LADY EAGLES BASKETBALL HOSTS UNC ASHEVILLE ON WEDNESDAY

LADY EAGLES BASKETBALL HOSTS UNC ASHEVILLE ON WEDNESDAY
Ariel V. Germain 12/28/10

NCCU wraps up 2010 play at home

DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University (2-9) plays its final home game of 2010 on Wednesday, Dec. 29 when the Lady Eagles host the UNC Asheville Bulldogs (5-4) at 5:30 p.m. in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.

The Lady Eagles host Asheville following a challenging 71-39 loss to No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Sophomores Chasidy Williams and J’Mia Pollock gave NCCU is biggest fight in the paint and on the boards. Williams led with 10 points and Pollock grabbed eight rebounds. Lady Eagles senior Shanise Blanks amassed eight points in the loss, while fellow senior Jori Nwachukwu earned five points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

After trailing 20-0, NCCU outscored the Mountaineers 20-18 during the last 15 minutes of the first half. The Lady Eagles then trimmed the deficit to as little as 15 points before West Virginia pulled away for the victory.

The Bulldogs enter the contest after a 76-73 win over Mercer on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Kelli Riles scored tied a career-high with 22 points in the win, including a game-winning layup with 27 seconds on the clock. Asheville received 38 points from its bench, as Lindsey Montgomery amassed 20 points, and Grace Baylock set a new career-high with 18 points.

The maroon and grey and the mountain-based foes have met three times on the hardwood in 35 years, with the Bulldogs leading the series 2-1. In last season’s meeting on Jan. 22, the Lady Eagles fell 64-58 in Asheville, N.C. Three NCCU student-athletes scored in double-figures. Returners senior Blanks and junior Blaire Houston attributed to two of the performances. Blanks added 12 points to offense, with all 12 coming from long range. Houston earned 10 points, four of which she sunk from the charity stripe, while firing up the offensive effort with a season-high seven assists.

Seniors Chioma Okoli and Montgomery led the Bulldogs in almost every category in the six-point win. Okoli, who has only competed in one game this season, notched a double-double in last year’s win with a game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds. Montgomery, who is currently the Bulldog’s third-leading scorer this with 16.0 points per game, also earned a double-double during last season’s contest with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

This season, Nwachukwu paces the Lady Eagles in scoring (13.2 ppg), boards (8.0 ppg), and blocks (12). Williams follows Nwachukwu with 11.9 points per game, leads in steals with 21and is the second-leading rebounder at 5.6 per contest. Houston and Blanks trigger the offense with 14 and 13 assists, respectively. Blanks has also forced 20 opponent turnovers.

Collectively, over the course of 11 games the Lady Eagles earn 49.6 points per game, hit 32 percent from the field, 20 percent from long range and 64 percent from the charity stripe.

While NCCU may be aware of Okoli and Montgomery, the Lady Eagles will also have to focus on Asheville’s Kendall Shepard and Lindsey Thompson. Shepard leads the Bulldogs offense at 17.4 points per game and 43 assists. Thompson is the second leading scorer at 16.9 points per contest, the guard has earned four game high performances. Riles dominates the rebounding game with 12.0 boards per game.

As a unit, the Bulldogs earn 73.1 points per game, shoot 42 percent from the, 30 percent from behind the arc and 72 percent from the free throw line.