NORFOLK, Va. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team enters the 2024 MEAC Basketball Tournament with its best seeding since joining the league as the third-seeded Eagles will play sixth-seed Delaware State University on ESPN+ in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14 at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES #30: No. 3 NCCU vs. No. 6 DSU
EVENT INFO
2024 MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament Central
Tickets
Bracket
GAME INFO
Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 14 at 2 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk Scope Arena)
No. 3 NC Central vs. No. 6 Delaware State
WATCH (ESPN+);
LIVE STATS
Semifinals – Friday, March 15 at 2 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk, Va.)
NCCU/DSU winner vs. #2 Howard /#7 Morgan State winner
Finals – Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk, Va.)
Championship Game with Opponents TBD
NC CENTRAL BENCH
The Eagles ended the regular season with a three-game win streak after defeating South Carolina State, 73-54, in their last game on Thursday. NC Central (15-14 Overall, 9-5 MEAC) posted its first winning regular season record since joining the MEAC in 2011-12 and its .643 winning percentage in league play is a new best as well over that time span.
Redshirt junior forward
Morgan Callahan and freshman guard
Kyla Bryant were named to the All-MEAC Second and Third Teams, respectively, as NCCU's top two scorers. Read
HERE for more information about their outstanding award-winning regular seasons.
The Eagles, who have played with less than 10 players in most games this season, enter postseason play on the healthier side of things and have a talented roster where any active player seems to have the ability to have a big game for the maroon and gray.
Seniors
Kimeira Burks (11.2 PPG),
Tippy Robertson (6.4 PPG) and
Kimia Carter (5.0 PPG) give NCCU a deep veteran backcourt that will be playing their last MEAC Tournament. Burks, who is third on the squad in scoring, still leads the conference with an average of 2.2 made 3-pointers per game. Robertson sits second in the league with 3.9 assists per game.
The frontcourt features a few underclassmen that add depth to Callahan's presence in the paint. Junior
Aniya Finger (8.8 PPG) is second on the team in rebounding while freshman
Jada Tiggett (5.4 PPG) leads the MEAC with 1.9 blocks per game.
Junior
Janiah Jones (5.9 PPG, 1.2 SPG), sophomore
Ray'ven Robinson (3.4 PPG, 2.3 APG), junior
Nijah Cunningham (4.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG) and redshirt junior
Sydney Avoletta (2.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG) all see action for an NCCU team that ranks second in the MEAC in points per game.
NC Central split a pair of games against Delaware State during the regular season with the road team winning each time. NCCU won the first meeting in Dover, 64-58, with Jones scoring a game-high 19 points and Bryant flirting with a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. Callahan led NCCU with 16 points and eight rebounds in the second meeting, but the Eagles committed 27 turnovers in the 75-64 overtime loss in Durham.
DELAWARE STATE BENCH
The Hornets head into the MEAC Tournament having lost three straight games, including its regular season finale, 73-63, at UMES on Thursday. Delaware State (8-19 Overall, 4-10 MEAC) is the sixth seed for a second straight postseason.
Junior forward Tyshonne Tollie leads DSU with 11.3 points per game, but has only played in one of DSU's last nine games (vs. NCCU on Feb. 26). Senior Ja'Naiah Perkins-Jackson also averages double digits on the season with 10.7 points per game, including a team best 11. 2 points per game in league play, to earn All-MEAC Third Team honors this season. Sophomore Savannah Brooks, a Preseason All-MEAC Second Team selection, is supplying 10.2 points per game. Graduate student Denijsha Wilson, who is a transfer from USC Upstate, is averaging 9.9 points per game.
Freshman McKenzie Stewart (7.4 RPG) and sophomore Naomi Zulueta (5.4 RPG) lead the Hornets on the backboards.
Perkins-Jackson netted 15 points in January's loss to NCCU while Wilson logged 10 points. Zulueta had a team-high 10 rebounds while Tollie just missed a double-double with nine boards. Tollie (16 points), Perkins-Jackson (15) and Wilson (10) all scored in double digits in the Hornets overtime triumph against the Eagles one month later. Zulueta tallied team-high totals of 10 rebounds and four steals in that win.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
