MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 24 West Virginia University women's basketball team opens its 2023-24 Big 12 Conference home slate on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when the Mountaineers welcome Cincinnati to the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The matchup is the first of two straight home contests this week for the Mountaineers.
 
Tipoff against the Bearcats is set for 7 p.m. ET. The contest against UC will be broadcast live on the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WSZT-FM, with Andrew Caridi on the call.
 
Additionally, Wednesday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Nick Farrell and Meg Bulger on the call. Live stats and game notes will be available on WVUsports.com.
 
The contest will serve as 'Family and Youth Day' at the WVU Coliseum. Purchase a Family Day ticket package of four tickets and a $15 concession voucher for only $25. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive an exclusive fan banner.
 
WVU and Cincinnati are no strangers, after both competing against each other as members of the Big East Conference for seven seasons from 2006-12.
 
Wednesday's contest marks the 13th all-time meeting between WVU (12-0, 1-0 Big 12) and UC (8-4, 0-1 Big 12). West Virginia leads the all-time series 7-5 and holds a 4-3 advantage when playing in Morgantown. WVU is the winner of four straight meetings, last defeating the Bearcats on the road, 66-62, during the 2012 season.
 
Cincinnati's (8-4, 0-1 Big 12) closed out its non-conference schedule on a six-game win streak before dropping its first Big 12 contest, 66-41, to 11th-ranked Kansas State on Saturday. The Bearcats could not overcome a season-low 20% shooting performance.
 
The Bearcats' four losses this season have come against teams all ranked inside the AP Top-25 Poll, including No. 3 Colorado, No. 10 NC State, No. 11 Kansas State and No. 17 Louisville. The matchup against the Mountaineers marks UC's fifth game this season against a team ranked in the poll.
 
Cincinnati's roster features two players who are averaging double digits in scoring this season. UC's offensive attack is led by Jillian Hayes, who is averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game as Mya Jackson adds 10 points. Hayes nearly averages a double-double with 8.5 rebounds per game. The mark is the sixth-best in the conference.
 
Last time out, West Virginia opened conference play with a dominant, 85-60, road win over Kansas in Lawrence. WVU was led in scoring by sophomore guard Jordan Harrison, who tallied a WVU career-high 21 points. Redshirt junior forward Kyah Watson collected her fourth career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Junior guard JJ Quinerly (18.9), Harrison (14.3) and fifth-year senior guard Lauren Fields (10.3) pace WVU's offensive effort. The trio all average over 2.5 steals per contest. Quinerly's 3.3 steals per game is the best mark in the Big 12 and sits ninth-best nationally.
 
Harrison has racked up 71 assists this season and is averaging 5.9 per contest which is the 22nd-best mark in the nation and the third-best in the conference. Watson paces WVU in rebounding, with 6.2 boards per game.
 
Quinerly now has 939 career points and needs 61 more points to reach 1,000. She is seeking to become the 40th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
 
The Mountaineers sit at No. 24/25 in the Associated Press and Coaches Poll while they rank No. 21 in the NET Rankings.
 
West Virginia averages 14.9 steals per contest which is the best mark in the nation. Additionally, WVU forces 25.3 turnovers per game, the second most in the country. The Mountaineers add the second-best turnover margin in the country at 9.6 while the 29.2-win margin this season is the eighth-best mark in the nation.