GAME NOTES
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University will attempt to knock off rival North Carolina A&T State University for a second time in six days when the two teams clash in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women's Basketball Championship at the Norfolk Scope Arena on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE | DIRECTIONS | TICKETS
Every game of the MEAC Tournament will be streamed on ESPN3 (via all WatchESPN platforms). NCCU will also be providing a free audio webcast of the game with NCCU Sports Network broadcaster Jonathan Duran on the air with the play-by-play. Fans can follow NCCU women's basketball all season by visiting
NCCUEaglePride.com and on social media at
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram.
GAME INFO
Tuesday, March 6 | 2:00 PM
#10 NCCU vs. #7 N.C. A&T
VIDEO (ESPN3) |
AUDIO |
STATS
No. 10 seed N.C. Central Women's Basketball
The Lady Eagles, who were picked to finish last in the MEAC preseason poll, finished three shots higher to earn the 10th seed. NCCU (8-20 Overall) won its last two games to produce its best league record of 7-9 since joining the MEAC in 2011-12.
Senior guard
Morgan Jones has scored 20-plus points game in each of NCCU's last three games. Jones was not voted all-conference this season despite ranking fourth in the MEAC in scoring at 13.7 points per game. She is the league's free throw shooter at 83.0-percent while and also ranks in the top-10 of the conference with 2.1 steals (5th) and 1.8 made three-pointers (6th) per game. Jones scored 20 points in her last game against the NCAT Aggies and a career-high 28 points, including her 1,000th point, in a win against Savannah State last Monday.
Sophomore
Dominique Adams and freshman
Jada Blow are NCCU's next top scorers at 6.5 and 6.3 points per game, respectively. Sophomore forward
Deja McCain adds 5.6 points and team-high 5.4 rebounds per game. Freshman
Paulina Afriyie pulls down 5.3 rebounds per contest, including a team-best 7.3 boards per MEAC game. Senior
Chantal Thomas is contributing a team-best 2.1 assists per game while sophomore
Rodneysha Martin is cashing in 5.8 points per game.
NCCU knocked off North Carolina A&T for the first time since 2002 on Thursday, holding on for a 58-54 triumph in Greensboro. The Lady Eagles held a double-digit lead with three minutes left, but had to hit a couple free throws in the final seconds to secure the win after the Aggies rallied with a late 13-2 run. Jones finished with 20 points, five steals and four assists; Martin added 10 points; and Afriyie yanked down a career-high 13 rebounds.
No. 7 seed North Carolina A&T Women's Basketball
The Aggies limp into postseason play after losing four of their last five games. North Carolina A&T (12-17 Overall, 8-8 MEAC) – the preseason favorites – are the seventh seed will be trying to successful defend their 2016 MEAC Championship title.
Senior guards Aliyah Kilpatrick and Dana Brown lead NCAT with 11.6 and 11.3 points per game, correspondingly. Kilpatrick also leads the Aggies with 3.0 assists per game while Brown tops the conference with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game. N.C. A&T has the second best rebounding margin in the MEAC (+3.1) and is led by freshman center Alexus Lessears, who ranks eighth in the league with 7.0 rebounds per game.
Michelle Fitzgerald, who is averaging just six points per game on the season, led the Aggies to the 24-point win (62-48) at NCCU in January with a game-high 17 points. Brown chipped in 11 points and Lessears secured 12 rebounds. In the second meeting, Brown and Kilpatrick paced NCAT with 13 points apiece and Lessears grabbed nine more boards.
