DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central returns home to the friendly confines of McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium to play two MEAC women's basketball games starting this weekend.

The Eagles will host Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday, Jan. 11, in their MEAC home opener at 2 p.m. Two days later, Delaware State comes to campus for an MEAC matchup on Monday, Jan. 13, at 5:30 p.m.

Both games will be livestreamed on ESPN+. Click HERE for live stats.

The Eagles (0-2 MEAC, 2-14 overall) are looking to win in familiar surroundings after two league losses in Baltimore, Md. The visiting Eagles pushed both Coppin State and Morgan State to the limit before falling in close contests. In their last game - an 84-79 loss to Morgan State on Tuesday - the Eagles nearly rallied from a fourth-period 10-point deficit in the final seconds. Aysia Hinton drilled a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to get the Eagles within three points but Morgan State canned two free throws with two seconds left to secure the victory.

Kyla Bryant, the MEAC Player of the Week, has been on a roll lately. She has averaged 20.2 points, 8.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and two steals in her last four contests, including a 22-point, 12-assist double-double outing against Morgan State. The sophomore guard flirted with a double-double against Furman (22 pts., 9 assists) and Coppin State (17 pts., 9 assists) in the previous two games before achieving the feat against Morgan State. The double-double was the second in the sophomore guard's promising career.

Bryant is tied for sixth in the MEAC in points per game (12.9) and third in assists per game (3.8). She also is the third-best free throw shooter (78.3) in the conference.

As a team, the Eagles are one of four squads averaging over 70 points (72.5) and 42 percent shooting (42.4) in conference games. In league play, Bryant has upped her average to 19.5 points and 10.5 assists in two games. She is part of an offensively-talented cast including graduate forward Morgan Callahan and freshman guard Shakiria Foster. Callahan is averaging 18 points per game and Foster is averaging 13.5 points in conference play. Callahan was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week and Foster was chosen MEAC Rookie of the Week on Monday.

Defensively, Callahan is snatching 9 rebounds per game and Foster is averaging 4.0 steals per game. Sophomore guard/forward Jada Tiggett is blocking two shots per game.

The Eagles will play a UMES team also seeking its first conference win this season. The Hawks (0-1 MEAC, 5-11 overall) dropped their league opener to Norfolk State 72-54 on the road last Saturday despite shooting 45.1 percent from the floor. Dakieran Turner led the Hawks with 11 points and eight rebounds and Ce'nara Skanes added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Overall, the Hawks are the league's  third-best shooting team (37.8 percent). They also play stingy defense, holding opponents to a league-best 36.9 percent shooting. Zamara Haynes is the Hawks' top scorer with a 12.1 average, and she leads the team in assists at 2.1 per game.

Delaware State (0-2 MEAC, 3-12 overall) is also winless in the conference as of Friday. The Hawks feature Kiarra MceIrath, who poured in 31 points and added four steals in a 74-66 loss to Howard last Saturday. Her 31 points are the third most by an individual in the MEAC this season, only topped by 32 points from teammate Mahogany Cottingham and Norfolk State's Diamond Johnson.

For the season, McIrath scores at 12.9 points a clip followed by Cottingham at 12.3. They are the top scorers on a Hawks' team averaging 53.9 points on 35 percent shooting overall. Defensively, Delaware State is giving up 71.5 points per game overall.

Despite the Hawks' defensive struggles, McKenzie Stewart is among the league's top rebounders at 8.2 per game.

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