DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team is coming off its most successful non-conference season since joining the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 2011-12 and the Eagles will look to carry that momentum into league play that will begin with games at Morgan State University (Saturday, 2 p.m.) and Coppin State University (Monday, 5:30 p.m.).
NCCU WBB GAME NOTES No. 16/17: at Morgan State and Coppin State
GAME INFO
Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m., in Baltimore, Md.
NC Central at Morgan State
LIVE STATS;
WATCH;
LISTEN
Monday, Jan. 8 at 5:30 p.m., in Baltimore, Md.
NC Central at Coppin State
LIVE STATS;
WATCH
NC CENTRAL BASKETBALL
The Eagles are coming off a record-setting 108-39 home win over Virginia University of Lynchburg on Wednesday, marking the largest margin of victory (69) and points scored (108) in NCCU's modern era (since 2007-08). NC Central (6-9 Overall, 0-0 MEAC) – picked sixth out of eight team in the MEAC Preseason Poll after finishing seventh last season – already has more wins than last season and its six non-conference triumphs are the most since the Eagles joined the MEAC in 2011-12.
Freshman guard
Jerni Kiaku was named MEAC Rookie of the Week three times in non-conference play on the way to leading the maroon and gray in scoring with 11.5 points per game. Kiaku (8th) and junior
Kimeira Burks (10th; 11.2 PPG) both rank in the top-10 of the league in points per game. Burks tops the conference with 2.6 made 3-pointers per game and .424 3-point field goal percentage.
NCCU has three other scorers averaging over eight points per game in sophomore
Aniya Finger (9.4 PPG), sophomore
Morgan Callahan (8.9 PPG) and senior
Kira Lowery (8.4 PPG). Finger leads NCCU with 6.8 rebounds per game and three double-doubles. Lowery, NCCU's team MVP last season, is third in the MEAC with 3.1 assists per game. Junior
Blessing Okoh is filling up the stats sheet with averages of 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
The Eagles enter play leading the MEAC in points per game (68.0), steals per game (12.00), assists per game (13.07) and blocked shots per game (3.87).
NCCU has lost five straight against Morgan State, including scores of 79-63 (Durham) and 62-57 (Baltimore) last season. Lowery averaged 14.5 points per game against the Bears last year.
Against the other Eagle program in the league, NCCU has lost two consecutive games against Coppin State with both setbacks coming last season: 66-43 (Durham) and 84-61 (Baltimore).
MORGAN STATE BASKETBALL
The Bears have lost four straight games, including a narrow 65-62 road loss at Davidson on Wednesday, but are still just one of two teams to enter league play with winning non-conference records. Morgan State (7-6 Overall, 0-0 MEAC) are defending MEAC regular season co-champions were picked fourth in the conference preseason poll.
MSU returns three Preseason All-MEAC selections in senior guard Ja'Niah Henson (14.1 PPG, 2.8 SPG, 2.1 APG), fifth-year forward Taylor Addison (5.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG) and fifth-year forward Charlene Shepherd (12.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.2 SPG).
In the league, Henson is third in scoring and second in steals while Shepherd is sixth in scoring, fourth in rebounding and fourth in steals.
Senior forward Sunshine McCrae, a transfer from UNCW, has scored in double digits each of her last four games to increase her scoring to 7.8 points per game in her second season at Morgan State.
The Bears are 15-5 all-time against NCCU, including 14-5 in NCCU's modern era. McCalla averaged 11.5 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 steals per game in the season series sweep last season.
COPPIN STATE BASKETBALL
The CSU Eagles have lost four consecutive games, including two straight in overtime to Akron (85-76) and Kent State (72-69). Coppin State (3-12 Overall, 0-0 MEAC) – picked third in the MEAC preseason poll – will host South Carolina State in its league opener on Saturday before the two Eagle programs meet on Monday.
Junior guard Mossi Staples (14.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.8 SPG) and sophomore wing Jewel Watkins (14.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 SPG) are second and fourth in the MEAC in scoring, respectively. Staples and senior center Jalynda Salley (6.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 0.7 BPG) are both Preseason All-MEAC selections.
Sophomore Hope Evans has moved into a starting position this season and is third on the team with 8.3 points per game and fifth in the MEAC with 2.9 assists per game. Classmate Colleen Bucknor (6.6 PPG) is fourth in the MEAC with 7.2 rebounds per game.
Fifth-year guard Jaia Alexander, who started her collegiate career with stints at Clemson and Butler, is the reigning MEAC Player of the Year and 2022-23 MEAC Preseason Player of the Year. However, Alexander has not played this season yet.
Staples averaged 17.0 points per game in the 2022-23 season series sweep of NCCU as CSU improved to 10-6 all-time against NC Central. Watkins also scored 10 points in each of those two contests.
