Feb. 3, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE GAME: The Lady Eagles of North Carolina Central women's basketball team are on the road after a two week rest. The Eagles take on former CIAA foe Fayetteville State (10-8). Opening tip-off is set for 7:00 P.M. NCCU (4-18). NCCU defeatd FSU back on Dec. 8, 2007 95-82 claiming their first victory of the season.

MEDIA COVERAGE: The Game will be aired in the Triangle area on WJRD 1410 AM. The Broadcast will also be available at nccueaglepride.com.

SERIES NOTE: The Lady Eagles will go for a season sweep of the Lady Broncos; FSU leads the series 40-21.

LAST TIMEOUT: The North Carolina Central University Lady Eagles defeated West Virginia Tech on Saturday with a 75-69 victory at home, to extend their home winning streak to four inside McLendon-McDougald Gym.

NCCU set the tone for the game early and managed to hold off a late surge by the Golden Bears to secure the victory. NCCU shot 45 percent from the field and hit 14-of-23 free throws for the game. The Golden Bears built an early first half advantage, going up 13-8 only to see the Lady Eagles LaVonna Hailey score back-to-back buckets for NCCU to cut the lead to one. Both teams went into intermission tied 29 all.

The second half was a close nip-and-tuck affair with NCCU holding a slight edge for almost the entire half. West Va. Tech made some runs, but each time the Lady Eagles had answers. The key down the stretch for NCCU was the ability to hit free throws in the final minutes. The Lady Eagles got a great game from Hailey, who led the team with a career-high 23 points, including 8-of-17 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line, and had season-high 12 assists for her first career double-double.

Latoya Bennett also had a strong game. Bennett poured in 13 points and snatched 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Teammates Jennifer Hukill and Tonia Roundtree also scored double figures with 13 and 11 point respectively. West Va. Tech was led by Shantrelle Matthews who poured in 15 points.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN, AND AGAIN: The Lady Eagles are on the road for majortity of the season. Since becoming a Division I Independent, NCCU will travel to Tennessee, Ohio, Flordia, Pennsylvania (twice), Georgia, Maryland (four times), West Virginia, and of course North Carolina.

LOOKING AT FAYETTVILLE STATE :

The Lady Broncos fall at home against Bowie State University, 87-76, Saturday evening in Capel Arena.

Fayetteville State took charge early, going up 7-2 in the opening three minutes. BSU recovered as time commenced and after scoring in transition off a FSU turnover; the Lady Bulldogs had their first lead 10-9. Bowie State held on to a slim lead for much of the period.

Junior guard Jamara McMillan put the Lady Broncos back in front (33-32) with a three pointer from the left corner with 5:08 remaining in the first half. Both teams were able to produce down the stretch, but BSU would go into the locker room at the half with a 41-40 lead. In the first half, the Lady Bulldogs outscored FSU in fast break points (18-4) and inside the paint (28-10). Bowie also managed to shoot 51.5 percent from the field in the initial period.

The contest was still a close knit battle in the second half. With 14:00 on the clock and both teams tied at 54, Bowie State ignited a 10-4 run that lasted for nearly five minutes. That scoring run created enough separation for the Lady Bulldogs to stay in command throughout. The match-up had eight ties and seven lead changes. For the game, Bowie State scored 56 points in the paint and 42 points in transition. BSU had five players conclude the contest in double figures, led by forward Allyson Swailes' game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds.

McMillan and senior guard Leticia Dickson were the Lady Broncos leading scorers with 17 points apiece. Senior guard Passion Phillips pitched in 12 points, two rebounds, and two steals.

The loss drops FSU to 13-8 overall this season and 10-3 in the CIAA. With the victory, Bowie State improves to 13-4 overall, 8-4 in the conference, and snap the Lady Broncos' six game winning streak.

LOOKING AT CENTRAL STATE: Game Date vs. NCCU Feb. 6, 2008 7 P.M.

When your opponent shoots 18 more free throws than you do and hits seven more than you shoot, you have 21 turnovers and let a 13 point lead evaporate late in the game you usually don't come out with a victory. However, the Lady Marauders were able to manage the win their first in three games and only their third in their last nine outings.

The Lady Marauders were whistled for 26 fouls which lead to the Lady Oaks going to the line for 33 free throws but they hit only 22 of them for a 66 percent shooting average. Meanwhile Oakland City was called for only 15 fouls and the Lady Marauders went to the line only 15 times but made the most of it by hitting 12 of their attempts. The Lady Marauders also hit 50 percent of their field goal attempts, 28 of 56. The Lady Oaks hit only 19 of 49 attempts for 38 percent shooting from the floor and they were five of 16 from beyond the arc. CSU attempted only four three pointers and did not hit any. The rebounding battle was just about even with CSU coming out on top 33 to 32. The Lady Marauders had 12 steals and three blocked shots.

CSU Freshman Brooklyn Morrow was a last minute addition to the starting lineup and made the most of it leading all scores with 20 points along with seven rebounds. Linda Ubadigbo had 10. Off the bench Ijeoma Ofomata contributed 13 points and Mahogany Wilson had 11.

Series Note: This is the First meeting between the two schools.

Opponents Quick Facts:

Name of School: Central State University

City/State/Zip: Wilberforce, OH 45384

Founded: 1887

Enrollment: 1440

Nickname: Lady Marauders

School Colors: Maroon & Gold

Arena/Gym Name: Beacom/Lewis Gymnasium

Capacity: 2,300

Affiliation: NCAA

Conference: NCAA Division II--Independent

President: John Garland '71 Esq.

Faculty Athletics Representative: William Hargraves

Athletics Director: Theresa A. Check, `74

Head Coach: Patricia Tramble

Alma Mater/Year: Central State `86

LOOKING AT LINCOLN: Game Date vs. NCCU Feb. 8, 2008 5:30 P.M.

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania and North Carolina Central University will participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Think Pink campaign to raiseboth money and awareness for the battle against breast cancer.The campaign will focus on games during the days of Feb. 8-17.

The visiting Eagles will wear pink uniforms while the host Lions will wear pink ribbons on their uniforms and pink T-shirts during their pregame warm-ups for the 5:30 p.m. contest at Manuel Rivero Hall on Friday February 8. The purpose of the Think Pink campaign is to increase the awareness of breast cancer and how it affects the community.

Series Note: This will be the second meeting between the two schools. These two schools met in the 1978-79 season where NCCU won 108-36. NCCU leads the series 1-0.

Opponents Quick Facts:

Location: Lincoln University, PA

Founded: 1854 (America's Oldest Historically Black College)

Enrollment: 2,456

Nickname: Lions

Colors: Lincoln Orange and Navy Blue

Arena: Manuel Rivero Hall

Capacity: 3,000

Affiliation: NCAA Division II (exploratory)

Conference: None (Lincoln competes as an Independent)

President: Dr. Ivory V. Nelson

Director of Athletics: Dr. Alfonso Scandrett, Jr.

SWA/Compliance: Natasha Wilson

Head Coach: Andy Haman