GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: Dec. 19-20, 2023
TIME:
11:00 AM on Tuesday
11:00 AM on Wednesday |
LOCATION: Edmunds Center
DeLand, Fla. |
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GAME DAY LINK
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LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
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THE LEAD
Coming off their third win of the season, a 56-48 home win over Morgan State on Sunday afternoon, the Hatters look to put their undefeated home streak on the line as they host North Carolina A&T and Valparaiso for the Holiday Hoops Classic. Tip-off against the Aggies is scheduled for 11:00 AM on Tuesday and the game against the Beacons is set for 11:00 AM on Wednesday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at gohatters.com.
INSIDE THE SERIES
This Tuesday will mark the fourth ever meeting between the Hatters and the Aggies. Stetson will enter the match-up looking for their first win in the series, trailing 0-3. They last met at a neutral site on Nov. 16, 2013, falling to the Aggies 73-68. The history dates back to Nov. 10, 2006 when NC A&T took the inaugural game by the score of 61-49 in Greensboro, N.C. The two have only met once in DeLand, which resulted in a loss for the Hatters on Nov. 9, 2007. They have totaled 177 points across their three contests, averaging 59 points per game.
In contrast, the Hatters hold a 2-0 record over the Valparaiso Beacons. The two last met in DeLand on Nov. 12, 2016 when the Hatters won 87-75. They first met on Jan. 3, 2015 when the Hatters opened the series with a 73-62 win on the road. In that two-game span, the Hatters have tallied 160 points and average 80 a game.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS (3-8, 0-0 ASUN)
Stetson approaches the Holiday Hoops Classic with an overall record of 3-8, having recently picked up a 56-48 win over the Morgan State Bears at home, keeping their undefeated home record alive.
The effort was fronted by senior guard
Jordan Peete, who scored a team-high 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Leading the dominant effort in the paint, forward
Jaelyn Talley racked up 14 rebounds, tying a season-high. The sophomore came one point shy of a double-double as she finished with nine points on an even 50 percent shooting. Talley was awarded last week's ASUN Player of the Week honors, the first Hatter to win an award this season and the first to win Player of the Week since the 2020-21 season.
Freshman guard
Anna Kunzwiler made her first career start as a Hatter and went a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. All three shots came in the second quarter while her third was especially notable on an impressive stepback from the wing.
Leading the team's offensive effort this season has been
Jamiya Turner, who is averaging 11.5 points per game on 43.5 percent shooting. The redshirt-senior guard has also pulled in 4.9 rebounds per game, of which 24 have been on offense. She now is four rebounds shy of the 500 career mark.
Peete, who made her ninth start this season, is averaging 9.5 points per game. After her 11-point performance on Sunday, she has now reached double-figures in six games.
Khamya McNeal has now hit a pair of three-pointers in each of the last three games as she ranks third on the team with 8.2 points per game. She also is tied for the second most assists on the team after dishing out nine over her last two games.
Talley has excelled on the glass, leading the Hatters with an average of 7.2 rebounds per game, third most in the ASUN. 41 of her 79 total rebounds have come on offense, tying her for 18th most in all of NCAA.
Skylar Treadwell, who pulled in 21 rebounds against High Point earlier this season, maintains a team-second most average of 5.9 rebounds per game.
As a team, Stetson averages 55.8 points per game, as opposed to a conference third lowest points allowed (61.), on 233-662 shooting from the field (35.2%) and 46-204 from three-point range. They exhibit a conference third-best free-throw percentage of 68.9 percent (102-148) and boast an ASUN seventh-highest 37.0 rebounds per game. Stetson has forced opponents into 171 turnovers and capitalized on them with 13.3 points off turnovers.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES (3-5, 0-0 CAA)
North Carolina A&T will enter the game with a record of 3-5, sitting 11th in the Coastal Athletic Association standings, having dropped their last four games including a 80-40 loss on the road to Louisville.
In the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the coaches voted North Carolina A&T 8th in the poll with 103 points after finishing the prior season with a 12-6 conference record.
Looking to build off of an 18-12 finish last season, the Aggies average 64.8 points per game and have outscored their opponents by an average of 1.7 points.
As a team, they have a shooting percentage of 40.7 percent from the field (181 of 445) and 28.4 percent from beyond the arc (42 of 148). The Aggies are rebounding at an average of 36.3 per game and distributing 13.3 assists, fifth-most in the CAA.
On the defensive end, they've held opponents to 37.1 percent from the field (176 of 475) and 30.3 percent from three-point range (53 of 175), ranking fifth and eighth in the conference. The defense has also forced 147 turnovers, scoring 13.3 points off them, while tallying 63 steals and 24 blocks.
Senior Guard Maleia Bracone, a second team Preseason All-CAA selection, leads the team with a conference 19th-best 12.0 points per game on 41 percent shooting. Bracone also leads the Aggies with 14 shots from beyond the arc and has pulled in 45 rebounds, 5.6 per game, to go along with 24 assists. Bracone also leads the defensive effort with 21 steals so far this season.
Junior guard Jordyn Dorsey leads the team with 26 assists while averaging 11.4 points per game. Nine of her 29 made baskets have come from outside the perimeter and she has seen 24 of her total points come from the line.
Center Chaniya Clark has been the resident glass cleaner as she has pulled in 56 total rebounds, 17 of which came on offense. Her 7.0 rebounds per game ranks most on the team and ninth in the conference. She is also averaging 10.4 points on an efficient 46.6 percent shooting.
Rounding out the Aggies' double-figure scorers is senior guard D'Mya Tucker, who averages 10.8. Not only is she shooting 41.7 percent from the floor but the senior has been a presence on defense, tallying eight steals and seven blocks.
SCOUTING THE BEACONS (1-6, 0-0 MVC)
Valparaiso enters the week with a current record of 1-6, sitting 11th in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, most recently picking up a pair of wins last week. The two wins over IU Northwest and Chicago State put an end to a six game skid to begin the year that saw some strong competition including Purdue.
In the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the coaches voted Valparaiso 10th in the poll with 162 points after finishing the prior season with a 5-15 conference record.
Looking to build off of a 7-23 finish last season, the Beacons average 63.3 points per game and have been outscored by their opponents by an average of 9.9 points.
As a team, they are shooting 40.1 percent from the field (155 of 387) and 31.3% from beyond the arc (52 of 166). The Beacons are rebounding at an average of 29.1 per game and distributing 84 assists.
On the defensive end, they allow opponents to shoot 47 percent from the field (180 of 383) and 36.1 percent from three-point range (43 of 119), ninth and tenth in the MVC. The defense has also forced 143 turnovers while tallying 86 steals and 17 blocks.
Leah Ernest has been the focal point of the offense as she averages 16.9 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting. The guard/forward is also averaging a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game and has recorded a team-leading 19 assists. Her points average ranks fifth in the conference while her average rebounds places her in ninth.
Olivia Brown has also been a key player on the offense as she averages 10.6 points per game. In the team's last outing against Chicago State, she led the Beacons with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting. While Ernest leads the team with 12 made shots from beyond the arc, Brown has also seen success from deep, hitting 10 of her 34 three-point attempts.
NEXT UP
Stetson will return home to the Edmunds Center following the holidays as they host Flager on Saturday, Dec. 30. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 PM. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at gohatters.com.
