Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes (NC Central)
NORFOLK, Va. - NSU will look to snap a four-game losing streak as North Carolina Central comes to town Saturday in a non-conference matchup at 4 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall before hosting South Carolina State Monday at 6 p.m.
NSU has a 16-4 lead in the all-time series, although the Eagles have won the only two meetings between the teams since NSU moved to Division I in 1997-98. NSU also leads against S.C. State, 16-13.
Media Coverage: All of NSU's games from now until the end fo the season can be heard live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM. Click here for the link to the live audio feed. In addition, live stats can be found here and live video can be found here.
About NC Central: The Eagles will look to snap their seven-game losing streak, as they stand 2-15 overall in the final year before they join the MEAC full time.
Scoring for NC Central comes from Jori Nwachukwu and Chasidy Williams, who average 13.2 and 12.3 points per game, respectively, although Williams has not played the last three games. Nwachukwu and Williams also lead the team with 9.2 and 6.0 rebounds, while Williams also has a team-high 28 steals.
Shanise Blanks has a team-high 26 assists with 27 steals and ranks third with 7.0 points. The Eagles have been outscored by nearly 20 points a game and are shooting just 30.8 percent for the season, including 19.5 percent from 3-point land. The Eagles have also committed 125 more turnovers on the season, although they have made 88 more free throws than their opponents.
About S.C. State: The Bulldogs own a 6-8 record, including 2-2 in the MEAC, but dropped a pair of decisions last weekend at Morgan State and Coppin State.
Although the Bulldogs score 52.6 points a game, while giving up 58.4, they receive balanced scoring, with five players averaging 6 or more points a game. Whitney Wiley, at 10.2, leads the way. After missing the first eight games of the year, Fannie Goodwin ranks second with 8.2 points and leads the team with 5.5 rebounds.
The Bulldogs shoot just 35.4 percent overall, at the same time allowing opponents to hit 41.4 percent from the floor. S.C. State also has been outrebounded by more than six boards a game but has also committed more than 50 less turnovers on the season.
Last Time Out: NSU shot just 21.7 percent for the game as Howard handed the Spartans a 65-43 loss in the nation's capital last Monday. Batavia Owens posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while no other player had more than six points or six rebounds for NSU.
Howard was led by Tamoria Holmes with 22 points while Saadia Doyle stuff the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. The Bison hit 48.9 percent for the game, including a 4-of-9 effort from 3-point range.
Making a Statement: Batavia Owens announced she was back in a big way, earning her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds at Howard on Monday. After hitting double figures in scoring in the first four games of the year, Owens reached the 10-point plateau just once in the next nine contests before her performance against the Bison.
Daily's Big Day: Sarah Daily has given NSU another valuable scoring option, highlighted by her 23-point night against FAMU on Jan. 10. She shot 8-of-16 from the floor, 6-of-7 from the foul line and added six rebounds. She also displayed her strength and toughness, adding several baskets on strong drives to the net. She tallied 16.0 points per game over a three-game stretch.
Long Providing a Spark: Whitney Long has been a huge sparkplug for the NSU offense, as she tallied 17.7 points per game over a recent six game stretch from Dec. 15-Jan. 10. She had three games of 20+ points and shot just over 50 percent during that time. On the season she ranks seventh in the conference with 11.8 points per game as well as eighth in field goal percentage (41.8) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (44.2).
On Fire From Long Range: How good has Whitney Long been from long range? Her 44.2 percent clip from beyond the arc for the season would rank 16th in the nation, but Long hasn't made enough 3-pointers to be ranked, tallying 19 in 14 games.
Already Surpassed Last Year: With a 6-8 record, NSU has already surpassed the number of wins from the previous two seasons combined. A seventh win will mark the most victories since the 2005-06 campaign, when NSU record eight victories on the year.
Leading the MEAC: Heading into the weekend, NSU was tops in the conference in field goal percentage (40.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (33.8) and second in rebounding margin (+0.2) and assists (11.2). NSU has hit for 40 percent or better in four of the last seven games and in eight games this year. The Spartans are the only team in the conference hitting above 40 percent.
Balanced Scoring: NSU is one of two schools in the MEAC along with Hampton to have at least three players average 9.0 or more points per game.
Gordon Stepping Up: Freshman Rachel Gordon has stepped up over the last several games and currently ranks sixth in the MEAC in blocked shots (0.8), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.8) and 10th in overall rebounds (6.5).
Mixing It Up: NSU has used a number of different combinations on the floor throughout the season. The Spartans have had nine different starting lineups, and nine players are averaging at least 12 minutes a game.
Telltale Signs: NSU is 6-1 on the season when leading at halftime but 0-7 when trailing. The Spartans are also 5-1 when winning the rebound battle.
Increased Production: After Batavia Owens averaged 4.9 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last year, the coaches stated they needed her to be a consistent performer this year. So far the sophomore has posted 7.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Owning the Glass: After getting outrebounded by 7.5 boards a game last year, NSU has been more steady on the board this year and owns a +0.4 rebounding margin.
What Lies Ahead: NSU heads to Baltimore to face Morgan State Jan. 29 for a 3 p.m. start.
