Bay Area’s Thomas draws big ‘oh!’ with 51point game
IImar’I Thomas was already one of the greatest basketball players in Bay Area history.
Now she’s staked her claim as perhaps the best in the history of the University of Cincinnati women’s program.
Thomas, The Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year in 201617 while at Sacred Heart Cathedral, scored a programrecord 51 points in a 7661 win over East Carolina on Wednesday, setting school and American Athletic Conference records along the way.
“It was extremely fun, we knew we needed this win,” Thomas said in a postgame interview. “I feel so blessed; there have been some great people who have come through here.”
One of them is Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson — nicknamed “the Big O” — who before Thomas was the only Bearcat, male or female, to score 50 points in a game (he did so six times).
Thomas, a 5foot10 senior, became the first woman in AAC history to reach the 50point mark, her 20 made field goals are school and conference records and her scoring outburst gave her 1,824 points in her career — making her the first player in school history with 1,800plus points and 800plus rebounds.
“I’m just so proud of her,” head coach Michelle ClarkHeard said. “At halftime we talked ... she had 20something at halftime and I said ‘you have to go for 50.’ Her teammates did a terrific job of getting her the ball.”
Thomas had 24 at halftime, added 14 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth, scoring her 50th and 51st points on free throws with 45 seconds to play.
She finished 20for27 from the field, made 11 of 13 free throws and had 12 rebounds, four assists and a steal.