UC's Katrina Merriweather on grittiness, love of the game and 'The Sisterhood'

Welcome to the Big 12 era for Arizona women’s basketball! Everything is new, from the style of play to the coaches, the players and the cities the Wildcats will visit. To get to know more about the league, the Star is taking a look at the new and the not-so-new opponents for the Wildcats. Next up is Cincinnati, Arizona’s opponent Wednesday.

Cincinnati’s Katrina Merriweather returned to coach at her alma mater last season. The Bearcats won 14 games and played in the Women's National Invitation Tournament last year. Prior to this role, Merriweather was at the helm of Memphis and Wright State for a total of seven years, collecting 151 wins. Her Bearcats are coming off a fourth-quarter 65-59 comeback win over Colorado on Saturday after being down by 12 points. Tineya Hylton, a senior guard, scored 18 (a perfect 5 for 5 from the field) of her career-high 27 points in the final frame to spark her team.

Installing a culture: “One of our biggest hashtags is 'The Sisterhood,' and we wanted to create an environment where kids could develop and be prepared to go (out into the world) but at the same time reconnect with alumni and the community and just create something that we felt like would bring everybody into one space where we could all support each other and empower each other.

“From a tradition standpoint, I think I could go with us praying before games. That has always been something that we do — actually, before practices, as well. We just ask for protection and our opponent, just trying to keep good vibes, good energy in our space. Everybody knows that our transition to the Big 12 (last season) was going to be a tough one, just changing leagues from a mid-major to a Power 5 (conference). We just always feel like if we can keep our space as positive as possible, and that gives us an opportunity to perform. I think that's probably our biggest tradition daily, is that we keep each other in prayer.”

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Bearcats style of play: “We refer to ourselves as being tough and gritty. We are a rebounding, defending driving team. A lot of our points come from offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities and at the free throw line. We would like to think that when we go on the road, sometimes it can be difficult shooting the ball well in different environments at different arenas. What we believe travels with us no matter what, is our effort and energy defensively and in our willingness to rebound the ball on both ends.”

The quintessential Bearcat: “You gotta love to play basketball. I think that what we're asking these young people to do is much different than what I did 25 years ago. There were less distractions. There were less options to distract you from being in the gym. I think that it's really important that we help them understand the importance of being committed, respecting the game, but when they love to play, then all the sacrifices can be worth it. But without loving to play the game, I think it could be more than any person could tolerate. During the process, we ask questions, ‘When did you fall in love with basketball? What made you decide that you wanted to play and what is it that you want your career to look like?’ When we start those conversations, I think that everything else falls in line. It means that they're going to care about academics because they know without academics they can't play. They care about being in the community, because they want people to come out and support them. And they learn the importance of giving back. I think that when you have players that simply love the game, there are a lot of things that that go in line with that.”

Why is Cincinnati special: “The people. I am in a very unique position to be able to come back and coach (at my) alma mater and there are some people that are still here. There are student-athletes during my time that work here like Maggie McKinley (UC’s Deputy AD and women’s sports administrator). I think knowing that this is a place where people don’t want to leave or they want to come back, says a lot for how the school is run. The important of putting the student first, the community. That despite having to stretch (the) entertainment dollar because we’ve got the Bengals — obviously, there are a lot of things to do here in Cincinnati — I think we draw well. I think people enjoy supporting UC Athletics. Whether it’s the people that work here or the people in the community, I think that what makes UC special is how engaged and involved so many people are in the success of our student-athletes.”