create for themselves and their teammates, to add another person on the floor that can do that makes it hard on the defense. Now they have to make a decision and I think that 90% of the time people know that at the end of the shot clock, the ball was going to Ari and she was going to deliver. But I love that the stress is going to be off her, that we'll be able to be a little more personal in those moments."

One of the biggest adjustments for Merriweather from year one to year two, is having a better understanding of the different styles within the Big 12 and knowing how to attack those with the roster that was constructed during the off-season.

"I feel like it's a very skilled league but also feel like there's teams that are incredibly athletic that apply a lot of pressure, whether it's man or zone. You have to have this huge mix and I think the best thing that we can do is pick a style and marry our style to that."

When evaluating the roster, Merriweather stated ball handling and shooting as well as interior depth as the primary focuses in her staff's off-season additions.

The addition of 6-foot-3 Arizona Western (JUCO) forward Alliance Ndiba was important in that it allows Jillian Hayes to play less minutes at the five.

"(Jill) really needs to be at the four for us and the way we play," Merriweather said. "All three of (the transfers) were very important and they fit a specific role that we needed."

Fifth year senior and Loyola Marymount transfer Daylee Dunn is a two-sport athlete, who also competes in track. The transition from one sport to the other has paid dividends for Dunn during the off-season.

"She has incredible lateral movement and I talk about her offensively and her ability to shoot the ball, but if you saw her do a lane slide drill, it will blow your mind. Her quickness is unbelievable, which makes her a really good defender."

So what are expectations like for year two under Coach Merriweather?

"We hadn't been to the postseason in a really long time and last (year) was the first time we got to do that, which was incredible," senior forward Jillian Hayes explained. " It's just a standard now. We have to uphold that with every game."

Hayes is confident the experiences from year one will pay off in year two.

"Experience is everything in college basketball, regardless of the talent and competitive environment. Actually playing through it and through these really tough environments, packed arenas, definitely is going to give us more of an edge this year now that we already (experienced) that last year."

Cincinnati will play their first exhibition Sunday October 27th and open the regular season Tuesday, November 5th against UIC. 

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