DURHAM, N.C. — Senior guard
Kira Lowery will get a chance to play in her hometown when the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team plays a non-conference road game at University of Memphis on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST).
GAME INFO:
GAME NOTES No. 10 at Memphis
at Memphis
DATE: Thursday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST)
LOCATION: Elma Roane Fieldhouse, Memphis, Tenn.
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NC CENTRAL BENCH:
The Eagles are coming off their first road win since January 22 of last season with a 76-66 triumph at Chicago State University on Saturday. NCCU (3-6 Overall) has its most non-conference wins since the 2019-20 season.
Junior
Kimeira Burks scored 21 points for the second time this season in Saturday's road tilt against the Cougars to move into a tie for the team-lead in scoring with freshman
Jerni Kiaku. Burks and Kiaku are each averaging 10.3 points per game while they are both suppling around three rebounds, two assists and two steals per contest. Burks made five 3-pointers against Chicago State and she leads the maroon and gray with 21 made 3-pointers over the first nine games.
A trio of Eagles are all netting eight points per game in Lowery, sophomore
Morgan Callahan and sophomore
Aniya Finger. Lowery, NCCU's MVP last season, leads the Eagles with 2.7 assists per game. Callahan bucketed a career-high 19 points against CSU and Finger tops NCCU with 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest.
NCCU continues to rank in the top-10 of the nation out of 350 DI programs with 25.56 turnovers forced per game. The Eagles have seven players averaging at least one steal per contest.
In the only other meeting in program history, Memphis defeated NC Central 77-56 on Dec. 29, 2018.
MEMPHIS BENCH:
The Tigers have lost their last three games, including their last two outings to a pair of top-10 nationally ranked teams, to slip to .500 on the season. Memphis (4-4 Overall) lost 79-64 to No. 6/5 Indiana over Thanksgiving weekend and then dropped a 79-54 road matchup against top-ranked South Carolina this past Saturday.
Fifth-year guard Jamirah Shutes, an American Athletic Conference (AAC) Preseason All-Conference selection, leads the Tigers with 14.9 points. Shutes, who scored a team-high 18 points in Memphis' 21-point victory over NCCU her 2018-19 rookie season, has scored in double figures in all eight games this season.
Senior guard Madison Griggs is a second double-digit scorer for the Tigers. Griggs is netting an average of 12.5 points per game as she paces the squad with 22 made 3-pointers while firing from long range at an accurate .440 clip.
Junior Emani Jefferson is chipping in 9.3 points per game while leading the program with averages of 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game.
Memphis knows how to draw a foul as the Tigers rank fourth nationally with 27.50 free throw attempts per game.
