Katrina Merriweather improved to 11-0 over Xavier following the Bearcats 60-48 victory this afternoon.

The Bearcats were led by Jillian Hayes, who finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Cincinnati native made it an emphasis to return the trophy back to Clifton in her final Crosstown Shootout.

"We came into practice yesterday and were surprised it said "Our city" on the scoreboard. I didn't know there's a Xavier, Ohio." Hayes told reporters. "We are the ones that wear Cincinnati across our chest, and we take a lot of pride in that."

The Bearcats rallied together despite shooting just 32% from the field, but they stuck together until the very end despite being on the ropes for the most of this game. A game in which Cincinnati dominated the glass 40-29 as Cincinnati's size and depth in the front court was too much for Xavier.

"Jillian does, what she does." said Xavier Head Coach Billi Chambers. "She is so physical, gets after the boards. We got her into foul trouble early and she didn't blink. You don't have a moment to blink this game moves to fast, and she got right back to the basics on the boards and knocking down jumpers. She is a hard matchup. She won the day."

The Rundown

Cincinnati found themselves in early trouble as Tineya Hylton and Jillian Hayes both found themselves in early foul trouble in the first quarter. However, the Bearcats offense was just ice cold out of the gate, as they started the game 1 for 10 before a Hayes jumper gave the Bearcats some juice.

Xavier had no answer for the Bearcats press early as Cincinnati created five turnovers in the first five minutes of this one. Although the Musketeers held a 11-6 lead over the Bearcats with 3:56 to go in the first quarter.

The Musketeers held a 12-11 lead over the Bearcats after the first quarter, despite being held without a field goal over the final for minutes of the first quarter. The Bearcats were able to overcome their early shooting struggles after Hayes scored six points in the final segment. Katrina Merriweather was quick to her bench and utilize the depth in the front court, as Delaney Schneider came in and made a huge impact immediately on the glass.

Cincinnati took their first lead of the game after Hylton found a slashing Ramiyah Byrd through traffic. Byrd, quickly following with another made layup, to extend the Bearcats lead to four, as the redshirt freshman was making an immediate impact in this one.

That would spark Cincinnati's offense as they quickly jumped out to a 22-14 lead after Jackson found Hayes for the and-1 inside. Cincinnati was able to open things up after Xavier's offense went ice cold for majority of the second quarter. However, shots started to fall in favor of the Musketeers over the final two minutes as they lid finally opened down the final stretch.

Cincinnati led Xavier 24-21 at the half, despite shooting just 29% from the field in the first half. However, the Bearcats were dominating the glass as they outrebounded the Musketeers 20-16, with seven of those belonging to Jillian Hayes. Xavier was led by Daniela Lopez, who led all scorers with nine points, while Hayes led the Bearcats with six.

Cincinnati found themselves in trouble yet again, after Hylton picked up two quick fouls to open the third quarter, forcing Merriweather to her bench early. Which, isn't ideal for Cincinnati as Hylton averages nearly 27 minutes per game, but Cincinnati was looking to rely on Jackson and Chloe Mann for key minutes in this contest.

Xavier would take a 36-32 lead over Cincinnati with 1:21 left in the third quarter following a Lopez made three. Cincinnati was forced to call timeout to stop the damage before the Musketeers could open this one up. Hayes followed suit with a huge three-point play to cut the Musketeers lead to three. just a few seconds later, Jackson forces a turnover and finishes on the other end, to make it a one-point game with :10 seconds left in the third quarter.

Cincinnati would take a 48-45 lead with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter, following a quick six-point run, highlighted by a huge segment from Hayes on both ends of the court. Things quickly started to click for Cincinnati, but Xavier wasn't shying away to say the least.

Cincinnati opened the floodgates over the final four minutes after Abby Holtman came in and knocked down her first shot of the game. A bucket that opened the flood gates for Cincinnati as the Bearcats ended the game on a 12-2 run to defeat the Musketeers 60-48.

Up Next

The Bearcats will host Marshall on Wednesday at 6:30 pm as they wrap up the non-conference slate.