DURHAM, N.C. — The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team returns to McDougald-McLendon Arena for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) showdown with Coppin State University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
GAME INFO:
GAME NOTES 12 vs. Coppin State
DATE: Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m.
LOCATION: McDougald-McLendon Arena, Durham, N.C.
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NC CENTRAL BENCH:
NCCU is coming off a 63-51 road loss to MEAC foe South Carolina State University on Saturday. The NCCU Eagles (1-10 Overall, 0-2 MEAC) remained winless on the road this season (0-9), but are 1-1 at home.
Senior guard
Necole Hope leads the team with 12.4 points per game, but has missed NCCU's first two league games to start the New Year. Freshman guard
Diamond Thomas is second on the team with 9.9 points per game, but she also missed the last contest at SCSU.
The forward duo of senior
Ashlyn Lockard and sophomore
Tianna Carter are both supplying an average of just under nine points per game. Carter tops NCCU and ranks fifth in the MEAC with 7.3 rebounds per game while Lockard follows Carter with 5.5 rebounds per game.
Junior
Kira Lowery has averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game against conference competition in her first season at NCCU. Lowery and freshman
Paris McBride top the NCCU Eagles with matching averages of 2.5 assists per game.
COPPIN STATE BENCH:
Coppin State opened up MEAC play with a narrow 67-65 road victory over its intracity archrival Morgan State University on Saturday. CSU (7-7 Overall, 1-0 MEAC) was picked sixth out of eight teams in the MEAC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish poll.
In her first season at CSU, senior guard Jaia Alexander has become the MEAC's top scorer with an average of 15.1 points per game. Alexander, who previously played at Clemson University and Butler University, also ranks highly in the league with a .764 free-throw shooting percentage (2nd), 7.4 rebounds per game (3rd) and 0.7 blocks per game (11th).
Junior guard Aliyah Lawson and junior center Jalynda Salley are both Preseason All-MEAC selections. Lawson, an All-MEAC Second Team selection last season, is pouring in 11.9 points per game and is tied atop the league lead in made 3-pointers with an average of 2.4 made treys per contest. Salley, an All-MEAC Third Team honoree last year, is netting 7.8 points per game and is tied with freshman teammate Colleen Bucknor with 6.0 rebounds per game.
Sophomore guard Mossi Staples gives Coppin State a third double-digit scorer with her average of 10.2 points per game. Staples is the reigning MEAC Co-Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 21 points against the Bears, including the final basket in the two-point victory, while leading the CSU Eagles with 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
SERIES:
The two teams will play for the first time in two seasons. CSU leads the all-time series 8-6, but NCCU has won the last four times. In the last meeting on Feb. 8, 2020, NC Central defeated Coppin State 58-44 in Baltimore. Lockard scored nine points for the victorious Eagles while Lawson bucketed a team-best 13 points for the losing Eagles.
