ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team secured a 61-47 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) road win at South Carolina State University on Thursday, setting a new NCAA Division I era record for wins in a single season.
The Eagles never trailed in the contest to end the regular season with their 14th victory. NC Central (14-15 Overall, 8-6 MEAC) surpassed its previous best DI era wins record of 13 triumphs in the 2019-20 season, also under the leadership of head coach
Trisha Stafford-Odom.
Junior guard
Kimeira Burks and sophomore forward
Morgan Callahan led a balanced scoring night for the maroon and gray with 10 points apiece. Sophomore forward
Aniya Finger followed closely with nine points. Callahan and Finger both flirted with double-doubles as Finger pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds while Callahan corralled nine boards.
NCCU led 14-9 after the first quarter and 31-18 at halftime. The Bulldogs kept the second half a little closer and pulled within six points on two occasions early in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles finished the contest on a 13-5 run to complete the sweep of the season series.
Junior
Tippy Robertson recorded eight points and was NCCU's top playmaker with five assists. Senior
Kira Lowery was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the second half to account for her six points, which adding four assists. Freshman
Jerni Kiaku chipped in seven points and joined Finger with three steals apiece.
Sophomore Nicole Gwynn led SCSU (3-26, 2-12) with a game-high 17 points.
NC Central finished in the upper half of the MEAC standings. The Eagles, who were voted sixth in the MEAC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish poll, earned the fourth seed in the 2023 MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament and will play the fifth seed in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9 at noon in Norfolk, Virginia. The MEAC will announce full postseason pairing soon.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
