DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team will conclude its regular season at Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rival South Carolina State University on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
NCCU WBB GAME NOTES No. 29 at SCSU
GAME INFO
Thursday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m., in Orangeburg, S.C.
NC Central at South Carolina State
LIVE STATS;
WATCH
NC CENTRAL BASKETBALL
The Eagles went 1-1 in their last two home games last week, defeating Howard University (56-51) on Saturday before falling to regular season champions Norfolk State University (79-67) on Monday. NC Central (13-15 Overall, 7-6 MEAC) is locked into the fourth seed heading into the 2023 MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament in Norfolk, Virginia, next week and will play the fifth seed (TBD) on Thursday, March 9 at noon.
Junior guard
Kimeira Burks continues to rank seventh in the MEAC in scoring with a team-high 12.0 points per game while remaining the top perimeter shooter in the conference. Burks, who has been named MEAC Player of the Week three times this season, leads the league with her 2.7 made 3-pointer per game and her .378 three-point field goal percentage.
Freshman guard
Jerni Kiaku averages one point less than Burks, ranking 12th in the conference with 11.0 points per game. Kiaku is a six-time MEAC Rookie of the Week award winner this season.
NCCU's next four scorers in sophomore forward
Morgan Callahan (8.6 PPG), senior guard
Kira Lowery (8.1 PPG), sophomore forward
Aniya Finger (7.9 PPG) and junior forward
Tianna Carter (7.7 PPG) all average within one point of each other. Finger (6.8 RPG), Callahan (5.8 RPG) and Carter (5.5 RPG) are NCCU's top three rebounders. Finger is coming off her team-best fifth double-double of the season. Lowery, who plays over 30 minutes per game, ranks third in the MEAC with 3.3 assists per game.
The Eagles remain the highest scoring team in the MEAC (67.5 PPG) as the best shooting team in the conference (.396 FG%).
NC Central picked up a 72-55 home win over South Carolina State in the first meeting this season on Jan. 14. Kiaku scored a team-high 25 points for the Eagles while Burks netted 12 points. It was the second straight win for the Eagles over the Bulldogs.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE VOLLEYBALL
The Bulldogs have lost their last five games, including a narrow 60-55 home setback to Howard University in their last game on Monday. South Carolina State (3-25 Overall, 2-11 MEAC) will be the eighth seed in the MEAC Tournament next week.
Sophomore guard Nicole Gwynn is leading the Bulldogs in scoring for second straight season. Gwynn, who earned Third Team All-MEAC and MEAC All-Rookie honors last season, was a Preseason All-MEAC Second Team selection this season. Gwynn is averaging 11.1 points per game (11th MEAC) while also supplying 1.5 assists per game this campaign.
Sophomore guard Lovely Sonnier (9.1 PPG) and junior guard Nadia Reese (7.3 PPG) are SCSU's next two top scorers. Sonnier also ranks in the top-10 of the MEAC in three major statistical categories with averages of 8.2 rebounds (2nd), 0.8 blocks per game (5th) and 1.5 steals per game (10th).
Gwynn averaged 25 points per game in South Carolina State's two games against NCCU last season (1-1) and then she scored a team-high 18 points against the Eagles in the first meeting this season. The Bulldogs are 15-11 all-time against the Eagles.
