DURHAM, N.C. — A trio of Eagles in sophomore
Morgan Callahan and juniors
Kimeira Burks and
Tippy Robertson will all be returning to their hometown area when the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team heads to the Windy City to play a non-conference road game at Chicago State University on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. EST (1 p.m. CST).
GAME INFO:
GAME NOTES No. 9 at Chicago State
at Chicago State
DATE: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. CST)
LOCATION: Jones Convocation Center, Chicago, Ill.
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NC CENTRAL BENCH:
The Eagles are coming off an 89-58 road setback at West Virginia University. NC Central (2-6 Overall) is still searching for its first road win of the season (0-4).
Two-time MEAC Rookie of the Week
Jerni Kiaku continues to be NCCU's leading scorer with an average of 10.5 points per game. The guard also tops the maroon and gray with 2.3 steals per game.
All three NCCU players connected to the Chicago area are contributing for the Eagles. Burks, who played her first two collegiate seasons at University of Illinois Chicago, ranks second on the team with 9.0 points per game while making a team-best 16 made 3-pointers over her first eight games at NCCU. Robertson is coming off a season-high, 12-point performance and is averaging 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Callahan is contributing 6.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Senior
Kira Lowery, NCCU's team MVP last season, has scored in double figures in two consecutive contests to increase her scoring average to 8.5 points per game. Lowery is NCCU's top play maker with 2.6 assists per game.
Sophomore
Aniya Finger and junior
Blessing Okoh lead the Eagles with averages of 6.3 and 5.1 rebounds per game, respectively, and they are both bucketing about eight points per game. Finger and Okoh also each average 1.3 blocks per contest.
NC Central has played Chicago State twice in program history, both of which came during NCCU's transition from NCAA Division II to the Division I ranks. The two teams are 1-1 against each other, with the home team prevailing both times. In the first meeting, CSU came away with the victory 68-47 on Jan. 10, 2009. One year later, NCCU avenged that loss with a 77-64 triumph on Feb. 20, 2010.
CHICAGO STATE BENCH:
The Cougars have lost their first nine games of the season, including a 115-57 road setback at Southern Illinois University in their last outing on Thursday. Chicago State (0-9) is just one of two DI institutions competing as full independents with no conference affiliation in 2022-23 (University of Hartford).
Senior Tae'lor Willard has a team-best scoring average of 12 points per game, but she has not played since the first three games of the season.
Senior guard Janiah Newell is supplying the Cougars with 11 points per game, scoring nearly a quarter of her points from the free throw line. Freshman center Josie Hill follows with 8.4 points per game while leading the team with 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Joining Newell and Hill as starters is CSU's first nine games are sophomore forward Taylor Norris (6.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and junior point guard Ana Haklicka (5.9 PPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG). Fifth-year guard Ahlea Myers has come off the bench in seven games to lead Chicago State with 14 made 3-pointers at a precise 42.4 percent accuracy for an average of 8.6 points per game.
