GAME NOTES #6: N.C. Central at UNCW
DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team begins a season long six-game road swing with an in-state showdown at UNCW on Sunday at 2 p.m.
NCCU will be providing FREE live audio for the game in Trask Coliseum with
Mike Wood on the NCCU Sports Network providing the play-by-play. UNCW is providing live video and stats for Sunday's contest. Fans can follow NCCU women's basketball all season by visiting
NCCUEaglePride.com and on social media at
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram.
Game Info
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2 PM – N.C. Central at UNCW
Trask Coliseum, Wilmington, N.C.
WATCH |
LISTEN |
STATS
N.C. Central Women's Basketball
The Eagles are coming off a 68-51 home win against Johnson & Wales University. NCCU (2-3) is 0-2 on the road.
Junior guard
Rodneysha Martin was held to a season-low three points against the Wildcats due to foul trouble, but she continues to lead the Eagles with 14.0 points and 2.2 assists per game. Classmate
Jayla Calhoun joins Martin on the perimeter for 10.2 points per game. They both pull down 4.4 rebounds per contest and they both rank in the top five of the MEAC in free throw percentage at over 85% apiece.
Junior transfers
Sami Oliver-Alexander and
Caira Benton are coming off their best performances at NCCU yet. Oliver-Alexander scored a season-high 21 points, including four 3-pointers, to increase her average to 6.6 points per game. Benton posted her first double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) and is supplying 6.4 points and a team-best 4.8 rebounds per game.
The maroon and gray made 18 steals and nine blocks against JWU. On the season, Benton and freshman
Kieche White have picked up the most thefts for NCCU while Calhoun and sophomore
Paulina Afriyie have been swatting away the most opponents' shots. They all average over one steal or block per game in their respective specialties.
NCCU will play UNCW for the first time since a 59-45 loss in Wilmington on Nov. 28, 2012. The two teams will be meeting for only the second time since the Eagles joined the DI ranks in 2007. The Seahawks hold the all-time series edge, 4-3, after they split six contests between 1978-1984.
UNCW Women's Basketball
The Seahawks picked up an 83-67 home win against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on Wednesday. UNCW (4-3) is a perfect 4-0 at home.
UNCW has showcased balanced scoring with its top three scorers in forward Jenny DeGraaf (14.9 ppg), sophomore guard Lacey Suggs (14.6) and senior guard Madison Raque (13.9) all averaging within one point of each other. DeGraaf is an 81-percent free throw shooter that also leads the Seahawks with 7.4 rebounds per game. Suggs is firing at 54% from the field. Raque was UNCW's top scorer last season and has made a team-high 17 three-pointers in seven games.
Sophomore guard Timber Tate, who is averaging 8.4 points per game, is a third Seahawk swishing over one made 3-pointer per contest joing DeGraaf and Raque for a squad that is making seven shots per game from beyond the arc. Classmate Moriah Crisp chips in 6.1 points and team-best averages of 5.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
The Colonial Athletic Association member ranks in the top-50 of DI in total free throws made and attempted by drawing nearly 20 foul calls per game on its opponents. NCCU is committing 24 fouls per game.
