Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball gets early Big 12 lesson vs. No. 11 Kansas State

A promising start in the University of Cincinnati women's Big 12 opener took a second-quarter turn for the worse as No. 11 Kansas State showed why it has lost just one game, defeating the Bearcats, 66-41 Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.

The Wildcats pulled away by outscoring UC 40-10 in the second and third quarters, while Coach Katrina Merriweather's women did win the final period to narrow the deficit to 25.

Gabby Gregory led Kansas State with 17 points, 15 of those in the first half. UC was led by Loveland grad Jillian Hayes who just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. For UC's first-ever Big 12 basketball game there were 1,472 in attendance.

"When you're ranked you're going to get everybody's best shot, right?" Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie said. "We just need to make sure we're giving everybody our best shot. I think defensively, we did."

Fun while it lasted

The now 8-4 Bearcats twice had leads in the opening quarter, the last coming when Clarissa Craig hit a pair of free throws putting UC up 8-6. Kansas State's Gregory then canned a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats in front 11-8. At the first-quarter buzzer, UC's sophomore A'riel Jackson connected on a trifecta and the Bearcats were tied with the nationally-ranked Wildcats at 11.

The shots didn't fall in the 2nd quarter

Coach Mittie's Wildcats woke up in the second frame while UC struggled mightily from the field going just 1-for-16. UC was outscored 18-3 and went to the locker room down 15 at the half at 29-15. UC had held 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee, who averages nearly 21 points per game, to just one basket, but Gregory had as many points as Merriweather's entire team.

Lee would finish with just six points but did have eight rebounds. The smaller Bearcats did outrebound Kansas State 38-36.

"We did a great job of honing in on No. 50 (Lee) and not allowing her to dominate us in the paint," Merriweather said. "Like any good coach does, they pivoted and made some adjustments."

It was Lee's first game below double digits. She's had as many as 36 points in a game and 21 rebounds.

UC down 3 players

Timing wasn't perfect but UC played the game without guard Mya Jackson, 6-foot-4 center Destiny Thomas and guard Braylyn Milton who account for roughly 23 points per game when healthy. Milton had an illness, while Jackson and Thomas are recovering from previous injuries.

"Not having Braylyn Milton hurts us, not having another ballhandler hurts us," Merriweather said. "We just move the ball better when she's on the floor. We've been having a 'Next Woman Up' mentality all season. We've been rarely going in with all of the players that were eligible to play. That's what being a Bearcat is about. I don't know if it'll be pretty, but it will be gritty."

Defensive highlights

While the Wildcats won with ease, it wasn't one of the better-scoring games. Kansas State averages almost 79 per game and has twice surpassed the century mark in December vs. McNeese State and Oral Roberts. They scored 63 in a win over No. 18/17 North Carolina Nov. 25 and had 70 in their lone loss to No. 5/6 Iowa. To be fair, Kansas State coach Mittie had pulled most of his starters in the final frame. The Wildcats dominated UC in bench points 27-6.

"I didn't feel like we got in a lot of rhythm," Mittie said. "We just found stretches. Credit Cincinnati on that. They disrupted some things and we didn't handle it well at times."

Offensive woes

UC's point total was its lowest since scoring just 45 against No. 10 North Carolina State in their Virgin Islands tournament in November. Kansas State is the fourth top-25 team they have faced, following No. 17 Louisville and No. 3 (at the time) Colorado in addition to NC State.

"The sooner we get to putting 40 minutes together, the more success we'll have in this league," Merriweather said.

Embrace the Big 12 journey

Coming into Saturday, in addition to Kansas State's now 13-1 record, TCU, Baylor and West Virginia were all undefeated. No. 10 Baylor beat No. 5 Texas 85-79 Saturday for the first loss for the Longhorns. UC's reward after Saturday is a trip to Morgantown to face WVU on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.

"She (Merriweather) knows this already, but the league is very, very good," Mittie said. "Every single night is a battle. Buckle up because we have 17 more of these."

Said Merriweather, "The Big 12 is a gauntlet, we know that. We do feel like because of our height and our size and our athleticism it gives us an opportunity to compete but it's not going to allow us to win if we cannot execute on the offensive end."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcat women's hoops gets early Big 12 lesson from Kansas State