DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competition with a pair of home games when the Eagles host Howard University on Saturday, Jan. 6 (3 p.m.) and Norfolk State University on Monday, Jan. 8 (5:30 p.m.) inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.
GAME NOTES: NCCU vs. Howard (PDF)
GAME NOTES: NCCU vs. Norfolk State (PDF)
GAME INFO
Saturday, Jan. 6 at 3 p.m.
Howard at NC Central
Durham, N.C. (McDougald-McLendon Arena)
WATCH (NCCU Sports Network);
LIVE STATS;
TICKETS
Saturday, Jan. 8 at 5:30 p.m.
Norfolk State at NC Central
Durham, N.C. (McDougald-McLendon Arena)
WATCH (NCCU Sports Network);
LIVE STATS;
TICKETS
NCCU BENCH
The Eagles wrapped up a nine-game road swing with a narrow 65-59 loss at the University of Chattanooga on Wednesday. NC Central (5-9 Overall, 0-0 MEAC) was picked sixth in the MEAC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish poll after finishing fourth in the league standings last season. The Eagles are 3-0 at home this season.
NCCU enters conference play with the second and third leading scorers in the MEAC with senior guard
Kimeira Burks averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game and freshman guard
Kyla Bryant netting 13.6 points per contest. Burks tops the conference with 2.6 made 3-pointers per game and Bryant has reached double-digit points a team-best 11 times, including each of NCCU's last eight games. Those two backcourt playmakers also both rank in the top-10 of the MEAC in steals per game for an aggressive squad that tops the conference and ranks 15th nationally with an average of 22.86 forced turnovers per game.
The Eagles are the highest scoring team in the league (65.6 points per game). Junior forward
Morgan Callahan has scored 15 points in each of NCCU's last two games as she averages 11.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Senior guard
Tippy Robertson ranks second in the MEAC with 3.3 assists per game while chipping in 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. Freshman
Jada Tiggett supplies 8.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and a league-best 1.7 blocks per game, but she missed NCCU's last game.
NCCU and Howard split two games last season with the home team winning each time. After Howard won, 75-54, on Jan. 28, the Eagles secured a 56-51 triumph on Feb. 25. Burks scored a team-high 16 points in NCCU's win while junior
Aniya Finger, who has yet to play this season, contributed eight points and 17 rebounds.
The Eagles went 1-2 against Norfolk State last season, topping the Spartans in overtime in the first meeting (W, 73-68) before the Spartans won the next two times (79-67 and 81-59), including the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament.
HOWARD BENCH
The Bison picked up a 75-57 home win over American University on Saturday, Dec. 30. Howard (3-11 Overall, 0-0 MEAC) was picked second in the preseason poll this season after going 10-4 in league play last year and losing the championship game of the 2023 MEAC Tournament to Norfolk State.
Fifth-year guard Iyanna Warren, an All-MEAC honoree in 2022, has come back from injury to lead the Bison with 11.6 points and 2.5 assists per game. She leads the conference in total made free throws (50) and free throw percentage (79.4%) per the January 4 NCAA Statistics report.
Freshman guard Tyana Walker is second on the team in scoring with 9.5 points per game as Howard's top 3-point threat. Sophomore forward Nile Miller, an All-MEAC Rookie Team selection last season, chips in 7.1 points per game to go along with team-best averages of 5.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game.
Preseason MEAC Player of the Year Destiny Howell was announced out for the season due to injury just before the start of the regular season.
Howard holds an 14-3 all-time series lead on NCCU.
NORFOLK STATE BENCH
The Spartans tallied their third straight win, a 76-59 triumph at Longwood University on Sunday, Dec. 31. Norfolk State (10-4 Overall, 0-0 MEAC) is expected to repeat as the league champion per the preseason MEAC poll and the Spartans will open conference play at South Carolina State University on Saturday before visiting NCCU on Monday.
Redshirt junior point guard Diamond Johnson made her Spartan debut on Dec. 16 and has averaged 20.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 2.8 assists per game in her first four games with NSU. Johnson, who as made 12 3-pointers in those four games, transferred to Norfolk State after playing two seasons at NC State, where she earned All-ACC honors last season and ACC Sixth Player of the Year in 2022. As a rookie, Johnson was an All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers.
Junior forward Kierra Wheeler was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player in the 2023 MEAC Tournament that the Spartans won, and she ranks as the MEAC's top scorer at 18.8 points per game (Johnson does not qualify yet due to not enough games played). Wheeler has been named MEAC Player of the Week four times over the first eight weeks of this season and she also leads the conference in double-doubles (5), field goal percentage (53.2%) and rebounds per game (10.2 RPG).
Junior guard Niya Fields is just one of two Spartans to start all 14 games so far this season and she leads the MEAC with 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
