# 2024–25 Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball team

The 2024–25 Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball team represents the University of Cincinnati during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bearcats, led by second-year head coach Katrina Merriweather and play their home games at the Fifth Third Arena as members of the Big 12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Bearcats finished the 2022–23 season 14–18, 5–13 in Big 12 play to finish in a 3 way for eleventh place. As a No. 11 seed in the Big 12 women's tournament they defeated UCF in the first round before losing to West Virginia. They received an at-large bid to the WNIT where they lost in the first round to Purdue Fort Wayne.

## Offseason
### Departures

Cincinnati Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Nia Clark | 1 | G | 5'9" | Graduate student | Indianapolis, IN | Graduated |
| Braylyn Milton | 5 | G | 5'11" | Junior | Charlotte, NC | Transferred to East Tennessee State |
| Ta'Ziah Jenks | 11 | G | 6'0" | Junior | Louisville, KY | Transferred to Florida Atlantic |
| Malea Williams | 22 | F | 6'4" | Senior | Georgetown, KY | Transferred to Florida State |
| Mya Jackson | 23 | G | 5'7" | Graduate student | Wilmington, OH | Graduated |
| Clarissa Craig | 42 | F/C | 6'3" | Junior | Cincinnati, OH | Transferred to New Mexico |

### Incoming

Cincinnati Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tineya Hylton | 2 | G | 5' 7" | Senior | Toronto, ON | Texas A&M |
| Daylee Dunn | 5 | G | 5'10" | Graduate student | Fresno, CA | Loyola Marymount |

#### Recruiting

There were no recruiting classing class of 2024.

#### Recruiting class of 2025

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Paige Whitted CG | Memphis, TN | Briarcrest Christian School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A | Oct 27, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Joya Crawford PG | Dyersburg, TN | Dyersburg | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A | Dec 12, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Darianna Alexander G | Cincinnati, OH | Purcell Marian | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 |||||||
| Kali Barrett SF | Bradenton, FL | Cardinal Mooney HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A | Jul 15, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: |||||||
| Caliyah DeVillasee PG | Owings Mills, MD | Our Lady of Good Counsel | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | N/A | Sep 19, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2024* 2:00 p.m. | | Thomas More | W 81–41 | | – | – | – | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 5, 2024* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 66–54 | 1–0 | 20 – Hylton | 11 – Hayes | 4 – Hylton | Credit Union 1 Arena (416) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 10, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Delaware State | W 83–46 | 2–0 | 30 – Hayes | 11 – Hayes | 6 – Hylton | Fifth Third Arena (1,115) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 13, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Davidson | W 68–50 | 3–0 | 20 – Tied | 11 – Ndiba | 6 – Hylton | Fifth Third Arena (822) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 18, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Seton Hall | L 68–69 | 3–1 | 16 – Hayes | 10 – Hayes | 4 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (903) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 22, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Georgetown Atlantic Slam W | W 59–57 | 4–1 | 28 – Hayes | 11 – Hayes | 2 – Tied | Eastlink Centre (902) Charlottetown, PE |
| November 24, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Slam W | L 52–59 | 4–2 | 20 – Hylton | 8 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Eastlink Centre (804) Charlottetown, PE |
| December 3, 2024* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | Central Connecticut | W 78–49 | 5–2 | 26 – Hayes | 10 – Hayes | 3 – Hylton | Fifth Third Arena (3,235) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 6, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Illinois | W 95–52 | 6–2 | 29 – R. Jackson | 10 – Hayes | 7 – Hylton | Fifth Third Arena (918) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 15, 2024* 1:00 p.m., FloSports | | at Xavier Crosstown Shootout | W 60–48 | 7–2 | 18 – Hayes | 16 – Hayes | 3 – R. Jackson | Cintas Center (2,519) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 18, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | W 67–64 | 8–2 | 16 – Hylton | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (1,210) Cincinnati, OH |
| Big 12 regular season |||||||||
| December 22, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 13 Kansas State | L 59–76 | 8–3 (0–1) | 13 – Mann | 7 – Ndiba | 4 – A. Jackson | Bramlage Coliseum (7,700) Manhattan, KS |
| January 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | BYU | W 72–63 | 9–3 (1–1) | 16 – Hayes | 13 – Hayes | 4 – A. Jackson | Fifth Third Arena (2,587) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 4, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 11 TCU | L 66–81 | 9–4 (1–2) | 20 – Hayes | 8 – Hayes | 4 – A. Jackson | Schollmaier Arena (3,627) Fort Worth, TX |
| January 8, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oklahoma State | L 48–64 | 9–5 (1–3) | 15 – A. Jackson | 8 – Hayes | 3 – Hylton | Fifth Third Arena (701) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UCF | W 68–58 | 10–5 (2–3) | 17 – Hylton | 8 – Hayes | 1 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (1,425) Orlando, FL |
| January 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Colorado | W 65–59 | 11–5 (3–3) | 27 – Hylton | 12 – Ndiba | 2 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (1,649) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 22, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arizona | L 62–72 | 11–6 (3–4) | 25 – Hylton | 13 – Hayes | 3 – Tied | McKale Center (6,371) Tucson, AZ |
| January 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arizona State | W 73–66 | 12–6 (4–4) | 25 – Hayes | 9 – Hayes | 5 – Mann | Desert Financial Arena (12,762) Tempe, AZ |
| January 29, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Houston | W 73–65 | 13–6 (5–4) | 21 – Hayes | 18 – Hayes | 2 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (1,495) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 2, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Baylor | L 59–98 | 13–7 (5–5) | 26 – Mann | 5 – Tied | 2 – R. Jackson | Foster Pavilion (3,897) Waco, TX |
| February 5, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Iowa State | L 52–72 | 13–8 (5–6) | 15 – R. Jackson | 6 – Hayes | 5 – A. Jackson | Fifth Third Arena (1,841) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 8, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas | W 78–74 $^{OT}$ | 14–8 (6–6) | 21 – Hylton | 9 – Hayes | 4 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (1,980) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 12, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 14 Kansas State | L 53–90 | 14–9 (6–7) | 15 – Hayes | 15 – Hayes | 3 – Mann | Fifth Third Arena (1,126) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 15, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 18 West Virginia | L 50–69 | 14–10 (6–8) | 20 – Hayes | 10 – Hayes | 2 – Hylton | WVU Coliseum (5,164) Morgantown, WV |
| February 19, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas Tech | W 59–56 | 15–10 (7–8) | 21 – Hylton | 11 – Hayes | 3 – Hylton | United Supermarkets Arena (3,920) Lubbock, TX |
| February 23, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Utah | L 65–92 | 15–11 (7–9) | 16 – Hylton | 5 – Tied | 4 – A. Jackson | Fifth Third Arena (2,015) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 26, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 21 Oklahoma State | L 64–74 | 15–12 (7–10) | 15 – Hayes | 11 – Hayes | 2 – Tied | Gallagher-Iba Arena (3,039) Stillwater, OK |
| March 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 18 West Virginia | L 69–85 | 15–13 (7–11) | 20 – Hayes | 8 – Hayes | 7 – R. Jackson | Fifth Third Arena (1,957) Cincinnati, OH |
| Big 12 Conference Tournament |||||||||
| March 5, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (15) Arizona State First Round | L 75–82 | 15–14 | 24 – R. Jackson | 9 – Hayes | 7 – Mann | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||